Customer Reviews

Band of Joy

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

OK, I'll get this out up front: I think this is Robert Plant's single best offering. Ever. There, I said it - and I can feel the psychic outpourings from a gazillion Zep fans already.

Of course Plant produced wondrous things in 'that other band'. I'm sure I could select any number of permutations of single Zeppelin, or even post-Zeppelin, tracks and put them together in a compilation that I rate higher than I do this. But, no previous, non-compilation, offering satisfies me in quite the way Band of Joy does. Perhaps that simply reflects the 30 plus years I've put on post the untimely demise of what to me was the unparalleled rock band. As one other reviewer has said: there was Zeppelin and then there was everyone else.

So what makes Band of Joy so pleasurable for me? It's a long list. For starters and in no particular order:

Track selection: I like the way Plant has delved into the archives and brought to us a selection of tunes that range from foot-stomping to dark and brooding. I can't fault it. He's introduced me to stuff I would not otherwise have heard and that means that I will probably go back to the source for some of it to hear how they have been reinterpreted. So, he's honouring us as listeners and those who have laid the way before him.

Plant's voice: Of course his has always been one of the great distinctive rock voices. At 62 though we can't expect the wail of the Immigrant Song. On this album his voice ranges from playful to introspective and at all times he sounds completely in control of it. He does give us the occasional peek back to signature notes from his career but this is a wonderfully assured mature voice. He seems an artist who has absolutely nothing left to prove and is revelling in the artistic freedom that gives him.

Musicianship: With the exception of Buddy Miller, I was not aware of any of the other instrumentalists on this album. Of course, RP has worked with the best in his time. These guys all live up to the standards one would expect. Plant's own comments sum them up: "The musicianship of these guys is almost frightening, singing with them, I'm just sliding down the rigging with a knife in my teeth, trying to make off with a few experiences. Sometimes I think I should just be helping out in catering."

Patty Griffin: long one of my favourite singer-songwriters Griffin brings an other worldliness to Band of Joy. Make no mistake, this is not an album of duets. Rather she adds a depth, complexity and richness to the sound that is almost instrumental. Having heard it I struggle to imagine the album without it.

I'm hard pressed to single out favourites from this album. There's certainly no tracks that on the umpteenth listening I'm hitting the skip track button on. If pushed I would pick 'Central Two-O-Nine'; 'Silver Rider'; 'Falling in Love Again'; 'The Only Sound That Matters'; 'Monkey'; and 'Harm's Swift Way' but that list might change tomorrow.

I'm fascinated to hear where Plant goes next. I could care less whether Zeppelin reunites - we have a wonderful archival history to draw from. In the liner notes to Band of Joy Plant gives gratitude to David Rawlings and Gillian Welch for kindness and hospitality. A collaboration with that couple would be fascinating.

"Band of Joy" is a beautiful, sprawling album of covers that seems obsessed with finding the spiritual origins in the original material. Oh, and the album is truly excellent. "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down," is whipped into a low burning fervor with mandolin and a melodic choir. Where I expected it to go, foot stomping and handclapping, Plant avoids it, turning the song into something bittersweet and almost hopeless.

Plant's versions of Low's "Silver Rider" and "Monkey" finds something that the original material doesn't have, Patti Griffin. Her vocals on these songs seem almost unhinged and otherworldly, the polar opposite to Krauss' ethereal vocals on "Raising Sand." Griffin gives both of these songs a raw grit that the originals didn't dig into. She slides in and out on some of these songs like a gentle breeze, barely noticeable. And on others, she's jostling Plant, giving him an expected run for his money ... I mean, it is Patty Griffin after all.

There are a few faster numbers here such as "Angel Dance," and they are well worth listening to. But the disc belongs to the more slower, contemplative songs. "The Only Sound That Matters" seems to sums up the album as a whole, there is an obsession with sound, from the harmony to melody, everything seems as if it were designed to be where it is, not an easy feat for an album full of covers. On "The Only Sound that Matters," Plant's voice is so alive and present that he transfers the lyrics into something spiritual, almost mystical.

Buddy Miller as co-producer should be given just as much credit as T-Bone Burnet (one listen to "Cindy I'll Marry You One Day," should make that evident). "Band of Joy" is not as pristine as "Raising Sand." It's grittier, messier, more joyous - and well worth the purchase.

With so many "legacy" performers clogging the AARP superhighway, I suspect that as of this writing, there are three clear pathways to mature rock success.

First, you can recreate the sounds, attitudes and poses that made your black light poster a must have forty years gone. This turn back the clock approach is generally considered the most effective and lucrative but, admit it, lives a little too close to the intersection of boring and pathetic.

