Grammy awards Album of the year: "Raising Sand," Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the big winners at the 51st annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles' Staples Center, tallying five trophies, including album of the year for the Rounder project "Raising Sand" and record of the year for "Please Read The Letter." The other wins were for best pop collaboration with vocals: "Rich Woman," best country collaboration with vocals for "Killing the Blues" and best contemporary folk/Americana album
I had given the record several spins last year and it just never did GRAB me. With all of the latest acclaim I decided to pull the record out for a fresh listen. Here is my review:

Label – Rounder
Producer – T. Bone Burnett
Nationality - USA
Running Time – 57:13

Track listing: Award wining track listed in bold

1. "Rich Woman" (Dorothy LaBostrie, McKinley Millet) – 4:04
2. "Killing the Blues" (Roly Jon Salley) – 4:16
3. "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" (Sam Phillips) – 3:26
4. "Polly Come Home" (Gene Clark) – 5:36
5. "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" (Don Everly, Phil Everly) – 3:33
6. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" (Gene Clark) – 4:01
7. "Please Read the Letter" (Charlie Jones, Michael Lee, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant) – 5:53
8. "Trampled Rose" (Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits) – 5:34
9. "Fortune Teller" (Naomi Neville) – 4:30
10. "Stick with Me, Baby" (Mel Tillis) – 2:50
11. "Nothin'" (Townes Van Zandt) – 5:33
12. "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" (Milton Campbell) – 4:02
13. "Your Long Journey" (Arthel Lane, Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson) – 3:55

In what certainly had to be the “what? Are you kidding me?” most unlikely pairing is the duo of former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant and bluegrass superstar Alison Krauss .
Many seem to think that this is actually one of the most effortless-sounding pairings in modern popular music, with producer T-Bone Burnett and the band he assembled for this recording. The tracks are, predictably, very laid-back. Burnett is know for his laid back music, so the material chosen by the three is mostly very subdued. The problem is – to me – it’s also quite boring.
The word I keep reading over and over about the record is that is it STELLAR. I must be missing something. As I mentioned, I played the record many times the week of it’s release and it just never grabbed me. Time (and a handful of awards) has not changed my opinion much.
Again – it’s not that it is BAD or anything such as that – it’s just so low keyed and sundued – that as a whole piece of work it’s pretty boring. Selected tracks I would consider as absolutely superb – and it’s not that I am opposed to the subdued nature of the music. Quite the contary. The standout track on Mr. Plant’s last record was the subdued “All The King’s Horses”. Now THAT is STELLAR! Unfortunately nothing here is a s good.
Two of the standout tracks to me are a pair of Gene Clark tunes "Polly Come Home" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night" . The first is a haunting ballad done in an old-world folk style, the latter is a wasted country love song told from the point of view of an outlaw.
The ‘heaviest’ and only by a bit — is the Everly Brothers' "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)." Nothing like the original it DOES however offer a refreshing change of pace near the middle of the disc while trying to stay awake.
The best track is a Plant cover of himself with "Please Read the Letter" is written by Plant and Jimmy Page and included on their ‘Walking into Clarksdale’ record. While slow, plodding - almost crawling along, Krauss' harmony vocal takes it to the next step, adds the kind of depth that makes this a song standout instead of just being another lost love song.
Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'" done in a twilight Led Zeppelin style doesn't rock either. It plods and drifts, and crawls. This is what singer/songwriter heavy metal must sound like. And it is oh-so-slow.
Their two voices meld together seamlessly, but they are almost buried in the mix at times it’s hard to hear them with the production sometimes bigger than the song. They don't soar, they don't roar, they don’t rock. They are simply sing songs that go nowhere and leave you feeling empty. The only thing I can say is that it IS the best of the offerings up for album of the year – and THAT really IS sad.
I do not recommend it.


You can purchase the CD here.