Robert & Alison-Raising Sand

I bought the LP. The shrink wrap was so tight that the second disc was warped beyond belief. Back it went, but not before I had a chance to listen to the album. It was not at all to my taste, and I really like both of them, the sonics were, again, not to my liking. Hey, that's what makes horse racing.

It's mostly laid back but I like it.

I was disappointed with this album. It is very laid back, which is not a bad thing (although I was hoping Plant might let his voice rip at least in a few tracks), but, to me, it is a very uninspiring 'laid back', almost boring.

And I don't like the sonics. I don't know exactly why. This album just doesn't resonate.

My favorite new vinyl purchase in 2007.

Well, I like it, but especially, the wife likes it. This album has the potential to have a very high WAF score.

A good thing.

Sunday morning music in my home. Sonically OK.

But what the heck is Alison doing singing about a woman...oh, really? I had no idea ?!?!?!?!?!

If you come to this recording expecting to hear either Alison Krauss or Robert Plant in their previous incarnations you'll be surprised, at best, or disappointed.

This album is mostly about T-Bone Burnett's production and Mark Ribot's guitar and banjo. That's a good thing, and the addition of Krauss and Plant's vocals with those elements is strange and wonderful.

Steve I was wondering the same thing about Alison!

Like they say, I suppose it takes all kinds. Viridian sorry you got a warped one!

It is truly "sunday morning." There's a part of me that thinks all those years Plant spent going to that gathering in the Sahara was influential on this music. Laid back and drifting like the sands.

Dreadful dreck. Robert should be ashamed of himself. Maybe he just needs the money.

Just when you thought a tune might go somewhere it plunged back into mediocrity.

I took it back and got a $5 used CD credit.

like the album with mark and emmy lou, there is no point to it.

Can we go back to this playing against type thing? Willie Nelson does a horrible reggae record, "Highwayman", Van Morrison does a country album, "Pay The Devil", Paul Simon writes a stage play, Roger Waters composes derivative symphonic music, Yo-Yo Ma noodles on popular music, the list could go on and on. And now we have Plant slumming in the easy listening category. Is there something very wrong with this picture? Does judgement go away with age?

Well, I like it just fine. Yes, it takes some getting used to, especially if you are expecting the sonics to approximate those on the Alison Krauss/Union Station albums, but it has a sort of haunting, ethereal quality that grew on me after a few plays. I especially like the Townes Van Zandt cover.

A gem, indeed.

It took a couple of listens to grow on me, nice calming, early morning, driving to work in the dark wintertime, type music.

Sorry Jaybo, hate to disagree - No comparison to the Harris/Knopfler effort. on All The Roadrunning which is phenomenal.

If you are hoping for shades of Zeppelin fuhgeddaboutit

It's not that its bad or poorly done, but most folks can safely skip this one

This one's a little deceptive - at first it sounds like straight up easy listening, but there's a lot of intersting, if subdued, rythmic stuff going on. I was just listening to the 7th track and heard references to early Brian Eno and Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb". Don't know that I'll ever love this record, but I'll certainly give it a bit more time.

Marty

At least Zep are sort of back together again, but in the Rolling Stone article I'm gnashin' my teeth because there was no mention or suggestion of them writing original music together again; have these guys nothing left in them? And I was hoping that even though Jason is 41, he could inject a bit of "new Zep" into the fold so that they might, just might, continue where they left off so many years ago. And yes let him be their drummer and if takes on a new sound, so be it, I'm all ears. And heck yeah, let Alison sing along with Zep too if it helps, I'm sure she can rock when the mood suits, after all, it ain't rocket science, but simply well-dated, hydrogen dirigible stuff, after all, guitars, bass, keyboards and drums weren't invented yesterday.

Plant's recent solo career suggests he has plenty left in him but maybe he just wants to get away from expectations like Stevechams.................

Interesting string on this recording. I just picked this up and absolutely love it.

I had no real expectations for this disk and actually first listened to a copy on the crappy headphone set up at Boarders out of pure curiosity. Even under those conditions, I could tell that the material had been selected and recorded with care. When I looked at the case and it said "produced by T Bone Burnett", I thought, "Well Duh".

I find the mix of vocals when Krauss and Plant sing together really unique and surprisingly wonderful. I have to agree with Sfar above that the stylistic signature of this album - if there is one - belongs to Burnett and Ribot first, with Krauss second, and Plant third. Strangely though, I think Plant owns the actual performances. When he is singing I can't help but focus on his voice which comes off as subtle and richly textured. The earthy and bluesy flavor of the material serves all the artists well.

I can't speak for the vinyl release, but I find the CD version of this recording to be very good, easily in the top 15-20% in my collection in terms of sound quality. Not being up to the level of the live Union Station LP is a pretty high bar that not many recordings attain. So is the "Raising Sand" LP really poorly produced, or just not totally fantastic? As far as I can tell, Burnett is a production fanatic, and I think it shows on the redbook version of this recording with lots of depth, multiple layers of sound with timing and space there in spades. Perhaps not the blackest blacks between cuts though...

I love Zepplin, but I can see why hard core Plant fans might be disappointed with this record. If you know anything about Burnett or Krauss, I don't think this loping country and blues tinged album would be surprising except for how the end result hangs together and turned out much better than than most people would have thought. For some reason it reminds me of JJ Cale's debut recording "Naturally", and that's saying quite a lot.

I'm a BIG Led Zep fan( I was at the famous Madison Square Garden show )and, believe it or not, I really like the new Robert Plant -- Alison Krauss record. It's nice to see an old rocker come back and use his amazing voice for a new project like this. It's made me enjoy the old Zep stuff all over again, and it even prompted me to go out and buy "Mothership." We all get older, and it's great to see one of the best ever rock singers strut his stuff again. Good for you, Mr. Plant ..... And lovely job, Ms. Krauss.....BRAVO !!!.

