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Raising Sand

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Raising Sand is a collaboration album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Released on October 23, 2007, the album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 112,000 copies in its first week, the highest chart position for either artists' solo work (Plant however had previously reached #1 several times with Led Zeppelin). The album entered the Top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, going on to reach #2 in January 2008.

The album has garnered widespread critical acclaim in the short time since its release, earning an averaged score of 87 on Metacritic. Apart from the obvious influence of Plant and Krauss' vocal styles and talent, the album's producer, T Bone Burnett is credited with giving the album its skeletal, and somewhat haunting, musical style. This album was #24 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. The two songs 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]]''. "Please Read the Letter" was first recorded for the [[Jimmy Page]]/Robert Plant album, [[Walking into Clarksdale]], in 1998. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" was released as a single and won the [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals|Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals]] at the [[50th Grammy Awards]]. "Gone Gone Gone" was originally recorded by the [[Everly Brothers]] for Warner Music in 1964. The song "Killing the Blues" was #51 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. Raising Sand was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2008.

Critical reception

Raising Sand received extremely positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Being There called it "one of the year’s very best", 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". JamBase called the album "subtle, focused and full of life" and said that it was "highly recommended". Village Voice commented on the album, saying it was "powerfully evocative" and "utterly foreign, oddly familiar, and deeply gratifying". Rolling Stone magazine included the album in its list of the top fifty albums of 2007.

The album was generally praised for its choice of songs and instrumental quality. 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", and Village Voice said that "T-Bone Burnett flaunts his typical curatorial genius with a whole set of 'have we met before?' tunes". The instrumental quality of the album was heavily praised; BBC described Krauss's fiddle as "coruscating" and "raw", and Music Box said that Krauss "exceeds all expectations". 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."

Many reviewers focused on the album's vocal quality. Critics primarily 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." Various music critics described Alison Krauss's vocals as being "spellbinding", "honey-sweet", "weepy", "saccharine", and "haunting". On the other hand, Robert Plant's sometimes "wailing" vocals were described as "orgasmic", and "slithering", in regard to his lead roles.

Track listing

  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)" (Phil Everly, Don Everly) – 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" (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan) – 5:34
  9. "Fortune Teller" (Naomi Neville) – 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" (Arthel Lane Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson) – 3:55

Chart performance

Chart Peak
position 		Certification
Billboard 200 (U.S.) 2 Platinum
Billboard Top Country Albums (U.S.) 2
Swedish Albums Chart 2 Platinum
UK Albums Chart 2 Platinum

Personnel

References

External links



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Last updated on Tuesday July 22, 2008 at 15:36:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
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