Customer Reviews

Fate of Nations

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a mature, ecletic album that does not neglect the glorious past of Plant ("Calling to You" is a heavy rock-middle eastern opus not unlike "Kashmir" and "Promised Land" has Zepp all over the place)but the singer/composer here has the time, good material and great arrangements to display many sides of his considerable talent. Plant's voice definitely is not as phenomenal as ii was in the early Zepp-days, but in this album he sounds particularly warm and effective. My girlfriend, who does not know about Led Zeppelin, considered his voice "sexy" so I guess the old lemon-squeezer's charms were still effective in this album...
Many good moments in this album - the violin coda of "Calling to you" is quite thrilling, the terrific balads "Greatest Gift" and "Great Spirit", the pop perfection of "29 Palms" and "I Believe", the sensuos slow-burning "Come into my life"... It is a great album for a more mature audience.

I've always thought this disc is one of Robert Plant's best solo efforts (Dreamland and Mighty Rearranger are great too). It all came together on "Fate of Nations": Plant's voice, Eastern influences, guitar power chords, great hooks, wonderful melodies....

The remastered version is worth picking up, even if you have the earlier version of the CD. The biggest reason for me is the improved sound. Plant's voice gains clarity, great separation in the guitar parts, an added punch that was missing on the original release. In addition, there are some good bonus tracks, and amazon's price is great.

Highest of recommendations

Fate of Nations, Robert Plant's sixth studio album, was released in 1993. The songwriting is solid, the musicianship is skilled, and the sound quality is worthy. The material is in a pop rock musical direction. The 11 tracks have an earthy sound. In comparison with the guitar work, keyboards are used to a lesser extent. Plant does well with the vocals. He also performs a cover of the Tim Hardin tune "If I Were a Carpenter." Though I like all the songs, the ones I enjoy the most are "I Believe," "The Greatest Gift," and "Great Spirit." The skillfully tailored "I Believe," one of my favorite compositions from Plant, is pretty. The well-crafted piece "The Greatest Gift" displays an impressive beginning which consists of resonating guitar playing and a nice string arrangement. "Great Spirit" is melodious. "Calling to You"--the opening cut--is textured, exotic, and features attractive violin work. The pleasant "Come into My Life" exhibits smooth, charming female backing vocals. The CD booklet includes the song lyrics to only "Great Spirit" and the closing track "Network News." Information is given on who plays and what is played on the cuts. Environmental data with four corresponding color photos are included. There is a black-and-white photo of Plant. Two identical color illustrations, one on the backcover of the CD booklet and the other on the back of the CD jewel case, are displayed that look similar to the interesting album cover artwork. The disc is almost 59 minutes. Fate of Nations is a tight, cohesive album.

There would be very few Plant fans who would deny this is Robert's best solo record. I have them all, and the only one that gets nearly as much air time in my house is The Principle of Moments. On Fate Of Nations Robert tames his vocals. No more superfluous wailing of words like "c'mon" and "babeeeee" as he is prone to do. His singing is restrained and rich, unleashings of his patented wail restricted to where they fit seamlessly into the surrounding tapestry of sound. The music is strong, well written, and melodic (strip away all the trappings, leave Robert and an acoustic guitar, and they'd nearly all still stand up well). The production is rich and atmospheric without being too polished. My only criticism is that the momentum built up at the start seems to tail off towards the end. Perhaps a revised track order would have done the job. A challenge maybe to Plant fans with CD burners who agree with me. If you like Robert's other efforts, you'll love this one.

As the previous reviews have stated, this is Robert Plants best cd. He finally hits his stride with songs like "Calling To You", "Down To The Sea", "I Believe", "29 Palms", "If I Were A Carpenter", "Great Spirit", "Come Into My Life" and "The Greatest Gift." The music is edgy and concise, consistent and moody. Now, if he'd just resume where he left off. The 1998 Walking Into Clarksdale with Jimmy Page was a bit of a letdown. Fate of Nations is a must have for any rock collector.

Greatest of all Plant Solos. Though the 90s Page/Plant projects brought up some great moments in rock music, especially live, FATE OF NATIONS points the way to what could have been Robert Plants development into his very own style. Outstanding mixture of rock with folk elements, emotionally intense, passionate, with a variety of moods. Plant has integrated great musicians into this project, working together harmonically and creating a unique warm sound. Incredible percussion on DOWN TO THE SEA, listen to the outstanding folky COME INTO MY LIFE with Richard Thompson and Maire Brennan and the tragic I BELIEVE. 29 PALMS is the only chart ambitious song, don't miss the beautiful acoustic Tim Hardin piece IF I WERE A CARPENTER. THE GREATEST GIFT is probably one of Plants most wonderful ballads. The record ends with two powerful masterpieces, GREAT SPIRIT and NETWORK NEWS. This record is indeed a masterpiece.

