Raise the Roof
is the second collaboration between the former Led Zeppelin singer and the queen of American country.
Fourteen years after the triumph of
Raising Sand
, the two singers have rediscovered their complicity on a new collection of covers drawn from the folk, blues and country repertoire, American but also British.
Released in 2007,
Raising Sand
was crowned at the Grammy Awards, and hailed with great commercial success.
Almost fifteen years later,
Raise the Roof, an
organic disc that goes against the fashions and trends of current music, could well meet the same destiny.
Rare confidences of two performers as brilliant as they are modest.
LE FIGARO. - This new album is maybe even better than the previous one ...
Robert PLANT. -
Thank you.
I think he's more successful, yes.
The musicians are already more involved.
We are all familiar with each other now, which allows us to delve deeper into the subject.
And although the songs all come from different origins, they are made consistent by our common approach.
You started working on this record in 2009. Why is it only released today?
RP -
We had such a good time recording the first one that we wanted to do quickly.
In a way the record has been in the works since then, I know it's been a number of years now.
Alison and I each have some sort of crazy encyclopedia in our heads: we know thousands of songs.
I have a special fondness for the revival of British folk that took place in the late 1960s.
Robert Plant
Did the success of the first surprise you?
RP -
There are two ways of looking at success.
For us, the record was already one because it looked like what we had in mind.
Then, it was a significant commercial success, it is true, without us having to make the slightest compromise.
So there it is downright fairytale level.
For us, it was successful even before reaching a large audience.
We weren't expecting anything.
And then we each have our own careers, we were doing well in our respective worlds.
In a way, recording together was a bit like taking a vacation!
How would you define the chemistry between the two of you?
RP -
It is due to a form of confidence in us and also a certain trepidation to achieve it.
Once we have negotiated the turns and the accidents necessary to reach our destination, we are satisfied.
The first volume was devoted solely to American songs. This includes titles from the British repertoire. Is that your influence, Robert?
RP -
Yes.
You know, Alison and I each have some kind of crazy encyclopedia in our heads: we know thousands of songs.
I have a special fondness for the revival of British folk that took place in the late 1960s. It was quite different from what was happening in the United States at the same time.
Alison KRAUSS. -
I didn't know this music at all.
In particular that of Bert Jansch or Annie Briggs.
I know, it's a little embarrassing for me to admit it.
It was a big surprise.
It makes me sad to think that I have lived all these years without knowing their work.
Without T-Bone Burnett, the record would have been very different.
I don't even know if we would have been able to go to the end, even… He's the perfect bridge between the two of us.
Alison krauss
Robert, would you say this music is quintessentially British?
RP -
It owes a lot to the special tunings used by guitarists Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davy Graham.
I believe they had imported them from North Africa, in particular the DADGDAD (ré la ré sol la ré).
It brings a beautiful modal melancholy, a dark side.
In the United States, a musician like John Fahey had perpetuated that.
You yourself sang in a duet with folk singer Sandy Denny in 1971
RP -
Yes, we were all friends.
The musicians of Fairport Convention, those of the Incredible String Band, Roy Harper or Mike Chapman, who just left us.
Let's not forget that Alison also introduced me to a lot of American musicians, too.
Would you say it's the love of folk that brings you together?
RP -
Yes, we are both fascinated by the music of the past.
It offers a glimpse into another world.
What does producer T-Bone Burnett bring to your collaboration?
AK -
Without him, the record would have been very different.
I don't even know if we would have been able to go to the end, even… He's the perfect bridge between the two of us.
We feel stronger in his company.
It is always good to have the opinion of an outside person.
He respects traditional music so much!
I met him when he was working on the soundtrack for the film O'Brother, by the Coen brothers, which included all the artists whose bluegrass music had rocked my childhood.
The record is quite raw, not at all in the flashy style of the moment ...
RP -
It has a lot to do with the playing of the musicians.
They are not in a search for perfection.
They are masters but they know how to suggest things rather than support them.
They are geniuses.
Raise the Roof,
released November 19, 2021 on CD, vinyl, download and stream.
Tracklist
1. Quattro - World Drifts In
2. The Price of Love
3. Go Your Way
4. Trouble With My Lover
5. Searching for My Love
6. Can't Let Go
7. It Don't Bother Me
8. You Led Me to the Wrong
9. Last Kind Words Blues
10. High and Lonesome
11. Going Where the Lonely Go
12. Somebody Was Watching Over Me
