Robert Plant played an intimate warm-up show in London last night as he prepared for tonight’s gig at the Forum.
Taking the stage with new ensemble Band Of Joy, the one-time Golden God and his team of Nashville sessioneers ran through a short set of songs taken from Plant’s latest solo record. Now 62, he remains in fine form; the permanent glint in his eye evidence of just how much he’s enjoying this latest musical adventure.
The material – a downhome set of folk-blues reinterpretations, country rarities and reawakened spirituals – is rooted in the dusty americana that served him so well on 2007′s Raising Sand, except here the twinkling mandolins and plucky banjos play an even larger part in the mix. Unsurprisingly, the band are super tight, delivering the likes of Townes Van Zandt’s bittersweet Harm’s Swift Way, Richard & Linda Thompson’s House Of Cards and the hushed groove of Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down with rustic cool.
Plant’s voice eases its way into the sound, for the most part remaining tender and measured – only once does an unleashed “ooo-yeah!” hint at his heavy rock past. There’s a magical quality to these tracks too – a reverence tinged with playfulness that wends its way through each tale. A beautiful, a capella version of And We Bid You Goodnight is a fitting end to a set that shows how the self-styled Black Country hippie has found a second home in the ancient backwaters of these songs. If you’re headed to the Forum tonight, you’re in for a real treat.
Robert Plant plays the London HMV Forum tonight.
by Ross_Bennett
http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2010/09/post_105.html
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