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The former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant could still fill stadiums. But at 76 years old, he prefers more intimate venues to reveal his more acoustic projects
Two years ago, Robert Plant cancelled his visit to the Cactus Festival in Bruges at the last minute because Alison Krauss had lost her voice. The American country singer who accompanied him in the wake of their duet recordings (including the excellent “Raising Sand” in 2007) had withdrawn from their last performances together. Already well into his seventies, Robert Plant was still on his feet. Of course, with age, the English singer is slowing down. He only goes on stage once every two or three nights but clearly still takes as much pleasure in being in front of audiences, even if they are won over in advance.
Currently on a European tour, he chose the intimacy of theatres as natural settings for his essentially acoustic project, Saving Grace. Accompanied in Antwerp by a band in which the mandolin meets an accordion, Plant had fun digging into the history of folk and rock. Alternating between electric bass and accordion, his colleague Suzi Dian matches him step by step and even takes the upper hand for “For the Turnstiles” by Neil Young. Far from pulling the rug out from under him, he offers the microphone to the impressive multi-instrumentalist Matt Worley on the very electric “Move Along Train” (a cover of Levon Helm).
Robert Plant: the best of both worlds
Alongside pearls from his eclectic repertoire (such as “Let The Four Winds Blow” from 2005), carefully selected covers (Los Lobos and Richard & Linda Thompson), traditional folk songs with forgotten authors (“The Cuckoo”), lesser-known relics of Led Zeppelin (“The Rain Song” from 1973 or “Friends” from 1970), Robert Plant sometimes also blended the best of both worlds since “Gallows Pole”, borrowed from folklore, was already featured in an energetic version on the album “Led Zeppelin III” in 1970.
It seems, with all due respect, that it is indeed in old pots that the tastiest soups are brewed.
