\n<\/p>\n
Robert Plant<\/a>‘s 21st-century\u00a0rebirth has left most, if not all, of his 1970s rock peers looking desperate and vain in their attempts to replicate the success of their\u00a0golden years. Beginning with 2007’s\u00a0Raising Sand<\/em><\/a>, the Grammy-winning collaboration with American bluegrass artist\u00a0Alison Krauss<\/a>, the former Golden God and voice of\u00a0Led Zeppelin<\/a>\u00a0shifted away from the hard-rock sound of his youth to explore roots music from around the world.<\/p>\n For almost two decades, he’s continued this path, from Americana\u00a0(2010’s Band of Joy<\/em>) to world (Lullaby and … the Ceaseless Roar<\/a><\/em>, 2014) to folk (2017’s Carry Fire<\/em><\/a>). His previous album, Raise the Roof<\/em><\/a>, from 2021, was a return trip with Krauss. All of them have been\u00a0terrific journeys. His\u00a012th solo album,\u00a0not counting his\u00a0collaborations with Krauss, is named after his latest band, Saving Grace; the West Midlands, England-based Plant has\u00a0performed with the local quintet since shortly before the pandemic hit.<\/p>\n With its Americana mix of folk and blues, Saving Grace<\/em> recalls Band of Joy<\/em>‘s similar\u00a0blend featuring\u00a0Plant’s partner at the time, singer Patty Griffin, and Nashville-based guitarist Buddy Miller. But Saving Grace \u2014 singer Suzi Dian, drummer Oli Jefferson, guitarist Tony Kelsey, banjo and string player Matt Worley, and cellist Barney Morse-Brown \u2014 brings a more European aesthetic to their take on American roots. And like its predecessors, the album proves the 77-year-old Plant to be one of the few artists of his vintage who refuses to rest on his laurels.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> 2025 Album Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n As with Raising Sand<\/em>, Band of Joy<\/em> and Raise the Roof<\/em>,\u00a0Saving Grace\u00a0<\/em>is an album of interpretations; in addition to a handful of traditional numbers, Plant and the band cover songs by Moby Grape<\/a> (“It’s a Beautiful Day Today”), Blind Willie Johnson (“Soul of a Man”) and the Minneapolis indie band Low. This Plant favorite had a pair of their songs covered on Band of Joy<\/em>; here, 2005’s “Everybody’s Song” is a galloping, atmospheric highlight, with the singer excavating the track’s dark corners to face mortality in its lyrics: The lines “All your dreams are waking up \/ … You can’t live forever<\/em>”\u00a0are\u00a0even more poignant following the death of Low drummer Mimi Parker in 2022,\u00a0after which the group disbanded.<\/p>\n Other standout tracks include the slow-build six minutes of the traditional “As I Roved Out,”\u00a0relocated to modern Americana; “Gospel Plough”‘s sullen field gospel featuring chirping birds; and dusty-blues album opener “Chevrolet,” which reworks\u00a0Donovan<\/a>‘s 1965\u00a0B-side\u00a0“Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness),” an adaptation of the 1930 song “Can I Do It for You”\u00a0by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, who\u00a0recorded the original version of the Led Zeppelin\u00a0classic “When the Levee Breaks” in 1929. Saving Grace, the album and the band, are about tradition and pulling it forward \u2014 from Plant’s harmonica\u00a0that roars through 2000s singer-songwriter Martha Scanlan’s “Higher Rock” to\u00a0his democratic sharing of lead vocal duties on a few songs. By looking to the past again, Plant\u00a0continues to secure his ever-evolving legacy.<\/p>\n The best box sets, expanded albums, anniversary collections and other archival releases from the past three months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nReissue Roundup: Summer Sets From David Bowie, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and More<\/h2>\n