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Goin’ Home–A tribute to Fats Domino

Shopkeeper — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:15:22 +0000

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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Raising Sand–With Alison Krauss

Shopkeeper — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:20:20 +0000

Get It

Amazon Says
The musical collaboration of the decade, Raising Sand is the sound of two iconic figures stepping out of their respective comfort zones and letting their instincts lead them across a brave new sonic landscape. Despite hailing from distinctly different backgrounds, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant share a maverick spirit and willingness to extend the boundaries of their respective genres. This spirit, expertly honed by producer T Bone Burnett, has resulted in an album pitched three steps beyond some cosmic collision of early urban blues, spacious West Texas country, and the untapped potential of the folk-rock revolution.

Supported by the unparalleled musicianship of Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, Mike Seeger, Jay Bellerose, Norman Blake, Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, and Riley Baugus, Plant and Krauss — as both solo and harmony vocalists — tackle an intriguing selection of songs from such tunesmiths as Tom Waits, Gene Clark, Sam Phillips, Townes Van Zandt, The Everly Brothers, and Mel Tillis. Raising Sand finds Robert Plant and Alison Krauss exploring popular music’s elemental roots while still sounding effortlessly, breath-takingly contemporary.

The song “Killing the Blues” is featured in the new JC Penney American Living Campaign.

We Say
We’re often given to hyperbole when it comes to Robert Plant records, but he’s just that interesting. With a 26+ year solo career, he’s managed to produce a fine body of work without repeating himself.

With Raising Sand, Robert steps into territory that even we were initially perplexed about. But once we heard the strains of the haunting “Polly Come Home”, we were hooked, and we knew that Robert Plant had once more taken a new path.

Contrary to what reviewers like to throw out there, the album is neither country nor bluegrass, despite the presence of Alison Krauss who is known for her bluegrass work. The best description would be “Americana” which is quickly emerging as a popular genre (think Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan). But Raising Sand blazes its own trail and has been touted as a completely new style.

With Raising Sand we see Robert taking a new role as a harmony singer. He freely admits this was something new for him and credits Krauss with teaching him the nuances. He learned well and has proved himself a versatile singer once again. There is power in restraint and his harmonies are just as thrilling as his lead vocals.

This is not to say that Robert doesn’t come to the forefront on this record. Songs like “Polly Come Home” are haunting and wistful, while “Nothin’” carries an underlying energy fueled by Krauss’ fantastic fiddle work. The record ends with a bluegrass stalwart “Your Long Journey”. In Plant and Krauss’ hands the song becomes even more poignant.

Raising Sand has garnered awards for the album and for Robert and Alison. While it was released too late for Grammy consideration in 2007, it is almost certain to be a Grammy nominee in 2008. The single “Gone Gone Gone” was eligible and did pick up a Grammy. And a CMT award. And an Americana award. And a TEC award. And the list keeps growing!

Don’t let genres or the past works of either Robert or Alison factor into your decision to pick up “Raising Sand”. It’s new. It’s different. And it’s exciting.

Read more about Raising Sand in the Pressbook

Details
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Label: Rounder

Tracks:
Rich Woman (Dorothy LaBostrie-McKinley Millet)
Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley)
Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us (Sam Phillips)
Polly Come Home (Gene Clark)
Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On) (Phil and Don Everly)
Through the Morning, Through the Night (Gene Clark)
Please Read The Letter (Robert Plant-Michael Lee-Jimmy Page-Charlie Jones)
Trampled Rose (Tom Waits-Kathleen Brennan)
Fortune Teller (Naomi Neville)
Stick With Me Baby (Mel Tillis)
Nothin’ (Townes Van Zandt)
Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson (Milt Campbell)
Your Long Journey (A.D. Watson and Rosa Lee Watson)

Raising Sand on Charlie Rose

Shopkeeper — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 03:50:49 +0000

Get It

Amazon Says
A conversation with Gen. William “Kip” Ward, U.S. Africa Command. || A discussion about the album Raising Sand with musicians Robert Plant, Alison Krauss & T-Bone Burnett.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.

We Say

Robert, along with Alison Krauss and T-Bone Burnett sit down for a half hour chat with PBS interviewer Charlie Rose. The program first aired on November 14, 2007.

In this interview, the trio talks about how the idea for the album “Raising Sand” came about and how the three of them came to be working together in the first place. The chemistry and cameraderie between them is obvious, making it easy to see why “Raising Sand” is such a well-crafted work.

They talked about working together in the future, touring and about the state of music in general. As usual, Charlie Rose’s interviewing style worked well in this situation. He asked minimal questions and was more a discussion guide than interviewer.