Second, you can take your crows feet for a spin in the Great American Songbook and hope that the aging crones in the front row never notice that the equipment you were packing in the time of Nixon is now more memory than Mastodon.

Or, finally, you can challenge yourself to discover new sounds and push new boundaries - letting the music transport your audience and heavy metal roots far beyond the sturm and drung of the critics and naysayers - showing some genuine mettle instead.

Robert Plant doesn't need me to tell him how glad I am that he selected door number three. His new record, Band of Joy, is a charming and austere roots music walkabout that continues his fascination with acoustic blues that has never waned since his arrival on the Hindenburg in 1969. His voice is well, his voice, unmistakable as it is powerful. The songs - pulled from a portfolio of lesser known rock and blues chestnuts allow Plant to wander a little over the top at times but in most cases joyously explore their power in between the lines with the subtlety of an artist rather than the clanking swagger of an icon that has overstayed his welcome.

Band of Joy is a sterling, first-rate effort that should not be missed.

Give Robert Plant this: while many of his contemporaries have chosen to keep their careers alive by constantly revisiting their back catalog and releasing uninspired new work, he has opted to take the journey into rhythms and sounds from around the world and incorporating it into rock and other genres. It meant a sort of uneven first leg of his solo career, but one that you could respect for trying to evolve beyond the Led Zeppelin days. But beginning with the "Mighty Rearranger" disc - and perhaps even before that with "Dreamland" - Mr. Plant has hit upon a very consistently appealing run of great music.

"Band of Joy" is the latest in this run. Perhaps it was an alternative after the attempts to create a sequel to "Raising Sand" with Alison Krauss was put on hold, or maybe not. What we know for sure is that Mr. Plant has really tapped the vein of American roots music and fully embraced it, so "Band of Joy" is the natural progression of that interest. Here, he pairs with producer Buddy Miller - who was a bandmate on the "Raising Sand" tour - but the production is very much in the school of T. Bone Burnett, where tone and purity of the musical sounds provide a rich, almost haunting, quality. Mr. Plant and Mr. Miller gather a host of songs throughout the Americana landscape that run the gamut of country, blues, spiritual, and rock. Also included is an original Plant composition, "Central Two-O-Nine", that sounds as though it could easily have been retrieved from the long-forgotten Depression-era blues/roots archives.

Mr. Plant's voice has aged well with time, and he has learned over the years to modulate it well, providing a wider range of emotion and storytelling throughout the songs. He is still quite capable of unleashing his primal roar from the Led Zeppelin days (as evidenced for those fortunate to see the "Raising Sand" tour). But on "Band of Joy", he restrains it for the most part. That is not a liability, as his vocals instead run the gamut to evoke pain, haunting torture, playfulness, joy, bluesy soul, and even a hint of classic "high lonesome" sprinkled in. What he ultimately proves here is that he is almost a more dynamic vocalist in his 60's than he may have been in his rock god heyday.

"Angel Dance" - a cover of a Los Lobos song - leads off the disc and was also the first single. It is a catchy, enjoyable interpretation. The aforementioned "Central Two-O-Nine" is also a standout, as is the traditional song "Cindy I'll Marry You Someday", and the haunting "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down". The last track - "Even This Shall Pass Away" - almost sounds like a leftover from the "Mighty Rearranger" sessions, but still fits in with the canvas of songs on this disc.

Since it's release a few weeks ago, "Band of Joy" has been a near-permanent fixture in my CD player and in my MP3 player. I feel like I continue to hear new things with each successive listen, and so that alone makes it a truly enjoyable disc. I think that this may very well be one of the best new discs I have heard this year, and deepens my respect for Robert Plant and the musical journey he has shared with us.

Robert Plant has never been a man to rest on past laurels. He certainly doesn't need to produce new output for commercial reasons, as he could have retired for life before age 30 on the proceeds of his 12 enormously successful years as front-man for Led Zeppelin and co-songwriter (with Jimmy Page) of most of that band's most memorable numbers. However Plant has never been in the business just for the money: he has a love of performing, of recording, and of the musical material.

"Band of Joy" was the name of the Birmingham-based, pre-Zeppelin band to which Plant and (the late) John Bonham belonged prior to them joining Page & Jones to form Led Zep in 1968. This album is however no nostalgic 1960s retrospective, though it does update and re-interpret many older American folk songs from earlier decades, a genre for which Plant holds a life-long interest and passion.

This inevitably leads to the collection of songs on "Band of Joy" to be compared with the Grammy-winning Alison Kraus collaboration "Raising Sand" and although there are some similarities, this album is different. Some of the numbers do really stand out: a superb re-working of Richard Thompson's "House of Cards," Crume & Kelly's "Falling in Love Again" with its very early 1950s jukebox feel, and "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down" linger in the memory. Only time will tell if any of these recordings slowly emerge as minor classics. What is obvious after a few listenings, however, is how this collection of songs hangs together as a whole. Despite the age of some of the original material, it sounds simultaneously contemporary but with a period feel (Dylan's "Modern Times" or even the 1990 "Notting Hillbillies" comes to mind).

