Robert Plant Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar Nonesuch Four stars
Some albums blow you into the weeds from the opening note. Robert Plant's Lullaby and … The Ceaseless Roar is not one of those. But, like a weed, it is tenacious.
Repeated listening piles surprises upon delight. Gone are the bawling vocal pyrotechnics of Plant’s early career with Led Zeppelin. In their place is the considered, mellow and surprisingly gentle tenor of a 66-year-old comfortable in his own skin and vocal range.
With a cracking backing band, Sensational Shape Shifters, Plant takes us through an eclectic collection with hints of bluegrass, Celtic blues, African rhythms and straight-ahead rock. Well, perhaps not quite so straight-ahead. Highlights are the banjo-driven opener, Little Maggie and the groove-laden Pocketful of Golden, which left me wondering whether he'd been listening to Martyn Bennet's Distortion Pipe – it's classy.
There are other touchstones aplenty, hints of John Mellencamp (Turn It Up) and Bono (Rainbow), all topped off with the ultra-radio-friendly ballad Somebody There. This is a really lovely album with plenty to enjoy.
artslife@thenational.ae