Read more about Raising Sand in the Pressbook

Details

Show Date: November 14, 2007
DVD Release Date: November 21, 2007
Label: Charlie Rose, Inc.
Format: NTSC

Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built

Shopkeeper — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 18:00:14 +0000

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.

Get The House That Ahmet Built on Amazon.com

American Folk-Blues Festival: The British Tours 1963-1966

Shopkeeper — Tue, 29 May 2007 01:19:57 +0000

American Folk-Blues Festival 1963-1966

Released in 2007.

Released on Hip-O Records, this DVD features performances by Muddy Waters (doing Got My Mojo Working), Sister Rosetta Tharp, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Big Joe Turner and others. There is very little footage of some of the early blues performers available, so DVDs like this are a great chance to see them “live”.

The eighteen performances on this DVD give a glimpse into how the performers were received in the UK. Waters, for example, was so thrilled by the response in 1958 that he played there regularly.

Robert commented about the series: “I was at these shows in shabby provincial England in the mid-’60s. Those eerie voices from another world lit up my life, leaving me breathless, spooked and inspired for a lifetime.”

Get it on Amazon.com

Rock Legends at Rockfieldâ€”Jeff Collins

Shopkeeper — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:19:09 +0000

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

Get Rock Legends at Rockfield on Amazon.com

Get Rock Legends at Rockfield on Amazon.UK

Aman Imanâ€”Tinariwen

Shopkeeper — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:49:11 +0000

Aman Iman

Tinariwen’s new album, Aman Iman was released on February 5. The title of the group’s third outing comes from a Touareg saying that means “water is the soul”, though it’s widely translated to mean “water is life”.

The album was recorded in Feburary 2006 in Mali’s capital city, Bamako at Bogolan Studios. In ten days, in sweltering heat, they recorded 23 tracks with producer Justin Adams, engineer Ben Findlay and manager Andy Morgan. According to the bands’ press release Justin and the band wanted to keep the sound live, raw and direct, and faithful to its desert roots while making it rich and epic enough to seduce everyone. Justin worked around his touring schedule with Robert to finish his work on the album in June 2006. Justin appears on the album playing background guitars on Cler Achel, Assouf; teherdant lute on Mano Dayak; and acoustic guitar on Matadjem Yinmixan.

Robert commented that “listening to Tinariwen is like dropping a bucket into a deep well”, and he included Cler Achel in his playlist for the December 2006 issue of Songlines magazine.

Tracks
Cler Achel
Mano Dayak
Matadjem Yinmixan
Ahimana
Soixante Trois
Toumast
Imidiwan Winakalin
Awa Didjen
Ikyadarh Dim
Tamatant Tilay
Assouf
Izarharh Tenere

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Rachid Tahaâ€”Diwan 2

Shopkeeper — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 22:47:22 +0000

Live

Released in 2006.

This is a followup to 1998’s Daiwan, and is an album of songs that Taha says pays homage to his heritage and culture. Several of the songs are by Algerian stars of the past, which Taha discovered by rummaging around in his parents attic. The songs carry Taha’s trademark themes of cultural and politial importance, along with different takes on love and it’s effect–good and bad.

Steve Hillage once more joins Taha in the studio for this album.

Tracks
Encoutte Moi Camarade
Rani
Agatha
Hifache Rah
Josephine
Gznz El Hawa
Ah Mon Amour
Mataouel Delill
Maydoum
Ghanni Li Shwaya

Get Diwan 2 on Amazon (United States)

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Liveâ€”Rachid Taha

Shopkeeper — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:02:09 +0000

Live

Released in 2002.

One of the reasons I like Rachid Taha is because he seems to have that same exuberance and intensity about his music that Robert does. And the real test of this with any performer is a live album. This album captures the fun and excitement of a live concert with a whole batch of my personal favorite tunes. And while his between song comments are in French, even non-speakers of French will be able to tell it’s a fun show.

Another highlight of the disc is Steve Hillage’s guitar work. It lends a hard rock edge to counterpoint Rachid’s traditional Arabic/Algerian leanings. If you’ve not listened to Taha at all, start with this one.

Tracks
Menfi
Nokta
Ida
Ya Rayah
Medina
Bent Sahra
Barra Barra
Foqt Foqt
Ala Jalkoum
Voila Voila
Garab

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Diwanâ€”Rachid Taha

Shopkeeper — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:58:16 +0000

Diwan

Released in 1998.

Tracks
Ya Rayah
Ida
Habina
Bent Sahra
Ach Adani
El H’Mame
Enti Rahti
Menfi
Bani Al Insane
Malheureux Toujours
Aiya Aiya

Get Diwan on Amazon (United States)

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