What seems to be an unlikely pairing of former
Led Zeppelin vocalist
Robert Plant and bluegrass superstar
Alison Krauss is actually one of the most effortless-sounding duos in modern popular music. The bridge seems to be producer
T-Bone Burnett and the band assembled for this outing: drummer
Jay Bellerose (who seems to be the session drummer in demand these days), upright bassist
Dennis Crouch, guitarists
Marc Ribot and
Burnett, with
Greg Leisz playing steel here and there, and a number of other guest appearances.
Krauss, a monster fiddle player, only does so on two songs here. The proceedings are, predictably, very laid-back.
Burnett has only known one speed these last ten years, and so the material chosen by the three is mostly very subdued. This doesn't make it boring, despite
Burnett's production, which has become utterly predictable since he started working with
Gillian Welch. He has a "sound" in the same way
Daniel Lanois does: it's edges are all rounded, everything is very warm, and it all sounds artificially dated.
Sam Phillips' "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" is a centerpiece on this set. It has her fingerprints all over it. This tune, with its forlorn, percussion-heavy tarantella backdrop, might have come from a
Tom Waits record were it not so intricately melodic -- and
Krauss' gypsy swing fiddle is a gorgeous touch. There is an emptiness at the heart of longing particularly suited to
Krauss' woodsy voice, and
Plant's harmony vocal is perfect, understated yet ever-present. It's the most organically atmospheric tune on the set -- not in terms of production, but for lyric and compositional content. Stellar.