Caught a filmed performance on the tube, something similar to Austin City Limits but I think performed in Memphis. It was hair-raisingly good, Mark Ribot really added some fire. I am more interested in Plant's recent solo effots than Led Zep, and think the voices combine very well.

Berkbob, if you're referring to "Crossroads," I caught that on our Music HiDef channel. I agree, it was very fine. I was quite impressed at how well all involved managed to recreate the acoustic ambience of the recording live on stage. I quite enjoyed Allisons reworking of "When the Levee Breaks." Everyone seemed to have had a great time together making music.

Knownothing, I have it on vinyl like I stated. I think it's well done and like a few others my appreciation for what this duo is doing grows. I think some folks dislike this album because it's not Plant being Plant or Krauss being Krauss. Outside of expectations, I do think it is recorded and mastered well and on vinyl, its a keeper for me.

Getting over the "easy listening" feel, well that may be another story. Like Olson said, its a fine winter morning listen, which I have plenty of here in Montana. Maybe thats why it resonates with me. That desolate alone sound.

I think the recording is so rich and filled with harmonic complexity that most systems reproduce it as being a poor recording(which it's not). It's not the best recording by any means but, it ain't that bad. It reminds me of my Elvis Costello Allen Toussaint "The river in reverse" cd. I used to think this disc was poorly recorded but, after making some upgrades to the rig in the last 6 months it turns out to be a very good disc indeed. It seems that if recording are recorded with any weight or rich harmonics that most sysyems just can't resolve it out.

If anything, the CD is recorded a little hotter than I like. This is a common problem these days as engineers mix recordings to shine when compressed and played back on an iPods. I still think that the production is excellent with lots going on in the rhythm, tone and timing departments.

What is interesting is that noone has mentioned that T-Bone produced two other what I would call "Americana" efforts - O Brother and Cold Mountain. Both of these are favorites of mine and my guess is his work with Alison on these set the stage for Raising Sand. I love Raising Sand although I will admit there are a couple clunkers and the pace is slooooow. I find the production effort similar to ELH's Wrecking Ball in that the better your system the better it sounds. Hopefully someone will report on their concerts in Louisville, etc.

I've heard a number of cuts from this odd couple on the radio and felt it was elevator music at best. Early Robert Plant solo work was very strong IMO. The Pictures at Eleven EP is absolutely jaw dropping on vinyl. Although I like Bluegrass I've never been an AK fan - too overproduced for me.

Things change - I caught these two with the band that recorded the album on Soundstage recently and their performance was extremely intimate. The level of their musicianship is truly exceptional. If you’re not too jazzed by the album catch the performance as it will impart an entirely new perspective. If you do like the album the live concert will be something very special indeed.

This is all over the tv now in that new JCPenney commercial.

I really enjoy this music - fun and moody IMO

It reminds me of Howie Gelb's Giant Sand. Howie is also in Lambchop for those who seek something similar these are both worth a listen (though without Robert or Allison)

I thought this was a really boring record. Not because Plant isn't Plant or Krauss isn't Krauss (and I like both otherwise) - it's just boring and dull music, completely uninspired.

I've really tried to like it, especially as there are many people who hold it in such high regard. But honestly, I don't get it!

I agree with Osgorth's sentiments. I was excited to finally get this LP but once I listened to it 5 times I am still wondering what all the hype was. It is so boring.

I like the record with it's laid back nature and recently saw them at Jazzfest in New Orleans - this stuff sounded great live as well as a few juicy zep tunes Black Country Woman, a slowed down plodding Black Dog, Battle for Evermore (excellent) and When the Levee Breaks. They also did some nice Union Station stuff

The recording quality on this CD is so screwed up. The music is pretty good though and I like it. Hope they remaster it correct at some point - in hi-rez PCM or DSD.

Now over 10 years old, how does this multi-grammy record stand up in your system? I found that as I improved my system over this time the record has blossomed. Originally I felt it somewhat dark and plodding, but now have a way different opinion - this is a beautiful record (ok there are a couple losers) that jump started the Americana movement with well selected country blues tunes Alison and Robert are perfect for (not to mention their jam on Fortune Teller). The record needs very good amplification and a touch less volume that lets the bass lines resonate vs. overwhelm if that makes any sense. Agree a hi-rez version would be great. I also still watch their CMT Crossroads TV session once in a while - what a great band they had if you've seen it. Love  "Please read the letter" -  knew it was special the first time I heard it. Didn't even know who it was at first!

i was never blown away by the sonics, though i'm usually a big fan of tbone's productions, but i think the performances are great and that it's easily the best post-zep thing plant has done. the gene clark covers are absolutely killer.

So on reading updates to thread I threw this on because I upgraded my optical cable with generally very good results and wanted to test it with this recording that I had recently been considering as a possible reference disk. Wow! So much (too much) bass!! Was expecting to hear what @mcondo mentions and I had experienced since my system is way better than it was in 2008.  But my current system has substantial bass capabilities, and apparently so does this new cable.

I had just been listening to redbook of Muddy Waters “Folk Singer” which was sounding FANTASTIC, depth, detail, timing, quiet silences. The contrast with “Raising Sand” bass dominance was not subtle. Unfortunate, because all other elements of the recording are excellent. May have to try it on vinyl now.

Just to test another Burnett recording that I think has balanced and spooky good production I tried Bruce Cockburn’s “Nothing but a burning Light”, and it sounded terrific, no bass bloat.

@knownothing I have both those CDs and noticed the exact same thing. The performance of Kraus/Plant are really good but the mastering is less than desirable.