Band Of Joy

Robert resurrects the name of his 60s band 'Band of Joy' for this album produced by Buddy Miller, guitarist on 2007's collaboration with Alison Krauss "Raising Sand". However, this isn't 'a back to the 60s' record, although some of the covers are from the 60s. In fact it's a very similar collection of songs to "Raising Sand", covers of old country, rockabilly, R&B and blues tracks, with a similar atmospheric sound - banjos and mandolins, with lashings of reverb and tremolo on the guitar. I really like the variety of the songs and the way that the producer creates a unifying overall sound from the disparate styles, similarly Robert's voice seems to fit all the different styles without compromising any of his usual vocal stylings.

I think that this is a more consistent album than "Raising Sand", although again chances have been taken and some songs work better than others, the best songs here are really excellent. My favourite tracks are the opening cover of Los Lobos' "Angel dance" and the following version of Richard Thompson's "House of cards", with 'Fairportesque' vocals from Patty Griffin. In fact I thought that Patty's backing vocals were really good throughout and I would have liked to have heard more of them. I also enjoyed the 50s country song "Falling in Love Again" (with Robert sounding a bit like Elvis), the 'Merseybeat' "You Can't Buy My Love" and the haunting "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down". It will be interesting to see if this record sells as well as "Raising Sand".

How easy would it be for Robert Plant to rest on his laurels, live on past glories and occasionally resurrect that popular beat combo Led Zeppelin for the odd lucrative tour? It is to his huge credit that as he gets older his musical journey takes more adventurous twists and turns, heading into constantly interesting and diverse new territory with a restlessness that would put many younger artists to shame. Another bonus is at the age of 62 his voice just gets better and better.

It is also the case that many had expected Plant to reconvene his wonderful collaboration with Alison Krauss and produce "Raising Sand part 2". But it appears that despite a number of recent sessions with her it didn't quite recapture the initial magic and Plant admits in the latest edition of Mojo that "you can only spend so trying to get it right". So what we have is the resurrection of a previous band name but a whole new set of musical collaborations which overall is effortless and a stonkingly good listen. And how could it not be? His hand-picked bunch of Nashville session musicians are made up veteran guitarist Buddy Miller's, drummer Marco Giovino, bassist Byron House, multi-instrumentalist Daryl Scott's pedal steel and to add the proverbial icing to the cake one of the queens of country Patty Griffin is present to provide possibly one the most experienced vocal foils in the history of modern music. Frankly this lot could play on combs and spoons and it would sound great.

The music follows the Raising Sand template and draws from a wide musical palette of gospel, country, blues and rock. Plant tackles head on songs ranging from artists as diverse as East LA's finest Los Lobos to those Kings of quiet slow core introspection the Minnesota trio "Low". Indeed I am and struggling to think of a better song I have heard this year than the moody but graceful Low cover "Silver Rider" (but see also "Monkey") with its echo laden guitar from Miller and tender vocals from Plant and Griffin. As it builds into a powerful force of nature you struggle to think of any song on the peerless Raising Sand which could have matched it and it improves on the original. The pace of opener "Angel Dance" which is a Los Lobos cover is altogether different full of looping guitar rhythms and an excellent upbeat vocal by Plant. Every more jaunty is the Beatles like "You cant buy my love" performed recently on the Andrew Marr show which Plant tells us that he first heard on compilation disk and is essentially a counterpart to the Fabs song recorded originally by the R&B star Barbara Lynn. In "The only sound that matters" Plant's project has unearthed a little known country gem which is genuinely lovely; alternatively he then returns us to Low's seventh album "The Great Destroyer" with an immaculate cover of its opener "Monkey", which is jam packed with raw/sinister power, angry guitar and some echoes of its distant cousin which is Radiohead's "Climbing up the walls". Plant and Griffin are immense on this and his patronage will also hopefully lead curious music lovers to explore the wonders of Low or check Mark Kozelek's cover versions.

Space forbids extended dialogue on the atmospheric gospel blues of "Satan your kingdom must come down", the great cover of Richard Thompson's "House of Cards" where Griffin's backing vocals come more to the forefront and "Central Two-o-nine" which is one of those great American train songs where you can almost hear the lonesome whistle, smell the smoke and the Appalachian pines. Splendid stuff.

For some breathlessly awaiting a Led Zep reunion I suspect this album may not satisfy, not least with the complete absence of hard rocking anthems. Similarly others will find "Band of Joy" to be a slightly darker and much more Gothic album than the light country air achieved with the gossamer vocals of Krauss on "Raising Sand". But on repeated listens this is an album that is easily an even match for its predecessor on the the enjoyability scale and the backing musicians throughout are faultless. As the years pass Robert Plant is turning into a true renaissance man with his albums becoming "Events" and awaited with genuine anticipation. While many of his peers and contemporaries seem largely content to plod on and tread water, you get the feeling that if Plant keeps producing albums of the sheer quality of "Band of Joy" he will soon be walking on it.

After the multi-million selling grammy award winning 'Raising Sand' with Alison Krauss, Robert Plant returns with another Americana tinged album. This time around it's not a straight album of duets, as female companion Patty Griffin provides harmonies rather than lead vocals. What is surprising about this album is just how good Plant's vocals are, probably his best since his Led Zeppelin days, and he clearly learned a lot from his time with Krauss and the result of this is an album that is much more easier on the ear than the majority of his previous solo offerings. The album starts with a joyous cover of Los Lobos's 'Angel Dance'filled with excellent musicianship which sets the scene for the rest of the album. This is followed up with an excellent version of Richard Thompson's 'House Of Cards; which then leads into the 'Central Two-O-Nine' with a very bluesy feel. The album is very eclectic and sometimes the songs don't quite run well together in the way that 'Raising Sand' did, but there are great songs throughout which include 'You Can't Buy My Love', 'Harms Swift Way' and 'Cindy I'll Marry You One Day'. Towards the end of the album the music flows more smoothly through a series of folk-esque songs and on the whole its a great set. 'Raising Sand' raised the bar very high for the follow up 'Band Of Joy' which doesn't quite live up to its predecessor but clearly Plant has a great passion for this type of music that shows throughout the album, and it really does suit his voice. If you enjoyed 'Raising Sand' then this is definitely worth considering.