by Nick Nash

Created on: November 04, 2009

On paper, the pairing of Zepplin frontman Robert Plant and folk country singer Alison Krauss appears to be an odd one akin to Kylie and Nick Cave (well, actually, no pairing will ever be that odd). Released at the tail end of 2007 this album was greeted with justified critical acclaim and 6 Grammies for it's troubles including album of the year, contemporary American/ Folk album of the year and record of the year for the song 'Please Read The Letter'. This is testament to what in my opinion is a definitive contemporary folk/ country record and for anyone looking for an entry point into the genre, the best place to start.

What makes this work is that the unlikely pairing actually works very well together. This is all very laid-back stuff. Anyone hoping for a Plant rock out will be sorely disappointed as his performance here is incredibly subdued and this is to the benefit of the record as a whole. Both vocalists posses a sweet and magical charm and work harmonically very well together alternating who takes backing vocal duties.

Credit must go to producer T Bone Burnett for bringing this together so wonderfully. It is little surprise that it works the way it does given his glorious success with Krauss amongst others at the helm of the soundtrack to the film 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou'. This is in the same vein but with a rawer touch in terms of the musical arrangements. At times this can be low down swamp pop, at others a more melodic excerpt from a Tom Waits set. Burnett has handpicked some of the finest musicians in the genre too with the always phenomenal Marc Ribot adding great guitar work alongside Burnett himself, and Krauss's lush fiddle magnificent throughout although sadly underused.

The song selection here is key too. This, like the great work of Rick Rubin with Johnny Cash, is diverse taking it's sources from the fore mentioned Waits (a hypnotic version of Trampled Rose to compete with the original), a rambunctious 'Rich Woman' (as close to rock as we get here) and the sublime reading of Salley's 'Killing The Blues'. The latter doesn't reach the heights of John Prine's version, which in my opinion is the definitive, but takes a more relaxed, loping and wistful approach.

This is essentially a bluegrass and country album, but don't be put off if you don't like either genre. There is enough here for all: romantics, dreamers, losers, brawlers, weepers and brooders alike.

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