I remember the first time I heard this album, when it came out back in 1993, I wasn't very immpressed by it. Perhaps, it was because I was listening to it on a cassette tape, on not the best of sound systems. Luckliy, through the urging of a friend, I gave it a second chance by borrowing his CD copy, and checking it out on my home system. Was I ever glad I did, as it turned out to be not only my favorite Robert Plant solo album - but one of my favorite albums, period! I went out and bought my own copy the next day.
Up until this point, I considered MANIC NIRVANA to be Plant's most consistent work, but on FATE OF NATIONS, he clearly rasied the bar. While still creating a fresh and current sound, this is also the closest in style to what Zeppelin brought to the musical table (driving rock, blues, acoustic & even some middle-eastern flavorings). Past Plant solo efforts tended to be hit or miss, and some sounded horribly of the times (SHAKEN N STIRRED is just waaaaay to 80's) - but this one has a timeless quailty.
While Plant hung on to some of the core members of his prior band for this release - guitarist Doug Boyle, bassist & son-in law Charlie Jones, and keyboardist Phil Johnstone - he would also bring in some inspired choices for the musicians/writing. Joining him on this outing were drummers Chris Hughes, Pete Thompson, and Michael Lee; guitarist Kevin Scott Machmichael (previoisly in Cutting Crew, who would play the majority of guitar here), Francis Dunnery (prior of It Bites) and Oliver J. Woods; and also Clannad vocalist Maire Brennan, and the band Star Club on some backing vocals ("Come into My Life" and "I Believe", respectively). The results produced by this band speak for themselves.
There's really not a bad song on this disc, and stand out tracks are "Calling To You", "I Believe", "29 Palms", "The Greatest Gift", "Come Into My Life" and "Memory Song (Hello Hello)". About the only song I ever skip over, is the cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter" - which is still quite good, nonetheless. And while others here have put down "Network News", I like it - although I will admit that it sounds like a MANIC NIRVANA leftover.
So, if you're looking to check out some Robert Plant solo stuff, I would start here, with FATE OF NATIONS. I'd then go with either MANIC NIRVANA or PRINCIPLE OF MOMENTS - but aviod SHAKEN N STIRRED, unless you're really into that whole '80s, very processed, heavy on the synths sound.

When I purchased this CD back in 1993 just a few months after Coverdale/Page I was so impressed with what Robert had produced. The vocals are perfect for his voice. The earthy lyrics of 'I Believe, Come into my Life & The Greatest Gift' are fantastic. Has Robert sung a better song than the latter with more sprit ever in no Zep albums? I doubt it. Unledded was a great suprise, but this CD is unbelievable. The music is so timeless. Yes, it may not be the Plant of 1975 in Physical Graffitti, but please, he was almost 45 years old when this come out. This is a man not wishing he re-hash the past. Compare this to any solo album & this will stand up STILL in 20 years time. There is no 80'S sound or the wanna-be hair hard rock of the 'still good' Manic Nirvana. Listen to Dreamland & see Robert going back to the roots. Come back to Melbourne!!!

Cheers..

Fate of Nations signifies Robert Plant's most personal effort of his chequered solo career. With the songs "I Believe" and "29 Palms," Plant is not afraid to wear is heart on his sleeve. He has backed away from the eclecticity of albums such as The Principles of Moments and Shaken n' Stirred in favor of a more acoustic based, closer sounding release. Not everything on Fate of Nations works, as the cover of "If I Were a Carpenter" and "Network News" sound a little out of place when compared to the content ("If I Were...") or sonic texture ("Network News") of the rest of the album. But Plant's voice is in fine form, especially showing dexterity in songs like "29 Palms" and "The Greatest Gift." Many times throughout Fate, the band replicates the feel of a gritty unplugged session, but Plant has maintained the core of the "Manic Nirvana" backing band. But you would never know these are the same players, as the sound on Fate is nothing like Manic. In retrospect, Fate of Nations holds up better than most of Plant's earlier solo material, as it seems he is no longer content to serve up a "Tall Cool One."

Fate of Nations is the kind of album any rockloving person in the world must include in his/her CD collection. It contains some of the richest guitar sounds, with electric, electro-accoustic and accoustic guitars blending wonderfully especially in 'Come Into My Life' and 'Greatest Gift'. Plant's vocals in most of the songs are inspired and inspiring. There is definetely no 'How Many More Times' - like screaming, neither high pitched tones like in 'Communication Breakdown'. But there is a romantic touch to many of the songs and a lot of fantasy especially with the slower ones. '29 Palms' might as well become the anthem of all infatuated lovers. Listen to the lyrics of 'Network News' and you'll find some very powerful messages for anyone, anywhere, anytime. I keep listening to this album at any time and place and still enjoy it. I just wish there were more albums like this and that Plant & Page would quit exploring all kinds of Eastern/Morocan/African sounds, and give us more products in the style of 'Fate of Nations'. A fool in love with this album.