Robert Plant 15: Raise The Roof

Following the astounding success of their first collaboration, one would expect Robert Plant and Alison Krauss to continue to mine that field. Allegedly, a few sessions in the wake of their Grammy awards yielded nothing, so they left it alone for dozen years or so before trying again. Suddenly, Raise The Roof appeared, with T Bone Burnett back in the producer’s chair and most of the same players in the studio as last time. Yet, whereas Raising Sand had a quality that made it sound like it came from another planet, this one seems a little more conventional. The singers still have a lovely blend, but there aren’t as many harmonies as before.

It starts well; “Quattro” is a suitably spooky tune by the desert noir band Calexico, and it suits them. Another Everlys song gets attention, but this time “The Price Of Love” is slowed down and mournful. The wonderful “Go Your Way” comes from obscure British folkie Anne Briggs, who indirectly inspired a song Jimmy Page stole for the first Zeppelin album, so a debt is slightly paid. Allen Toussaint’s “Trouble With My Lover” is taken very quietly by Alison, while “Searching For My Love” is handled by Robert in near-full voice. “Can’t Let Go” repeats the “Gone, Gone, Gone” formula from the first album, and it’s still a winner.

“It Don’t Bother Me” grows from a seed to something very powerful; this one was written by Scottish folk legend Bert Jansch (who wrote the aforementioned arrangement stolen by Jimmy Page, further sharing the wealth). “You Led Me To The Wrong” is an Appalachian plaint featuring not Alison on fiddle, and “Last Kind Words Blues” would evoke the same mountain. “High And Lonesome” was written by Robert and T-Bone, and sounds more like the last few Plant albums. It’s a little ordinary, but far surpassed by Alison singing “Going Where The Lonely Go”. We won’t be the first to tell you the album should have ended there, but instead they tack on “Somebody Was Watching Over Me”, which is grating, frankly. (Target customers got two extra tracks, a sweet cover of Hank Williams’ “My Heart Would Know” and the funkier “You Can’t Rule Me” by Lucinda Williams—no relation).

We’re sure this will grow on us with time, but we were silly to expect Raise The Roof to contain the exact same magic. Still, recommended.

Robert Plant | Alison Krauss Raise The Roof (2021)—3½