Goin’ Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino

Coming September 25, 2007 on Vanguard Records

Robert, along with a star studded roster of musical talent, recorded a series of Fats Domino songs for this 2-CD set. The funds raised from the sale of this tribute album will benefit the Tipitina’s Foundation, which is committed to helping the music community rebuild after hurricane Katrina. Funds are earmarked for rebuiding Fats Domino’s home, as well as to create a community center in the ravaged 9th ward, and to provide instruments for New Orleans public school children.

Robert teamed up with local artists Lil’ Band O’ Gold to record It Keeps Rainin’ on Disc 1. Later, on Disc 2, Robert joins the Soweto Gospel Choir for Valley of Tears.

Read more about Robert’s recording trip in the Pressbook.

Tracks
Disc 1:
John Lennon: Ain’t That A Shame
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: I’m Walkin’
B.B. King with Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk: Goin’ Home
Elton John: Blueberry Hill
Taj Mahal & The New Orleans Social Club: My Girl Josephine
Dirty Dozen Brass Band with Joss Stone and Buddy Guy: Every Night About This Time
Paul McCartney featuring Allen Toussaint: I Want To Walk You Home
Lenny Kravitz with Rebirth Brass Band, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker: Whole Lotta Loving
Dr. John: Don’t Leave Me This Way
Bonnie Raitt & Jon Cleary: I’m In Love Again/All By Myself
Art Neville: Please Don’t Leave Me
Robbie Robertson with Galactic: Going To The River
Randy Newman: Blue Monday
Robert Plant with Lil’ Band O’ Gold: It Keeps Rainin’
Corinne Bailey Rae: One Night (Of Sin)

Disc 2:
Neil Young: Walking To New Orleans
Robert Plant with The Soweto Gospel Choir: Valley Of Tears
Norah Jones: My Blue Heaven
Lucinda Williams: Honey Chile
Marc Broussard featuring Sam Bush: Rising Sun
Olu Dara & The Natchezippi Band with Donald Harrison Jr.: When I See You
Ben Harper with the Skatalites: Be My Guest
Toots & The Maytals: Let The Four Winds Blow
Willie Nelson: I Hear You Knockin’
Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball: I Just Can’t Get New Orleans Off My Mind
Bruce Hornsby: Don’t Blame It On Me
Herbie Hancock with George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste and Renard Poche: I’m Gonna Be A Wheel Someday
Los Lobos: The Fat Man
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux with Galactic: So Long
Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Walter “Wolfman” Washington & Theresa Andersson: When The Saints Go Marching In

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The House That Ahmet Built

The House that Ahmet Built is an interesting look at the history of Atlantic Records through the eyes of some of the label’s biggest acts. Five years in the making, this documentary was produced for the PBS series American Masters and aired on that station in May 2007. The two hour program is narrated by Bette Midler, who also has interview segments with Ahmet Ertegun.

Atlantic Records started out as an idea by Ahmet Ertegun and his brother Nesuhi. It was born of their love of music, in particular, jazz. One of the things that made Atlantic Records great was the hands-on approach that Ahmet and Nesuhi took with their artists. They weren’t just the company founders, they were first and foremost fans. Aretha Franklin has a segment with Ahmet where she points out this difference, commenting that on her previous label, she never met the man in charge, whereas at Atlantic, Ahmet was at the recording sessions.

The documentary also talks about Ahmet’s songwriting. From the beginning he wrote songs under the name Nugetre (Ertegun backward) in case the music thing didn’t work out. You can see him credited on the Honeydrippers album, for example.

Robert appears in a few different segments during this documentary. In the first appearance, Ahmet is analyzing how Robert approaches his love of the blues. In another segment, Robert and Ahmet are watching Robert perform “Let the Boogie Woogie Roll” on Jules Holland. Ahmet jokes that he thinks he wrote that song. Robert quips that he’d better make sure he got paid for the performance.