Plant's much-matured voice is pleasing on the ear and the range and passion evident for a man in his 60s continues to impress. The ensemble playing from mainly Nashville-based musicians is near-perfect: professional, crisp, faultless, at times magical, and the supporting vocals of Patty Griffin fit the material particularly well. The CD is nicely presented with its red-and-grey theme colours and all lyrics to the songs helpfully printed in full (but of course you won't get this with a download). Give it a listen.

In typical fashion I went back to the beginning, Led Zeppelin's 1969 debut, and listened to every album in sequential order leading up to "Band Of Joy". I did this to put "Band Of Joy" in perspective, and to also hear how Plant has changed over the years.

"Band Of Joy" is a close cousin to 2007's "Raising Sand" in approach, production and overall sound. It is not a major departure from "Raising Sand" and it is not quite as good as that album. Plant draws inspiration here from many different sources, but mainly keeps with country/folk, blues and some alternative rock. There appears to be only one original track written by Plant and co-producer Buddy Miller, and that is "Central Two-O-Nine", which I'd swear is not an original song, and reminds me somewhat of Johnny Cash's "Like The 309" from his 2006 album "American V: A Hundred Highways".

"Band Of Joy" opens in unusual style with a cover of Los Lobos' "Angel Dance" from their 1990 album "The Neighborhood". Good, not great. It grew on me with repeated listens. Richard and Linda Thompson's "House Of Cards" from their 1978 album "First Light" is also good, but nothing fantastic. "Central Two-O-Nine" is catchy, but not completely memorable. It is alternative rock band Low's "Silver Rider" from their 2005 album "The Great Destroyer" that finally finds Plant in his element--melancholic, meditative and melodically memorable all in one. Billy and Bobby Bobineaux's "You Can't Buy Me Love" as originally performed by Barbara Lynn Ozen, a female African American guitarist, in 1965, is one of the most obscure tracks here, and it's just okay. Equally obscure is gospel singer Dillard Crume's "Falling In Love Again" which I could not locate at all. Good, not great.

The second half of "Band Of Joy" opens with the excellent "The Only Sound That Matters" written by Milton Mapes, from his 2003 album "Westernaire". Again, Plant in his element here with a lilting, longing song of yearning for something more. Low's "Monkey", also from "The Great Destroyer" is just as moving as "Silver Rider", and another song that highlights Plant's strengths as an interpreter. The traditional song "Cindy I'll Marry You Someday" is a paint-by-numbers folk tune that barely registers. Townes Van Zandt's apparently unpublished poem "Harm's Swift Way" is another strong track, with Plant turning in another fine performance. The other traditional track, "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" is okay. Poet Theodore Tilton's "Even This Shall Pass Away" is a great track to end "Band Of Joy"

So, six out of twelve tracks are great, and the other six are just fine. There's nothing offensive here, and there are a few tracks that strike a chord, but overall the album is just pleasant, just like "Raising Sand". I respect Robert Plant for not re-hashing Led Zeppelin every album, and for being adventurous musically throughout the course of his career, and for not pandering to a younger crowd just to get sales. It's just that "Band Of Joy" isn't very adventurous musically, but what it does have is a quality of intimacy and maturity with some bleak subject matter.

Here is how "Band Of Joy" compares to Plant's previous works:

1969 Led Zeppelin: Three and a Half Stars
1969 Led Zeppelin II: Five Stars
1970 Led Zeppelin III: Three and a Half Stars
1971 Led Zeppelin IV: Five Stars
1973 Houses Of The Holy: Five Stars
1975 Physical Graffiti: Five Stars
1976 Presence: Four Stars
1979 In Through The Out Door: Five Stars

1982 Pictures At Eleven: Four Stars
1983 Principle Of Moments: Three and a Half Stars
1984 The Honeydrippers: Three and a Half Stars
1985 Shaken 'N Stirred: Four Stars
1988 Now And Zen: Five Stars
1990 Manic Nirvana: Four Stars
1993 Fate Of Nations: Five Stars
1998 Walking Into Clarksdale: Three Stars
2002 Dreamland: Three and a Half Stars
2005 Mighty Rearranger: Four Stars
2007 Raising Sand: Three and a Half Stars
2010 Band Of Joy: Three and a Half Stars

Before Robert Plant had even met Jimmy Page and formed Led Zeppelin, Plant was in a group named Band of Joy. By titling his newest solo release after his former band, Plant hints at a return to his roots; bringing his fans back to where he got his start and pulling from his earliest of influences.

