Raising Sand

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Raising Sand
Raising Sand cover
Studio album by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Released October 23, 2007
Recorded Sound Emporium, Nashville, Tennessee, United States; Electro Magnetic Studios, Los Angeles, California, United States; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, California, United States; Sage & Sound, Hollywood, California, United States
Genre Folk rock, Country
Length 57:13
Label Rounder Records
Producer T-Bone Burnett
Professional reviews
Robert Plant chronology
Nine Lives
(2006)		 Raising Sand
(2007)
Alison Krauss chronology
A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection
(2007)		 Raising Sand
(2007)

Raising Sand is a collaboration album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Released on October 23, 2007, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 112,000 copies in its first week, the highest chart position for either artists' solo work (Plant however had previously reached #1 several times with Led Zeppelin).[1] The album entered the Top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, going on to reach #2 in January 2008.

The album has garnered widespread critical acclaim in the short time since its release, earning an averaged score of 87 on Metacritic.[2] Apart from the obvious influence of Plant and Krauss' vocal styles and talent, the album's producer, T Bone Burnett is credited with giving the album its skeletal, and somewhat haunting, musical style. This album was #24 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[3]

The two songs by Gene Clark ("Polly (Come Home)" and "Through the Morning, Through the Night") were originally recorded by Dillard & Clark for their 1969 album, Through the Morning Through the Night.

"Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" was released as a single and won the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards. The song "Killing the Blues" was #51 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[4] Raising Sand was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2008.[5][6]

Contents

[edit] Critical reception

Raising Sand received extremely positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Being There called it "one of the year’s very best",[7] and All Music Guide called it "one of the most effortless-sounding pairings in modern popular music", but stated that some of the songs "(felt) like (they were) tossed off".[8] JamBase called the album "subtle, focused and full of life" and said that it was "highly recommended".[9] Village Voice commented on the album, saying it was "powerfully evocative" and "utterly foreign, oddly familiar, and deeply gratifying".[10] Rolling Stone magazine included the album in its list of the top fifty albums of 2007.[3]

The album was generally praised for its choice of songs and instrumental quality. The compilation of songs on Raising Sand were hand-picked by the producer, T-Bone Burnett. Entertainment Weekly described the cover songs that make up the album as "eclectic",[11] and Village Voice said that "T-Bone Burnett flaunts his typical curatorial genius with a whole set of 'have we met before?' tunes".[10] The instrumental quality of the album was heavily praised; BBC described Krauss's fiddle as "coruscating" and "raw",[12] and Music Box said that Krauss "exceeds all expectations".[13] The guest instrumentalists were also praised, with BBC saying that the guests "make this a stunning, dark, brooding collection, comparable in tone to Daniel Lanois' masterful job on Dylan's Time Out Of Mind."[12]

Many reviewers focused on the album's vocal quality. Critics primarily praised Krauss and Plant's vocal harmonization, with one critic saying that the "key to the magic is the delicious harmony vocals of the unlikely duo."[14] Various music critics described Alison Krauss's vocals as being "spellbinding", "honey-sweet", "weepy", "saccharine", and "haunting".[12][14][15] On the other hand, Robert Plant's sometimes "wailing" vocals were described as "orgasmic", and "slithering", in regard to his lead roles.[15][10]

[edit] Track listing

  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)" (Phil Everly, Don 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" (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan) – 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" (Arthur Lane Watson, Rosalie Watson) – 3:55

[edit] Chart performance

Chart Peak
position		 Certification
Billboard 200 (U.S.)[16] 2 Platinum[5]
Billboard Top Country Albums (U.S.)[16] 2
Swedish Albums Chart 2 Platinum

[edit] Personnel

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hasty, Katie. "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart", Billboard. October 31, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  2. ^ Robert Plant And Alison Krauss: Raising Sand (2007): Reviews
  3. ^ a b "The Top 50 Albums of 2007". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  4. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
  5. ^ a b "RIAA Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  6. ^ "Alison Krauss/Robert Plant go platinum". Country Standard Time. March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  7. ^ Miller, Adam D. "Raising Sand - Robert Plant/Alison Krauss". Being There. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  8. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Raising Sand - Robert Plant/Alison Krauss". All Music Guide. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  9. ^ Cook, Dennis. "Robert Plant | Alison Krauss: Raising Sand". JamBase. November 12, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  10. ^ a b c Cavaleiri, Nate. "Robert Plant & Alison Krauss's Raising Sand: A whole lotta desolate, evocative, engrossing love". Village Voice. October 16, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  11. ^ "Raising Sand (2007) Alison Krauss, Robert Plant". Entertainment Weekly. October 26, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  12. ^ a b c "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand". BBC. October 29, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  13. ^ "Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - Raising Sand". Music Box. October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  14. ^ a b "Raising Sand". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raing Sand (sic)". Blender Magazine. October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Robert Plant Artist Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2008.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
Robert Plant · Liam "Skin" Tyson · Billy Fuller · Justin Adams · John Baggott · Clive Deamer
Charlie Jones · Porl Thompson · Michael Lee
Studio albums and EPs
Live albums
Compilations and box sets
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Related articles
v • d • e
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Alison Krauss · Barry Bales · Ron Block · Jerry Douglas · Dan Tyminski
Albums
Too Late to Cry · Two Highways · I've Got That Old Feeling · Everytime You Say Goodbye · I Know Who Holds Tomorrow · Now That I've Found You: A Collection · So Long So Wrong · Forget About It · New Favorite · Live · Lonely Runs Both Ways · A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection · Raising Sand
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