Raising Sand

Raising Sand
Studio album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Released October 23, 2007 (2007-10-23)
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 Americana, folk rock, country, country rock
Length 57:13
Language English
Label Rounder, Zoë
Producer T Bone Burnett
Robert Plant chronology
Nine Lives
(2006)		 Raising Sand
(2007)		 Band of Joy (2010)
Alison Krauss chronology
Lonely Runs Both Ways
(2004)		 Raising Sand
(2007)		 Essential Alison Krauss
(2009)
Singles from Raising Sand
  1. "Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)"
    Released: 2007
  2. "Please Read the Letter"
    Released: 2008
  3. "Rich Woman"
    Released: 2008

Raising Sand is a Grammy-award winning collaboration album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Rounder Records. Raising Sand won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Honors & Awards and at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Background

The two songs written 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. In fact the Gene Clark & Carla Olson album "So Rebellious A Lover" was the blueprint for "Raising Sand." "Rich Woman" was first recorded by McKinley Millet (as L'il Millet) and his Creoles in 1955, for Specialty Records. "Please Read the Letter" was first recorded for the Page and Plant album, Walking into Clarksdale, in 1998. "Gone, Gone, Gone" was originally written and recorded by the Everly Brothers for Warner Music in 1964. They also recorded "Stick With me Baby" in 1960, for A Date with The Everly Brothers. "Trampled Rose" was originally written and recorded by Tom Waits, and was featured on Real Gone in 2004.

Apart from the influence of Plant and Krauss' vocal styles and talent, the album's producer, T Bone Burnett, is credited with giving the album its skeletal musical style.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Blender [2]
Now [3]
The Observer [4]
Paste Magazine [5]
Rolling Stone [3]
Uncut [3]

The album was met with critical acclaim, earning an averaged score of 87 from compiled reviews on Metacritic.[6] This album was #24 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.[7] "The Top 50 Albums of 2007". Raising Sand received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Being There called it "one of the year’s very best",[8] and Allmusic 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".[1] 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]

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 also 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]

Critics 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.[10][15]

"Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" was released as a single and won the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 50th Grammy Awards and was nominated for the Americana Award for "Song of the Year". The song "Killing the Blues" was #51 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[16]

On February 8, 2009, the album won all five awards for which it was nominated at the 51st Grammy Awards: Album of the Year; Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album; Record of the Year (for "Please Read the Letter"); Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (for "Rich Woman"); and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals (for "Killing the Blues").[17][18] Raising Sand was the second of three country albums to win Album of the Year, after Dixie Chicks's Taking the Long Way and followed by Taylor Swift's Fearless.

The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the UK.

In December 2009, Rhapsody ranked the album #2 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[19] The online music service also called it one of their favorite cover albums of all time.[20]

Chart performance

The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling about 112,000 copies in its first week, the highest chart position for either artists' solo work, although Plant had previously reached #1 several times with Led Zeppelin.[21] Raising Sand was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2008.[22][23] After the album's success at the 2009 Grammy Awards, the album topped the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart and Top Internet Albums chart for the first time on the week of February 28, 2009. The album also hit the top of Canadian Top Country Albums, and also peaked at #2 in Billboard Top Country Albums, being stuck behind part of 35 weeks non-consecutive chart topping Fearless by country singer Taylor Swift. Selling 77,000 copies on a 715% increase, Raising Sand jumped 69-2 on the Billboard 200.[24]

The album entered the Top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, going on to reach #2 in January 2008.

Follow-up album

According to Ken Irwin of Rounder Records, and producer Burnett, the duo started work on a second album in 2009.[25] In a 2010 interview, Plant indicated that the follow-up sessions were unsuccessful.[26]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
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)"  The Everly Brothers 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"  Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits 5:34
9. "Fortune Teller"  Allen Toussaint 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"  Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson 3:55

Personnel
"Please Read The Letter"
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' "Please Read The Letter" from Raising Sand
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Additional musicians
Production

Charts

Chart (2007–08) Peak
position
scope="row" Australian Albums (ARIA)[27] 45
scope="row" Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28] 31
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[29] 2
scope="row" Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30] 12
scope="row" Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[31] 22
scope="row" Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[32] 26
scope="row" French Albums (SNEP)[33] 49
scope="row" Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] 23
scope="row" New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] 3
scope="row" Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 1
scope="row" Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[37] 74
scope="row" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 2
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[39] 2
scope="row" US Billboard 200[40] 2
Certifications
Country Provider Certification
United States RIAA Platinum[22]
United Kingdom BPI Platinum[41]
Sweden IFPI Platinum[42]

References

  1. 1 2 Jurek, Thom. "Raising Sand' > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Raising Sand > Review". Blender. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Perlich, Tim. "Raising Sand > Review". Now.
  4. ↑ Spencer, Neil Spencer (October 2007). "Raising Sand > Review". The Observer.
  5. ↑ Whitman, Andy. "Raising Sand > Review". Paste Magazine (37). Archived from the original on December 28, 2007.
  6. ↑ Robert Plant And Alison Krauss: Raising Sand (2007): Reviews, Metacritic
  7. ↑ "The Top 50 Albums of 2007". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
  8. ↑ Miller, Adam D. "Raising Sand - Robert Plant/Alison Krauss". Being There. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  9. ↑ Cook, Dennis. "Robert Plant | Alison Krauss: Raising Sand". JamBase. November 12, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 Cavalieri, 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. 1 2 3 "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand". BBC. October 29, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008. Archived May 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ "Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - Raising Sand". Music Box. October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  14. 1 2 "Raising Sand". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2008. Archived March 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. 1 2 "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raing Sand (sic)". Blender Magazine. October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
  16. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007. Archived December 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081205000233/http://content.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2009. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ MTV News Staff (2009-02-08). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  19. ↑ "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010. Archived January 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ Rhapsody’s Favorite Covers Albums Referenced August 1, 2010 Archived July 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ Hasty, Katie. "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart", Billboard. October 31, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  22. 1 2 "RIAA Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Alison Krauss/Robert Plant go platinum". Country Standard Time. March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  24. ↑ Hasty, Katie. "Swift Back To No. 1 As Plant/Krauss, Coldplay Soar", Billboard. February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  25. ↑ Daniel Kreps (2009-02-13). "Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Working On "Raising Sand" Follow-Up". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  26. ↑ Mansfield, Brian (September 14, 2010). "Robert Plant loves to dig in America's rich musical soil". USA Today.
  27. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand" (in German). Hung Medien.
  29. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand" (in French). Hung Medien.
  30. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  31. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  32. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  33. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  35. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  37. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  38. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand". Hung Medien.
  39. ↑ "Robert Plant & Alison Krauss | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  40. ↑ "Robert Plant – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Robert Plant.
  41. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/5wxD8HhA9. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2011. Missing or empty |title= (help). BPI. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  42. ↑ IFPI Sweden Retrieved February 11, 2010. Archived February 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
River: The Joni Letters		 Grammy Award for Album of the Year
2009 		Succeeded by
Fearless
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