Raising Sand

Lately I've been drawn to any music that features a banjo, a dobro, a mandolin or a fiddle. I got the itch while watching Steve Martin and his band at the Capitol on the Fourth of July. But instead of getting a Steve Martin album (which is still a possibility), I ended up getting Raising Sand, a collaboration between old rocker Robert Plant and bluegrass fiddler and vocalist Alison Krauss. It won the Grammy for Best Album of 2007. It's not that great, but it's pretty gorgeous.

I've been aware of Krauss for a long time, but have never listened to any of her records. It's not too many violinists who can sing as good as she can, and no disrespect to Plant, but her songs are the standout on the record. All of the songs are cover versions, chosen by the producer, T Bone Burnett, and range from the Everly Brothers to Tom Waits.

Plant, who I can't think of without recalling his high-pitched wail at the opening of "The Immigrant Song," plays it cool here. He opens with a bluesy old '50s number called "Rich Woman," and has fun with another oldie, "Fortune Teller." He also oozes his way through Townes Van Zandt's "Nothin'." The Plant highlight is a song he and Jimmy Page did about ten years, a plaintive "Please Read the Letter."

Krauss' voice is crystal clear and as mellifluous as a bell. She has vocals on my favorite cuts on the album, "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," "Trampled Rose," (the Waits song) and "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson." Gender bears no factor in the choices of these songs--the latter has Krauss singing about letting a good woman get away.

The record closes with the beautiful hymn-like "Your Long Journey," which would be a natural at funerals, a much better choice than "Dust in the Wind." I'm going to look for more from Alison Krauss.