With the exception of needing to drop the keys down a few half steps, Robert Plant sounds exactly the same as he did during the golden years of Led Zeppelin.

Picking up where he left off with Alison Krauss and Raising Sand, Band of Joy opens with Los Lobos' "Angel Dance," transformed into an Americana folk melody. The following track, Richard Thompson's "House of Cards," slows the tempo and introduces Patty Griffin's harmonization while maintaining enough similarities in style to blend perfectly with the surrounding songs on the album.

Band of Joy may be a collection of covers with only one exception, but every song feels uniquely Plant's.

Produced alongside Buddy Miller, slow ballads like "Silver Rider" cleverly find common ground with the upbeat rock style of "You Can't Buy My Love." While Plant's work with Alison Krauss broke new ground, Band of Joy re-tills classic tracks, turning his roots into a beautiful new garden.

Similar Artists: Joni Mitchell, Neil Young

Track Suggestion: "Angel Dance"

It would be pretty easy to want every new Robert Plant album to sound like Zeppelin. Then all the Zep fans would always be happy. I would be easy to want every new Plant album to sound like his early blues. Then all the blues fans would be happy. It would be great if Plant would do just what metalheads want. Then metalheads would be crazy happy. Look at the 2-star reviews for this album - a lot of disappointed fans. But at least they are fans.

I can't imagine how Robert Plant could have planned a better musical life than he has lived so far. Every new album I listen to I scratch my head and wonder what the heck he was thinking when he put that together. I play it again and think - "That's not right. I'm not sure I like that." I play it again, and again -- pretty soon its my favorite.

Robert Plant is like a firecracker. He goes off and you are alarmed! But once you get your bearings you think "That was fun!"

It took a few listens for this album to grow on me, especially since I've been in a Led Zeppelin revival phase of my life. But, now that I'm past my disappointment with the whole "this doesn't sound at all like Led Zeppelin" thing I am finding this CD quite enjoyable. It is not at all a rockin' album; rather, it is kind of rootsy country blues folk.

Robert Plant's voice alternates from velvety smooth, almost whispery, to occasionally nearly reaching the falsetto heights of old. However, honestly, sometimes it was hard to tell it was him because the Plantish qualities he is known for are not as evident. Perhaps he was wise not to push it to that level. The tunes themselves are interesting and varied.

The tracks sound a little "mono" to me (vs stereo) and so the music doesn't quite seem to resonate as deeply as I'd like. This gives it a vintage quality which I do find enjoyable. Perhaps this is a function of my sound system though.

I think it is unproductive to compare this CD to Led Zeppelin, but it is very difficult not to do so! But try, for the sake of an honest interpretation of the music. Definitely listen to the samples here before you buy. If you're looking for Robert Plant to wail like he did with Led Zeppelin, you might be disappointed with this set. However, if you like Robert Plant for himself, you'll probably like this CD.

Cheers!

I loved Raising Sand, so perhaps I'm being too hard on Band of Joy. This is a really good album and by any other artist it would be considered quite an accomplishment. It's consistently entertaining, the songs are all enjoyable, I can't say anything bad about it. (I wish I could have given it 4-1/2 stars.)

Unfortunately, I can't help but compare it with its predecessor, Raising Sand, which probably set the standard for Plant's work at a level he may not be able to achieve again.

I've been a fan of Plant since his days with Led Zeppelin. I enjoyed his solo work after Zep, the Honeydrippers, pretty much everything. His collaboration with Jimmy Page, Walking Into Clarksdale, left a lot to be desired, but overall, his work has been consistently good.

And then along comes Raising Sand -- which was released when everyone was talking about a Led Zeppelin reunion tour with Jason Bonham on drums. I think Raising Sand was an effort by Plant to purposefully deviate from his Zeppelin past -- and I think its phenomenal success essentially derailed (probably for the better) the Led Zeppelin reunion tour.

Rather than touring with the boys, Plant and Krauss did a great tour supporting Raising Sand, which is a CD that stays in your mind long after it's no longer playing. So, back to Band of Joy. This is really a very good CD. I wish I could give it 4-1/2 stars. But, because of the legacy of Raising Sand, Plant has left behind a classic by which his work in years to come will be compared.

I heartily recommend this CD, especially if you liked Raising Sand. It's different, so this isn't Raising Sand II. And it's courageous, as Plant ventured out into new territory when so many artists would have stuck with a tried and true formula. (Does anybody think a Led Zeppelin reunion tour would not have made millions and millions of dollars? Of course it would have, so I respect Plant's integrity as an artists for taking the road less traveled.)

Seriously, this is an excellent album. It's up there with Plant's best work. But it's Plant's K2 compared to Raising Sand's Mt. Everest...