The Deal: Led Zep pulls into Union Station.
The Good: Might as well just throw the duet concept out the window. You’ll be hard pressed to top this one in any genre. An unlikely paring, but Zep’s Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have made one of the most beautiful records of the decade. Krauss’ voice is ethereal as always. The country backing on most of the material is perfectly suited for her mournful, high and lonesome sound. Plant even shows his country roots on his own composition “Please Read the Letter That I Wrote,” getting a little Zep towards the end with a couple of rock star-worthy screams. But the best genre-bending of the pair’s respective careers occurs on their rockabilly rendition of the Everly Brothers‚ “Gone, Gone, Gone,” nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. It’s such an odd sound: heavy tom-tom action in the background while the pair belt it out rock star style with bluegrass harmonies. You can tell Plant wants to take his shirt off and scream, but he manages to keep his ego and histrionics in check, turning in a great, restrained performance. Doc Watson says his favorite song of all time is Krauss and Plant’s coverage of his tune, “Your Long Journey.” You’ll keep checking the liner notes to make sure you read it right – that really is Robert Plant singing that gorgeous bluegrass harmony with Krauss, sounding as tight as family.
The Bad: Can’t find any. Just listen and marvel at what producer T-Bone Burnett put together.
The Verdict: You gotta have it to complete your Zep collection or just to fry your brain with between bouts of “Dyer Maker.” Then you gotta get a ticket for the tour, then get invited backstage or to the hotel for a taste of rock star degeneracy with the guy who pioneered the concept of launching TVs out of hotel windows. Plant loose in bluegrass land is an event you won’t want to miss a second of.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.
