THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Raise The Roof reunites Rock And Roll Hall of Famer Plant Plant and 27-time Grammy-winner Alison Krauss some 14 years after the historic success of their 2007 collaboration Raising Sand, which debuted at No. 2 inBillboard, generated platinum sales and earned six Grammy Awards, including Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl, among others. The album features 12 new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, High and Lonesome, and the classic Can’t Let Go, written by Randy Weeks and first recorded by Lucinda Williams.
The songs selected for Raise The Roof alternately reflect deep-rooted influences and new revelations. For his part, Plant was keen to introduce the English folk traditions he has loved since adolescence, while Krauss cites hearing Quattro (World Drifts In) by the American group Calexico, as “the moment I knew we’d make another album.”
“We wanted it to move,” Krauss continues. “We brought other people in, other personalities within the band, and coming back together again in the studio brought a new intimacy to the harmonies.” Adds Plant: “You hear something and you go ‘Man, listen to that song, we got to sing that song!’ It’s a vacation, really — the perfect place to go that you least expected to find.”
Released in 2007, Raising Sand is one of the most beloved and acclaimed albums of the 21st century. In addition to winning all six Grammy Awards for which it was nominated, it also earned a CMA Award for Musical Event Of The Year, plus Album Of The Year and Duo/Group Of The Year accolades from the Americana Music Honors and Awards.”
