This 2010 album from Robert Plant is aptly named, since this work ‘Band of Joy’ is an absolute delight – a revelation that grows with repeated listening. Recorded at Woodland Studio in Nashville with co-producer Buddy Miller, supported by the backing vocals of Patty Griffin, this collection of mostly cover tunes is mesmerizing.
The standout tracks are “Angel Dance” and “The Only Sound That Matters” and after five years they’ve stood up as well as anything that ever emanated from Plant’s famous band Led Zeppelin. Who knew that the guy who left us all dazed and confused in the Seventies, the cock of the walk, the new Elvis, would evolve to the depth, maturity, and intensity shown here? We’ve had evidence of his transformation over the years, particularly with the great album from 2002 entitled Dreamland, as well as the Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raising Sand, but this effort was a new and improved formula. Songs by such great songwriters as Richard Thompson (“House of Cards”) and Townes Van Zandt (“Harm’s Swift Way”)are given confident and strong interpretations.
Plant himself says he was rejuvenated by this work. “When I listened to the playback of this stuff”, he said at the time of this album’s release “I went” ‘Oh. I think I’ve rearrived’ ”. He went on further”
“I want to be part of something that’s alluring. Once upon a time, there were lots of things that I wanted my voice to be a part of. And now, if it comes to bombast, and power, and surge, it’s gotta be with something else in mind… it’s just another way of bringing about a very powerful resolve at the end of three minutes without having to do any real big vocal histrionics.”
Much of the power of this album comes from the production values. It’s almost as if the mystery behind it all had been created by a collaboration between T-Bone Burnett and Daniel Lanois – two of the best producers of the last couple of decades. They don’t appear on this record, but their influence is there. This album is both crystal clear and hypnotic – listen to the controlled and deliberate lead guitar work on “Silver Rider” – it builds to an unforgettable climax that is as far removed from the work of Jimmy Page as one can travel – yet it’s no less effective. Credits list Buddy Miller on electric guitar, and again, it’s a long way from his usual country-based playing I’ve heard on his own recordings.
The name Band of Joy derives from Plant’s teenage years – it was the moniker of an early group he formed with the late great John Bonham prior to the days of Led Zep. And indeed, Plant was quoted as saying “I am 17, but I am 62”. Well, a new passion will do that for you, and passion exudes from Plant these days.
Very surprising is the second to last cut on this record, “Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down”, a traditional number given a new treatment and arrangement by Plant and Miller. It’s reminiscent of Emmylou Harris singing “Satan’s Jewel Crown” on her amazing 1975 album Elite Hotel, though the different approaches to the subject of the universal attraction to Satan are instructive. Where Emmylou is seeking redemption in the darkness, Robert Plant is bold, confident, and strong – she struggles to resist temptation; he attacks his own nature fiercely. Both songs are delicious to hear.
The one song on Band of Joy that Plant had a hand in writing (with Buddy Miller) is a wonderful rollicking banjo-based tune called “Central Two-O-Nine” that sounds like it could have been written in the 1920s. It’s a great singalong, as is most of this record.
