(1994)
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | [2] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10 [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | 91/100 [4] |
NME | 6/10 [5] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Spin | 3/10 [7] |
Uncut | 7/10 [8] |
Walking into Clarksdale is the only studio album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant,both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 20 April 1998. [9] The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini at Abbey Road Studios. [10]
The album debuted on Billboard's Billboard 200 album chart at No. 8,while reaching No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart. The single "Most High" was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1999,and reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 26 in the UK. [11]
Plant re-recorded the song "Please Read the Letter" with Alison Krauss for their 2007 collaboration album Raising Sand . This re-recording won the Record of the Year award at the 2009 Grammy Awards. [12] "House of Love" was later re-recorded with different lyrics by Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters for their 2014 studio album Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar .
The title of the album refers to Clarksdale,Mississippi,a town in the Mississippi Delta considered to be the birthplace of blues music. [13]
Following their successful No Quarter tour and subsequent live album release,Jimmy Page and Robert Plant began writing Walking into Clarksdale. For the new record,Page and Plant pursued a more stripped-down sound,eschewing the heavy orchestration of their live performances in favor of a more traditional four-piece band. [13] The initial demos for the album were written by Page on a Harmony H1260 Sovereign guitar,first used during the recording of Led Zeppelin III . [13]
The band met at RAK Studios in August 1997 where they recorded "Burning Up" and "Shining in the Light". [14] [15] Shortly after,the band left RAK for Abbey Road's EMI Number Two Studio,where they recorded the rest of the album over the course of 35 days in August and September. [16] [17] Page characterized the band's approach as "minimalistic",stating that the band wanted to avoid "embellishments for the sake of it" and that "every note was played in its place to mean something." [18]
The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini,known for producing Nirvana's final album In Utero . [19] Plant reported he had long admired Albini's music and recording techniques. [20] Each song was recorded in a single take,with the full band live in the studio,with the exception of guitar layering on the title track and string and keyboard overdubs on "Upon a Golden Horse" and "Most High". [14]
Walking Into Clarksdale was released internationally on 20 April 1998 and in North America on 21 April to widespread critical acclaim. The album received significant promotion from Atlantic Records,which mounted an extensive marketing campaign. This included advertising on major U.S. cable channels,placements in prominent national print outlets such as Rolling Stone,and numerous interviews on major talk shows. A "substantial radio buy" in the top 20 radio markets further bolstered its visibility. [21]
In a novel move,Atlantic Records partnered with Ticketmaster to promote the album directly to fans purchasing tickets for the 1998 tour—a first for the label. These efforts contributed to strong sales,earning the album gold certification in the United States. [21] [22]
The album’s lead single,"Most High," was released on 30 March 1998. It debuted at No. 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and quickly climbed to No. 1. [21] A second single,"Shining in the Light," followed on 30 May 1998. [23]
The album's cover,designed by Martin Callomon,features photography by Anton Corbijn,renowned for his work with U2 and Depeche Mode. [24] Walking Into Clarksdale was later named 1998 Album of the Year by Entertainment Weekly. [22]
To promote Walking into Clarksdale,Page and Plant kicked off 1998's "Walking into Everywhere" Tour. The tour,consisting of three tours of Eastern Europe,North America,and Western Europe,consisted of 97 tour dates and featured a mix of both new material and Led Zeppelin classics. [25] [26] The band's concert in Bucharest,Romania was professionally filmed for a cancelled home video release,and parts of the concert were broadcast live on the MTV special “Live from the 10 Spot”to promote the album. [27]
Three additional tour legs in Japan,Australia,and South America were planned for 1999. However,following a final appearance in Paris on 10 December 1998 at the Amnesty International “The Struggle Continues…”concert,Robert Plant dissolved the partnership and the planned 1999 tour was cancelled. [28]
All songs by Jimmy Page,Robert Plant,Charlie Jones,and Michael Lee.
Japanese bonus track
Note
Weekly charts
| Year-end
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [46] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [47] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Led Zeppelin is the first album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released on 13 January 1969 in the United States and on 31 March 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records.
Led Zeppelin II is the second album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 22 October 1969 in the United States and on 31 October 1969 in the United Kingdom by Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in both the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. The album's production was credited to the band's lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, and it was also Led Zeppelin's first album on which Eddie Kramer served as engineer.
Led Zeppelin III is the third album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Additional sessions were held at Island Studios and Olympic Studios in London. As with the prior album, the band eschewed the use of guest musicians, with all music performed by band members Robert Plant (vocals), Jimmy Page (guitars), John Paul Jones, and John Bonham (drums). The range of instruments played by the band was greatly enhanced on this album, with Jones especially emerging as a talented multi-instrumentalist, playing a wide range of keyboard and stringed instruments, including various synthesizers, mandolin and double bass, in addition to his usual bass guitar. As with prior albums, Page served as producer on the album, with mixing done by Andy Johns and Terry Manning.
The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released on 8 November 1971 by Atlantic Records. Produced by the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page, it was recorded between December 1970 and February 1971, mostly in the country house Headley Grange. The album contains the band's most well-known recording, the eight-minute-long "Stairway to Heaven".
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Robert Anthony Plant is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980. Since then, he has had a successful solo career, sometimes collaborating with other artists such as Alison Krauss. Regarded by many as one of the greatest singers in rock music, he is known for his flamboyant persona, raw stage performances and his powerful, wide-ranging voice.
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Page and Plant were an English rock band active between 1994 and 1998. The group consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant, accompanied by bassist Charlie Jones and drummer Michael Lee. Formed in 1994 for an MTV Unplugged reunion, Page and Plant released the platinum-selling live album No Quarter, featuring both new material and middle eastern-influenced covers of classic Led Zeppelin songs. Following the success of the live album, they embarked on a world tour featuring a full orchestra.
No Quarter is a live album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 31 October 1994. The long-awaited reunion between Jimmy Page and Robert Plant occurred on a 90-minute "UnLedded" MTV project, recorded in Morocco, Wales and London.
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Raising Sand is the first collaborative studio album by rock singer Robert Plant and bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss. It was released in October 2007 by Rounder Records. Raising Sand won Album of the Year at the 2008 Americana Music Honors & Awards and at the 2009 Grammy Awards.
After the breakup of Led Zeppelin in 1980, Robert Plant pursued a successful solo career comprising eleven studio albums, two compilation albums, three video albums, four collaborative albums, and 42 singles. He began his solo career with Pictures at Eleven in 1982, followed by 1983's The Principle of Moments. Popular tracks from this period include "Big Log", "In the Mood" (1984), "Little by Little", "Tall Cool One", Manic Nirvana's "Hurting Kind " (1990), and "I Believe", another song written for and dedicated to his late son, Karac. In 1984, Plant formed a short-lived all-star group with Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck called the Honeydrippers, who had a No. 3 hit with a remake of the Phil Phillips' tune, "Sea of Love" and a follow-up hit with a cover of Roy Brown's "Rockin' at Midnight". Although Plant avoided performing Led Zeppelin songs through much of this period, his tours in 1983 and 1985 were very successful, often performing to sold-out arena-sized venues.
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Stephen Charles Jones is an English session bass player, songwriter, record producer, and Grammy Award winner.
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"Most High" is a song by English rock duo Jimmy Page and Robert Plant from their only studio album, Walking into Clarksdale (1998). The song features a keyboard overdub by Tim Whelan of Transglobal Underground, played in a quarter-tone to mimic Moroccan trance.
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