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Tag: Robert Plant

  • Robert Plant’s Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar

    Robert Plant’s Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar

    My husband surprised me with a copy of Robert Plant’s Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar…

    Leave it to Bill. He stubbornly buys me music every Christmas even though I have told him many times that I like to buy my own. I must admit, even though I often discourage him from gifting me with new CDs, he often chooses interesting music. Some of the albums he’s bought for me have ended up being favorites. No, Bill doesn’t have any musical talent himself, but he does have good taste in music. With that in mind, I’m now listening to the album he got me for Christmas this year, Robert Plant’s Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar. This album was released in 2014 and comes in a nifty, environmentally sound cardboard sleeve. It consists of eleven tracks, all of which were co-written by Robert Plant. The Led Zeppelin legend is in fine voice, too.

    Plant is joined here by his band, The Sensational Space Shifters. We have Dave Smith on drums, Billy Fuller on bass, drum programming, omnichord, and upright bass, Liam “Skin” Tyson on banjo, guitar, and backing vocals, John Baggot on keyboards, loops, moog bass, piano, tabal, and backing vocals, Juldeh Camara on kologo, rite, Fulani and vocals, and Justin Adams on bendirs, djembe, guitars, tehardant, and backing vocals. Together, this band sounds kind of like Ireland meets Africa. I hear elements of Irish music mixed with the tribal sounds of Africa, with a smattering of trance music. Bill said he heard it on a recent Air France flight and decided I had to hear this album, which he describes as music that might be right at home at your favorite “hot” restaurant, where the food is cutting edge and the company is sophisticated.

    The first track is the very interesting “Little Maggie”, a traditional bluegrass song that has been arranged by Robert Plant and his band. I have to admit, I was intrigued by it. A rolling banjo percolates under the exotic world music sounds of pulsating drums and flute. I enjoy bluegrass. I enjoy world music. I like Robert Plant and his otherworldly vocals. “Little Maggie” gets things off to a smashing start.

    The next song is the edgier “Rainbow”, which sounds like something Plant might have recorded in the 80s, only it’s been updated with exotic drumbeats and electric guitars. It’s definitely an edgy song, but one that you can think to as the chorus of backing vocals blend together behind Plant’s subdued lead. Not that Robert Plant has lost his rock star prowess… it’s just that on this song, that energy is under the surface, ready to pounce.

    The Irish sound is back, sprinkled with a bit of trance with “Pocketful of Golden”. Here, I hear a little bit of old style Zeppelin edged rock with delicate Irish details on the choruses. Although Plant is definitely not fronting Led Zeppelin, I hear little shards of that iconic sound, especially in this song.

    Plant has a couple of female guest singers on this album. On “Embrace Another Fall”, Plant offers sublime vocals from Julie Murphy, who sings in Irish and has a fantastic voice. The liner notes include a link to Murphy’s site, which I will definitely check out because she has an enchanting sound. I think I want to get to know her better. On “Poor Howard”, Nicola Powell offers background vocals, adding a touch of feminine to an otherwise banjo heavy tune.

    The beautiful ballad, “A Stolen Kiss”, features a gorgeous melody and Plant’s usually edgy rock voice mellowed into something sensitive and loving and romantic. Yet the song is about how elusive true love is… and it’s also where this album gets its name.

    Each song on this album is more and more interesting and engaging. Each song captures my senses in a unique way. I have a feeling this album is going to become yet another favorite, courtesy of Bill and his stubborn insistence on introducing me to cutting edge music instead of the old stuff I usually favor. I really like the way Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters have creatively married elements of hard rock and trance with folk music, Celtic sounds with African sounds. I like the fact that his unique stamp is on each song.

    The final song on Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar is called “Arbaden (Maggie’s Babby)”. It fascinated me from the very first electric hum. This track has intricate and complex rhythms, jangling guitars, and sound effects. It’s short and hypnotic and mesmerizing.

    Needless to say, I recommend Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar if you’re interested in something new by a venerable talent. Robert Plant demonstrates with this latest effort that he’s still awesome. And yes, I did thank Bill once again for not listening to me when I said I didn’t want music for Christmas.


    Robert Plant discusses the making of Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar.

  • Happy Halloween!

    Happy Halloween!

    It seems obvious that I’d be wishing you all a happy Halloween today, right?

    Well, I’m sitting here in Germany, where Halloween is starting to catch on but isn’t quite the big day that it is in the United States. The truth is, I almost forgot about it. The funny thing is, last time we lived here, we did actually get some trick or treaters and we were not prepared for them. I kind of doubt we’ll have any tonight, but my husband will bring home some candy just in case.

    Anyway, in the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d write about some of my favorite spooky songs. This post was actually inspired by a Facebook post by Don Felder, the former guitarist for The Eagles. He asked people for their favorite Halloween songs. Most folks came up with obvious stuff like “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris Pickett”…


    And of course, this song was custom made for October 31…

    I tell you what, though. When I think of Halloween, I think of a less obvious song by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. The song is called “Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us”. It’s not really a Halloween song, but I think of it as one because it has such a creepy vibe to it.


