Robert Plant
Band of Joy
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Label: Rounder Records
Robert Plant has a lot to look back on. As lead singer of Led Zeppelin, a band so enshrined in rock mythology as to transcend status as blues rock legends, becoming instead a collection of golden gods, he was one of the preeminent musical voices of the 1970s. As a solo artist, he’s never reached quite the same universal appeal, but his collaborations with former brother in arms Jimmy Page and more recently, Alison Krauss, have garnered, respectively, lucrative worldwide tours and six Grammy awards. It’s not surprising, then, that he would return to the well for Band of Joy; similarly to 2007′s Raising Sand, the album is mostly a collection of cover songs, interpreted in a loosely folk-rock setting, and a few traditional songs thrown in for good measure. What is surprising, however, is his choice of in covers.
It’s also worth noting that Band of Joy was a brief musical project in the ’60s that included Plant and future bandmate/best drummer ever John Bonham; the name is now resurrected as seeming a nod to the past and Plant’s roots. In more than that respect, it’s reminiscent of another musical icon’s 2010 release, Mavis Staples’ You Are Not Alone. Both albums feature legendarily soulful vocals, both feature songs from unexpected sources (Staples tapping Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Plant reworking Low and Los Lobos), both are works of consummate professionalism by musical professional honed by years of work. As with Staples’ album, the polish and sheen don’t work against Plant and his band (which includes singer-songwriter Patty Griffin and guitarist/co-producer Buddy Miller), they simply demonstrate the level of craftsmanship that they’re reached.
The first single, “Angel Dance,” opens the album, the aforementioned Los Lobos tune reworked as a bluesy shuffle. The guitars are deep and sonorous, only barely fuzzy, while Darrell Scott’s mandolin skips playfully over lyrics like, “And they’ll laugh up and down the hall/ Don’t go shout when you hear them fall/ Let them fly right across the wall/ Let them cry till the morning call.” The sole original Plant composition on the album (cowritten with Miller), “Central Two-O-Nine,” approaches the same area, with choral vocals and a darkly countryish acoustic guitar sounding vaguely sinister, like something a bitter man might play away an afternoon on a pleasant day. Plant and company cover two Low songs, “Silver Rider” and “Monkey,” both of which are worked over by shimmering pedal steels and prominently feature Griffin; the pair sound mysterious and cool, but it’s also not much of a step from the originals or even Julee Cruise. A George Vanderpool song, “The Only Sound That Matters” fares much better, with Plant holding a sweet lullaby of a melody beneath lines like, “Put me to sleep, so easily/ Or keep me out all night/ Looking for the only sound that matters.”
Band of Joy is not an expansion of Plant’s sound and, at this point in his career, that may be a wise move. Latter day lateral moves in an artist’s career can produce great things, like Leonard Cohen’s dive into synth-pop, but can also be staggeringly misguided, lest we forget Rod Stewart’s foray into disco and spandex. Plant’s music is his own unique blend of heavy rock, vaguely mystic folk and romantic country, and it’s been working for him ever since Led Zeppelin III. If he wants to visit again, it’s his call.
by Nathan Kamal
