The album met with critical acclaim, earning an average score of 87 from reviews compiled by Metacritic.[9] It ranked at #24 on Rolling Stone's December 17, 2007 listing of the year's top 50 albums.[10]Being There called it "one of the year’s very best".[11]Allmusic hailed it "one of the most effortless-sounding pairings in modern popular music", but stated that some songs "(felt) like (they were) tossed off".[2]
JamBase called the album "subtle, focused and full of life" and said that it was "highly recommended".[12]Village Voice described it as "powerfully evocative" and "utterly foreign, oddly familiar, and deeply gratifying."[13]
The songs on Raising Sand were handpicked by producer T Bone Burnett. Entertainment Weekly described the selection as "eclectic",[14] while Village Voice said, "Burnett flaunts his typical curatorial genius with a whole set of 'have we met before?' tunes."[13]
The musical quality was also praised. The BBC described Krauss's fiddle as "coruscating" and "raw",[15] while The Music Box said Krauss "exceeds all expectations".[16] The BBC said the musicians "make this a stunning, dark, brooding collection, comparable in tone to Daniel Lanois' masterful job on Dylan's Time Out of Mind."[15]
Critics praised Krauss and Plant's vocals; one critic saying that the "key to the magic is the delicious harmony vocals of the unlikely duo".[17] Various critics described Krauss's vocals as "spellbinding", "honey-sweet", "weepy", "saccharine", and "haunting".[15][17][18] Plant's vocals were described as "orgasmic" and "slithering".[13][18]
The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize in the UK.
In December 2009, Rhapsody ranked the album #2 on its "Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.[22] The online music service also called it one of their favorite cover albums of all time.[23]
"Raising Sand is my album of the century," said singer Lily Allen. "I love the whole folky and bluegrass sound. There's one track called 'Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us', which sounds like an epic funeral march: it's haunting and spooky, and Alison Krauss's voice can just make you shiver. Then there's 'Please Read the Letter', which just has such an honest and open sentiment, it's disarming. I'd love to do an album like that."[24]
Chart performanceedit
The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling about 112,000 copies in its first week, the highest chart position for either artists' solo work, although Plant had previously reached #1 several times with Led Zeppelin.[25]Raising Sand was certified platinum by the RIAA on March 4, 2008.[26][27] After the album's success at the 2009 Grammy Awards, the album topped the BillboardTop Rock Albums chart and Top Internet Albums chart for the first time on the week of February 28, 2009. The album also hit the top of Canadian Top Country Albums, and also peaked at #2 in Billboard Top Country Albums, being stuck behind part of 35 weeks non-consecutive chart topping Fearless by country singer Taylor Swift. Selling 77,000 copies on a 715% increase, Raising Sand jumped 69–2 on the Billboard 200.[28]
The album entered the Top 5 on the UK Albums Chart, going on to reach #2 on January 2, 2008.[29]
Follow-up albumedit
According to Ken Irwin of Rounder Records, and producer Burnett, the duo started work on a second album in 2009.[30]
"To be 61 and faced with the 'difficult second album' is quite a phenomenon…" Plant observed in 2009. "We'd finished everything in ten days in Nashville, and I rented a car and went down the Natchez Trace to Oxford, Mississippi, across to Clarksdale and down into Helena, Arkansas, looking for those ghosts… and thought to myself, 'How can this be? I've just been with complete strangers, recorded 12 amazing tracks, had a fantastic time, and now I'm headed for the Mississippi Delta.'"[31]
In a 2010 interview, Plant indicated that the follow-up sessions were unsuccessful.[32]
Krauss and Plant released a new album produced by Burnett, Raise the Roof, on November 19, 2021.[33]
^ ab"Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raing Sand (sic)". Blender Magazine. October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 8, 2008.
^"The 100 Best Songs of 2007" Rolling Stone. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2007.
^"Grammys". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
^MTV News Staff (8 February 2009). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
^"Country’s Best Albums of the Decade" Retrieved 12 January 2010. Archived January 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^Rhapsody’s Favorite Covers Albums Referenced August 1, 2010 Archived July 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^"Albums of the century". Q. No. 282. January 2010. p. 93.
^Hasty, Katie. "Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart", Billboard. October 31, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
^"RIAA Searchable Database". RIAA. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
^"Alison Krauss/Robert Plant go platinum". Country Standard Time. March 20, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
^Hasty, Katie. "Swift Back To No. 1 As Plant/Krauss, Coldplay Soar", Billboard. February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
^"OFFICIAL ALBUMS CHART RESULTS MATCHING". Official Charts. July 2019.
^Daniel Kreps (13 February 2009). "Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Working On "Raising Sand" Follow-Up". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
^Doyle, Tom (January 2010). "Artists of the century". Q. No. 282. p. 88.
^Mansfield, Brian (14 September 2010). "Robert Plant loves to dig in America's rich musical soil". USA Today.
^"Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Announce First Album Together in 14 Years, Share New Song". Pitchfork. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
^"New Zealand album certifications – Allison Krauss & Robert plant – Raising Sand". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
^"Russian album certifications – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss – Raising Sand" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
^"Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
^"British album certifications – Robert Plant & Allison Krauss – Raising Sand Times". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 May 2019.