    This song was written by Sam Phillips about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a gospel singer in the 30s and 40s. I’m not sure why this song is so spooky sounding, but it is… and since I bought Raising Sand in October 2007, it reminds me of Halloween.

    Speaking of spooky, the song “Spooky” ranks high up there as a good Halloween number.


    Dusty Springfield sings “Spooky” here. I like her version.

    But since I was around in the late 70s, I am more familiar with the sexy, sultry, southern rendition by Atlanta Rhythm Section.


    Listening to this makes me want to experiment a bit with this song myself.

    I actually think “Spooky” is about someone with a character disorder, but it works for Halloween anyway. Then there’s the ever popular Eagles hit, “Witchy Woman”. Again, it works for Halloween, but it’s probably a song about a woman with a character disorder.


    Cackle!

    Janet Jackson’s “Black Cat” may not be about Halloween per se, but it kind of fits the theme.


    Don’t let one cross your path!

    Probably one of the best Halloween songs I’ve ever heard is “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” by Concrete Blonde.


    Here’s a great live version of “Bloodletting” with Johnette Napolitano’s raging vocals.

    Sting has done a few Halloween worthy songs in his career, too. In fact, he seems to have a knack for writing songs that have kind of an eerie vibe to them.


    Sister Moon comes to mind…


    And so does the very creepy song, “Moon Over Bourbon Street”… Here’s a very cool acoustic version!

    And, of course, no Halloween song list is complete without this huge hit from the early 80s…


    Hope you have a “thrilling” night tonight…

    It occurs to me as I look at this list that I’m stuck in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Feel free to leave me suggestions for newer Halloween songs. I hope everyone has a great Halloween and a fabulous weekend. Don’t let the ghosts get you!

  • Unlikely collaborations…

    Unlikely collaborations…

    Every day, I run across something that reminds me that unlikely collaborations can lead to amazing creations…

    I was home alone last night. My husband, Bill, was on his way home from New York City, where he attended a job interview. The interview seemed to go well; we should know the outcome within the next week or so. Anyway, as is my habit, I was trying not to drink alcohol while he was gone. I think it’s a good practice not to and a good exercise in self-discipline. I lasted until about 8:00pm, then cracked open a beer. Bill was on his way home, after all. Oftentimes, when I start drinking beer, I get to a point at which I want to listen to music. That’s what happened last night. I realized that my music collection has quite a few unlikely collaborations in it. You know, music that was made by people you wouldn’t expect to get together…

    I kind of touched on this theme last week, when I wrote my post about oddly awesome covers. Maybe, once I listened to it, it wasn’t a huge stretch for Ricky Skaggs to make a record with Bruce Hornsby… though on the surface, it seems like their collaborations would be unlikely. As I was listening last night, I ran across some other unlikely collaborations. Texas legend Willie Nelson is pretty good for this practice. A few years ago, he made an album with Wynton Marsalis, famed jazz trumpeter.


    “My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It” is one of my favorite tracks from the unlikely collaboration of Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson. This was on their album, Two Men With The Blues.

    I ran across a very cool song Willie Nelson did with Santana back in the 1980s…


    I found this unlikely collaboration a few years ago, when I decided to download some Santana. It works.

    The great opera star Pavorotti had a very successful album series in the early 90s. He got together with rock stars like Sting, Bryan Adams, and even Barry White…


    Sting and Pavorotti


    Pavorotti and Barry White??? Wow… I wouldn’t have put them together.

    A few days ago, I read a very interesting article about funny country-alt singer and author Todd Snider. I own a few Todd Snider albums, having discovered his hilarious song “Beer Run”. I wouldn’t imagine he’d want to collaborate with a singer like Garth Brooks. But wouldn’t you know it? The “Friends In Low Places” country star sure enough wanted to cover one of Todd Snider’s songs. Garth Brooks was interested in recording Snider’s “Alright Guy” for his 1999 album, In the Life of Chris Gaines and even wanted Snider to play guitar on the project. It turned out Brooks didn’t end up putting the song on his album because his mother objected to the subject matter. But still, it’s a pretty cool story about two seemingly unrelated artists getting together to create something different.


    Todd Snider plays “Alright Guy” live.

    A few years ago, Emmylou Harris got together with Mark Knopfler and they made a fine album.


    Here they sing “Done With Bonaparte”… I love this!

    One might wonder why a country folk singer would hook up with a legendary rock guitarist like Mark Knopfler, who was the front man for Dire Straits for years and brought us songs like “Money For Nothing” and “Walk of Life”. But they blend pretty damn well, I think… kind of like Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.


    Alison Krauss and Robert Plant get together on a cover of “Black Dog”…

    I remember when I first heard about Alison Krauss and Robert Plant teaming up. It seemed like an unlikely collaboration, but their 2007 album Raising Sand was a huge success. I started thinking about other people I’d love to hear Alison Krauss play with… like Mark Knopfler! Why not?

    Music is a universal language and like any art, it can be expanded and shaped into new and unusual directions. I love finding unlikely collaborations among musicians I admire.