I can still remember the day I went out to buy a copy of Robert Plant's latest album in 2005. I was a Junior in high school at the time and my Led Zeppelin fandom only started two years prior. This was the first release from a Zeppelin member I could get the day it came out. I excitedly drove from school during my lunch break and immediately popped in the album to give it a listen. From the start I fell in love with Robert Plant's work with the Strange Sensation. He brought back the blues but added the fury of the Middle Eastern music that Robert delved into heavily during the 80s and 90s. The new band rocked out with the help of their experienced guitarist Justin Adams, best known for his producing work with Saharan band Tinariwen and French act Lo'jo. Each track fits wonderfully and is quite possibly the best solo work Robert Plant has ever done.
Release Date: May 10, 2005
Highest Billboard Chart Position: 22
Other Distinctions: Nominated for Two Grammys
Track Listing
1. Another Tribe
Robert starts his assault on the Iraq war and the Bush Administration from the first word he speaks. The song lyrics focus on men going off to war as their mothers wait worried at home. It also discusses propaganda and how the governments involved are trying to make an unjust war seem just. This is one of Robert's most blatant protests songs and he delivers the punches for the rest of the album.
2. Shine It All Around
Lyrically it is a typical Robert Plant song and he delves more towards his spiritual side. John Baggott creates spectacular layers of synths and keyboards while Clive Deamer's slightly electronic drum beats give the song some added attitude. Robert did a great job creating an acoustic space and had his first single from the album with this track.
3. Freedom Fries
This song is muddy, dark, and starts with a filthy drum beat and bass line. Robert blasts into his protest of America's involvement around the world and brings the anger he feels about their dominance. It's a scathing critique and proves to be one of the more powerful songs Robert released since his Zeppelin days.
4. Tin Pan Valley
Another dark song, Robert goes back to his Zeppelin days and brings back memories of "Immigrant Song". He starts slow with almost a whisper, then explodes with a fury of action from the Strange Sensation behind him with his yells of "like this!!!". Baggott brings the great electronic backing sound and the sonic space is extraordinary. The mood is consistently dreary and he really moves the listener's emotions.
5. All the Kings Horses
This song signals a change in the album where Robert starts moving towards more positive subjects and a folkier sound. He also references his epic love and sings a romantic song like his Zeppelin days once again. Baggott's contributions cannot be understated as he pulls back on his heavy synth use and lets the guitars breath a little more. It's a solid song that fits right in with the rest of the album.
6. The Enchanter
Robert explores spirituality once again and begins to make this one of the more prominent themes for the second half of the album. The guitar at the beginning sounds like nothing else out there and Deamer keeps a smooth electronic beat that doesn't overshadow the song. It captures the mood that Robert wants to create of a mystic force being present in the music.
7. Takamba
At shows, Robert would dedicate this to "a guy you may know over in England who's made some very bad decisions Tony Blair". Robert throws out one more protest song, this time against his native UK. He talks about how they blindly go along with every policy the US wants the UK to help out with. The polyrhythms of the band and sudden changes of tempo really exemplify Robert's feelings of his current government.
8. Dancing in Heaven
This track returns to Robert's folky side with a little acoustic guitar opening and nice drum beat underneath. This is also a return to the spiritual subjects that continue through the rest of tha album.
9. Somebody Knocking
The Strange Sensation bring out more of their Saharan instrumentals for this one and Robert fuses some standard blues lyrics with a Middle Eastern flair.
10. Let The Four Winds Blow
This song has a similar idea: it's mostly a blues lyric and song structure mixed with the Saharan music that influenced Robert at the time.
11. Mighty Rearranger
One of the more straightforward blues-rock songs on the album, Robert explores some more spirituality and uses some vivid imagery in his lyrics. Justin Adams guides the song along with a standard blues like while the drums give the Middle Eastern flair. This is about as biblical as Robert gets and it's interesting to hear his interpretations on religion.
12. Brother Ray
This song acts as a tribute to Ray Charles, who died shortly before recording began for the album. It brings to mind the end of Led Zeppelin III, when they made a track for Roy Harper. It's very raw and the vocals are just dirty as can be. There's nothing to special to say about this other than it is a very appropriate end to the album.
But wait, there's still more! Robert included a bonus track on the album (a remixed Shine It All Around) and recorded two other originals that ended up on Nine Lives.
Red, White, and Blue
Very similar to "Freedom Fries" in terms of how the song is structured, Robert continues his barrage against the US and their involvement in world affairs. It's relatively standard and probably just missed the cut in favor of "Freedom Fries".
All the Money in the World
Another very rock standard type of track, this song just simply doesn't fit the album. There's nothing wrong with the song, it just falls outside of every single theme that every song covers regularly. He probably would have put it on any of his other solo efforts, but this time the album's overall strength kept it off.
The Remixes
The remixes are fairly good and focus on creating a particular space with each song. "Shine It All Around" was right after "Brother Ray" on the original release as a hidden bonus track and seemed like a suitable ending. It mainly gave Robert lots of reverb and added an electronic drum line. "Tin Pan Valley" is very similar and just gives the song an electronic edge. The best of the remixes by far is The Enchanter". It captures the mood of the song almost as well as the original. It gives the song a little more movement and really seems to add value to it. The remix also avoids messing with Robert's vocals too much when the other two seemed to play around with his singing to the point where the song didn't have the same vibe.
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