King of the Forest

Ironically, the more courageous Robert Plant has been in his choices as a solo artist, the more he resembles the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. And with back-to-back triumphs in recent weeks, he’s King of the Forest.

By all accounts, Monday’s Led Zeppelin reunion show (in tribute to late Atlantic Records honcho Ahmet Ertegun) was one for the ages, with the band at their tight-but-loose best.

This is only weeks after releasing the best solo record of his career, and one of the best albums of the year by anyone: Raising Sand, his collaboration with bluegrass bluebird Alison Krauss and conjurer of Americana T-Bone Burnett.

Then again, Plant has known it’s good to be the king for a long time: he was already a rock legend by the time he was 20, with a voice summoned from Valhalla’s highest peaks, perfectly matched to Jimmy Page’s sky-splitting riffs and Bonzo’s mighty foot-tom. He was blessed with a majestic, flowing mane of golden locks, a matter-of-fact magnificence with which to command a stage in open silk shirt and tight trousers, an affinity for the world’s music and peoples, a steady stream of Zeppelin royalties to keep the coffers full and Platinum Preferred Member Rewards Plus status at the Riot House in LA.

Plant has long been a champion of roots music, rewriting blues standards into Zep classics like “Whole Lotta Love” and “When the Levee Breaks” and working early rock classics like Eddie Cochran’s “C’mon Everybody” into Zeppelin’s live medleys. But in his post-Zeppelin solo work, he often strained to sound contemporary, and as a result many of his 80s records sound rather dated today.

Raising Sand, however, sounds timeless. Burnett, member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and producer of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (which featured Krauss), wisely taps into the musical groundwater that runs ‘neath this great land of ours. Vintage guitars abound, as do plenty of tremolo and reverb, spooky drums, steel guitar, gypsy violins. Its vibe is similar to the late-night radio swamp of Dylan’s Time Out of Mind (amazingly, already ten years old.).

Raising Sand is a triumph in part because Plant does his most powerful singing in years by singing quietly. Rather than imploring the listener to squeeze his lemons, he simply relies on the natural timbre of his voice. Locking in harmony with Krauss, they achieve moments of aching beauty.

This record, which consists entirely of covers, has one great performance after another. Highlights include “Killing the Blues,” “Polly Come Home” and a fun Everly Brothers cover called “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On).” It’s one of those records that rewards both superficial and close listening. Put it on at a cocktail party and it will sound great in the background, or listen on some noise-cancelling headphones and dig the sophisticated singing and rhythms.

While the world clamors for the mighty Led Zeppelin mothership to once again circle the globe, the prospect of a Plant-Krauss tour promises to be the complete opposite – quiet, intimate, full of surprises – yet in its own way, just as enticing.

Put ‘em up: highlights from the Plant/Cowardly Lion canon for your listening and viewing pleasure:

mp3: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, “Killing the Blues,” Raising Sand
mp3: Led Zeppelin, “For Your Life,” Presence (Played live for the first time at Monday's Led Zeppelin show.)
mp3: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It,” Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records
mp3: Led Zeppelin, “Thank You,” The Complete BBC Radio Sessions
mp3: The Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), “If I Were King of the Forest,” The Wizard of Oz soundtrack

YouTube: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)"


YouTube: Led Zeppelin, "C'mon Everybody/Something Else" (Live, Royal Albert Hall, 1970)