Why Robert Plant Can’t Wait So Long For the Next Alison Krauss LP
Robert Plant says he'd love to do another album with Alison Krauss, after their first collaboration since 2007 was nominated for three Grammy awards. "I can't see any reason why not," the former Led Zeppelin frontman tells Billboard.
He just can't afford so much time between projects. "I suppose if we wait another 14 years it could be a bit dicey for me, to be honest," Plant added. "I might find it a little bit difficult hitting a top C – but we can say it really works well, and we enjoy each other and that's a great thing, so it seems like a great idea."
Raise the Roof became their second consecutive Top 5 smash, following the platinum-selling Raising Sand. The 2021 LP has now earned a trio of Grammy nods, including best Americana album, best American roots song ("High and Lonesome") and – perhaps most interestingly – for best country duo/group performance ("Going Where the Lonely Go").
"The idea of us being considered to be a country duet is fascinating," Plant now admits. "The thing is, a nomination is a nomination — the very fact that it’s been recognized that we’ve had a good time is more than I could imagine. I didn’t get many Grammys, so to be nominated as a country duet is out of my normal radar. It’s great."
Plant actually has eight wins, amid a string of 18 nominations that goes back to 1969 when Led Zeppelin lost the best new artist competition to Crosby, Stills and Nash. Meanwhile, Krauss' 27 wins and 44 nominations make her the second-most-recognized woman in Grammys history, after Beyonce.
Raising Sand earned the deeply connected duo an album of the year trophy at the Grammys. This year, the same category will feature Lizzo and Coldplay, among others. Plant is blunt about his connection to these modern-era stars ("not a lot," he admits with a laugh), while still stressing the universality of the art that they all create.
"It’s different worlds, isn’t it? That’s all it is," he said. "It’s just like, do you like this, or do you only appreciate stuff that come out of the Mississippi Delta or New Orleans? We’re all musicians; we all do what we do. You have to appreciate everything from where it stands in its own world."
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