Reviews

In recent albums Robert Plant has found his groove. Although each has its own distinct feel, they all share similar themes of acoustic Americana, Midwest roots music, a sprinkle of country & western, and oddly - at times - a clear middle eastern vibe. Saving Grace, Robert Plant's twelfth solo album, introduces the vocals of Suzi Dian to his music, and their voices are a perfect match. Her ethereal, soft harmonies compliment his voice throughout, and although he is still the lead here, Suzi shines in places. Kansas Joe's 'Chevrolet' opens the album, and the listener immediately knows not only that this is a Robert Plant album, but even the era it is from. If the old dg has learnt any new tricks in recent times, he isn't revealing them here, and he croons his way through this folky roots track. The harmonies with Dian are immediately apparent and strong, and they carry the track wonderfully. The traditional 'As I Roved Out' has a great driving rhythm and guitar line, and it's clear that the vocal harmonies are going to be a big part of the personality of the album. They two voices weave around each other, and Plant (knowing his voice is not what it used to be) allows Dian to take the high register in places the song need them. Moby Grape's 'It's A Beautiful Day Today' is an amazing moment, and opens with some subtle Nashville-style lap steel guitar. Plant often covers traditional or obscure songs on his albums, but this collection is a complete covers album. In typical Plant style though, nothing here is well known - and even if you did happen to know a track, everything is completely reimagined from the original. Blind William Blake's 'Soul Of A Man' is great example of this. It is now a slow folksy-hoedown rather than a fingerpicked blues, and it works. In fact everything here works - and the album slowly creates a colourful tapestry of songs that weave together like one giant piece. 'Ticket Taker' is amazing in its understated beauty, and is a perfect example of Plant's recent style - modern, yet a hundred years ago. The lyrics take us to a time none of us now living knew, yet the immediacy and weight of the performance snap as back to this very moment. Dian gets a chance to take the front on Martha Scanlan's 'Higher Rock', but it is on 'Too Far From You', one of the punchier tracks on the album, that she shines. Plant provides very little beyond some harmonies and backing vocals here, and her voice is graceful and focused. She may be half his age, but the two voices intertwine magically. The song is still slow but builds to a big crescendo, and serves as a cathartic moment after so many lighter tracks. This serves as a segway into Low's 'Everybody's Song'. The loudest and most up-tempo track of the album, this could easily have been an album opener, and would find itself very much at home on either of Plant's prior albums Lullaby And The Ceaseless Road (2014) or Carry Fire (2017). The middle eastern themes again wind around the song, but played on western acoustic instruments it is hard to place what the influence is. The album closes softly with potentially the only familiar song, the ageless classic 'Gospel Plough' (sic). Performed by every bluesman and folkie since the early 1900s, this is a fairly faithful rendition, without too much embellishment, and its closes the album perfectly, with a feeling of wistful hopefulness. Fans of Robert Plant's recent music won't be disappointed here, but there is a small feeling of 'heard it all before'. For any other performer that probably wouldn't be the case, but Plant has been a chameleon over the years - changing colours with every album, so this feels like a shade very close to one he has worn before. It certainly doesn't make this a bad album, in fact it is better than 2021's Raise The Roof with Alison Krauss, but it does feel as though his days of experimentation have come to an end. He has settled into this style like an old man slipping on his favourite pair of slippers. They are warm and comfortable, and most importantly familiar. The man owes us nothing, and his contributions to music over the years are countless. For this reason we can forgive him for reusing an idea or two.