The documentary winds up with the June 30, 2006 Montreaux Jazz Festival where many artists, including Robert, pay tribute to Ahmet. The camera pans down to Ahmet and his wife Mica in the front row, where Ahmet is once more a fan, enjoying the music from the stage.

Atlantic Records was one of the most influential record labels in the world, mainly due to Ahmet Ertegun. This documentary is well worth adding to your collection not only for the interviews with the principals, but also for gaining insight into what made this great label tick.

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Rock Legends at Rockfield
by Jeff Collins
University of Wales Press
Available September 2007

Rockfield Studios, located near Monmouth in the Wye Valley has played host to a great roster of groups in its residental studios. Founded in 1963, Rockfield was the studio where Robert began his solo recording career. Both Principle of Moments and Pictures at Eleven were recorded there.

Jeff Collins’ Rock Legends at Rockfield is a behind the scenes look at several big name bands during their time at Rockfield. Chapter 8 covers Robert’s time there, including 25 year reunion with his first band.

You can read excerpts from Chapter 8 on Collins’ website:
Part 1
Part 2

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Festival in the Desert

A documentary presenting the 2003 Festival in the Desert, a musical event taking place in the remote desert of Mali. Justin Adams served as one of the organizers and Robert went along as a guest performer. Their appearance is here along with many artists from Africa and all parts of the world. Documentary is the operative word for this DVD as some of the performances cut away in the middle to capture their words in interview form.

The DVD includes fabulous imagery of the denizens of the desert arriving for the show by camel, the logistics of getting a concert set up in the middle of the desert, and gives you an overall view of the musical comeraderie evidenced in this event. As a documentary this DVD succeeds beautifully in bringing the meaning of the event to everyone.

Included in the documentary are interviews with Robert, as well as many of the performers including the late Ali Farka Toure. Each of them speaks of why the concert is a special event, and why each performer’s music is important–both culturally and musically.

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Anthology

This 52 minute DVD, released in 1999, showcases a series of clips of Orbison in live and lip-synched performances. Some of the songs shown are Only the Lonely, Pretty Woman, and In Dreams. Also included is a clip of Orbison performing Blue Bayou and the 80s video of Orbison and k.d. lang performing Crying.

The most interesting part of the DVD is a series of Orbison’s famous admirers offering their thoughts on his music. There is commentary from k.d. Lang, Bono, Don Was, the Bee Gees, Raul Malo, Robert Plant, and others. Robert describes Orbisons music as pillow talk for the wounded.

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Unledded

The 1994 concert for MTV called Unledded set in motion the 2 album, 2 tour paring of Plant and Page. This concert was recorded with the London Metropolitan orchestra, the Egyptian Ensemble, and a group of eclectic players including Naijma Ahktar singing the vocal duet on Battle of Evermore. The DVD includes scenes shot in places as diverse as a quarry in Wales and a market in Morocco. Robert’s fondness for middle eastern music and rhythms is evident throughout.

Proceeds from this official release of Unledded went to charity.

Tracks
No Quarter
Thank You
What Is and What Should Never Be
The Battle of Evermore
Gallows Pole
Nobody’s Fault but Mine
City Don’t Cry
The Truth Explodes
Wah Wah
When the Levee Breaks
Wonderful One
Since I’ve Been Loving You
The Rain Song
That’s the Way
Four Sticks
Friends
Kashmir
Blackdog (performed at the ABC American Music Awards)
Moroccan Montage
Most High (commercial video)
Interview

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Live at Knebworth

Released on DVD in 2002, this 1990 appearance at Knebworth is the year that Robert won the Silver Clef Award. The DVD includes all three parts that were previously released on 3 VHS tapes, and is 180 minutes long. The DVD is not a complete recording of the event, but presents 2-4 songs from each artist. Robert’s performance included Hurting Kind, Tall Cool One, Wearing and Tearing, and Rock and Roll.

