Robert Plant and Alison Krauss on surprise reunion, new album: 'It felt like we never left'
From the beginning, the pairing of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss was marked by a sense of pure surprise.
In 2007, no one expected the frontman of Led Zeppelin to join forces with an American bluegrass master for an unprecedented collaborative album, “Raising Sand.” Neither artist knew what they were in for when they entered the studio with producer T Bone Burnett and a team of top Nashville musicians to cover a broad range of blues, folk and country songs. And it was certainly a pleasant surprise for them when the album earned critical raves across the board, won the Grammy for album of the year and led to a massive tour of arenas and festivals.
So it’s only appropriate that Plant and Krauss would finally make a second album when – once again – no one saw it coming.
After 14 years, the duo has returned with “Raise The Roof,” out now. It was recorded just before the pandemic hit, again at Nashville’s Sound Emporium studio with Burnett at the helm. Krauss says things “fell right into place” with a rekindled sense of discovery.
“It felt like we never left.”
But at one point, they definitely did.
The duo first tried to record a follow-up in 2009, immediately after finishing their last tour. In part, the intent was to strike while the two were still on the same continent.
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Those sessions were abandoned, and when Plant returned the next year with another Nashville-rooted project, Band of Joy, he indicated that those sessions with Krauss were unsuccessful. Over the past decade, many fans assumed that ship had sailed for good – while continuing to wonder exactly what went wrong.
“I think people try to look for some kind of falling out, and there wasn’t,” Krauss says. “I have to say fatigue would be (the reason). You come off of all that playing, and I think we had all been on the road, at that point, for two years. We went right back in the studio without a break, and everybody was worn out.”
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Plant agrees: “We were probably exhausted, to be honest. Artistically and expressively.”
Talking to both musicians, it’s clear how much that initial spark of excitement and exploration – a “gut feeling,” in Krauss’ words – propelled them during their first collaboration. It wasn’t something they wanted to force or fake on their sophomore effort.
“We surprised ourselves and each other quite a lot when we were working together, with what we could achieve coming from such different angles,” Plant says. “And it's always been a very charming and pleasant sort of friendship, albeit from afar, quite often.”
Over the next decade, they stayed connected through songs. Plant and Krauss say they continued to send each other tracks they thought would be fitting to cover together sometime down the road. But the ball truly got rolling again once they found themselves on the same festival bill a few years ago.
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“I think it was just inspiring to hear each other again in person, and a reminder how much fun we had making that other record,” Krauss says.
Still, it sounds as if both parties approached the reunion with a bit of trepidation – which may have worked in their favor.
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“When we both found this window of opportunity, we tiptoed towards it, crept up towards it, delicately pushed to see if there was a pulse and a heartbeat," Plant says. "And after a couple of days – in fact even less than that – we knew we were moving. We knew we’d got it.”
It shouldn’t take listeners long to realize Plant and Krauss are firmly back on track, either. The album opens with “Quattro,” a cinematic selection first recorded by indie rockers Calexico in 2003. By the duo’s account, it was the perfect left-field choice to push them back into the studio with a sense of purpose.
As on “Raising Sand,” they tackled songs by The Everly Brothers (“The Price Of Love”) and Allen Toussaint (“Trouble With My Lover.”) But on the whole, the selections on “Raise The Roof” are bolder and broader, including selections from artists on Plant’s side of the pond: Scottish folk musician Bert Jansch and British folk revivalist Anne Briggs.
The latter’s song, “Go Your Way,” is rightly pointed to Krauss as a highlight, as she and Plant’s respective influences blend as naturally as their harmonies – which don’t sound as if they’ve aged a day, let alone a decade. Spontaneity is key, and it has been a process for Krauss – a masterful, decorated musician – to agree with her collaborators that sometimes the “rough” take is the keeper.
“Your schooling comes from family harmony, so you're very exact with the process of matching things up. And T Bone goes: 'I like your track vocals here. I want to just keep those.' And I'm like, 'Uh, I'd really like to sing that another 39,000 times.’"
They’ve also had to learn patience: “Raise the Roof” arrives nearly two years after they finished recording the principal tracks in Nashville. Plant believes that may be the longest he has had to wait between finishing a project and presenting it to the public. Next year, they’ll bring it to the stage, as they’re set to announce their 2022 tour later today.
“All I have done is scrutinize it,” Plant says. “Sitting in the middle of a room with some big speakers and listening to it with great intent. So I can't wait to actually make it work out there on the boards.”
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: "Raise The Roof": Robert Plant, Alison Krauss reunite for new album