Other artists appearing in this collection:
Tears for Fears, Cliff Richard, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Genesis and Pink Floyd. There is also a “Supergroup” segment which has several performers working together including: Eric Clapton, Elton John, Dire Straits and Tessa Niles.

The DVD is recorded in Dolby 5.1 surround sound. The sound quality isn’t exactly a 10, but considering that the weather for the day included rain and high winds, it’s still not that big of a problem. The biggest complaint with this set is that they didn’t include the full performances of each artist, but it’s still a good representation of the event.

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Walking into Clarksdale

Page and Plant’s second outing as a duo. This time out they present original material. The album is dark and brooding. The breakout single, Most High, gained a Grammy for best rock performance with a vocal.

Tracks
Shining in the Light
When the World Was Young
Upon a Golden Horse
Blue Train
Please Read the Letter
Most High
Heart in Your Hand
Walking into Clarksdale
Burning Up
When I was a Child
House of Love
Sons of Freedom

The import version contains an additional track: Whiskey in a Glass

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No Quarter

The duo’s much talked about 1994 release featuring classic Zeppelin tunes redone with a middle-eastern flair. The album and tour came about following MTV’s Unledded concert which featured Page and Plant and an Egyptian ensemble. The remastered version met more with Robert’s approval and contains a slightly different song lineup.

Tracks for Original Version
Nobody’s Fault But Mine
Thank You
No Quarter
Friends
Yallah
City Don’t Cry
Since I’ve Been Loving You
Battle of Evermore
Wonderful One
That’s the Way
Gallow’s Pole
Four Sticks
Kashmir

The import version contains an additional track: Wah Wah

Tracks for Remastered Version
Nobody’s Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Friends
The Truth Explodes (formerly Yallah)
The Rain Song
City Don’t Cry
Since I’ve Been Loving You
The Battle of Evermore
Wonderful One
Wah Wah (previously only on the import version)
That’s the Way
Gallows Pole
Four Sticks
Kashmir

Get No Quarter on Amazon (United States)

Get the No Quarter import version on Amazon (United States)

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Volume 3: Further in Time

The third outing from the stylistic Afro Celt Sound System features a couple of high profile guests: Peter Gabriel and Robert Plant. Robert appears singing the hauntingly beautiful Life Begin Again, which can also be found on Disc 2 of Sixty Six to Timbuktu. At first Robert had debated whether or not to participate in the project, but he got the idea to bring along Julie Murphy. Her haunting Welsh-language vocals offer a beautiful counterpoint to Robert’s own powerful vocals.

Tracks
North - Part 1
North - Part 2
When You’re Falling (featuring Peter Gabriel)
Shadow Man
Lagan
Colossus
Life Begin Again (featuring Robert Plant)
Further in Time
Go on Through
Persistence of Memory
Silken Whip
Onwards

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Festival in the Desert

Robert Plant joins Justin Adams and a whole host of world music artists for a music festival that took place in Mali in early January of 2003. Robert appears on the CD performing Win My Trainfare Home. There is a companion DVD.

Tracks
Takamba Super Onze - Super 11
Afel Bocoum - Buri baalal
Tartit - Tihar bayatin
Robert Plant & Justin Adams - Win my trainfare Home
Sedoum Ehl Aïda - Ya moulana
Lo’Jo + Django - Jah kas cool boy
Oumou Sangaré - Wayena
Ali Farka Touré - Karaw
Tinariwen - Aldachan manin
Adama Yalomba - Politique
Tidawt (Niger) - Ariyalan
Ludovico Einaudi & Ballaké Sissoko - Chameaux
Kel Tin Lokeine - Ihama
Kwal + Foy-Foy - Le juge mant
Tindé - Wana
Aïcha Mint Chigaly - Koultouleili-khalett là
Igbayen - Oubilalian
Baba Salah - Fady yeïna
Blackfire - What do you see
Django - Laisse-moi dire

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