Label: Mercury Records (Japan), UICR-1024
Style: Rock, Classic Rock
Country: West Bromwich, England (20 August 1948)
Time: 59:15
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 369 Mb
Despite a nine year gap since Fate Of Nations, Percy hasn’t lost any creative momentum – Dreamland is another excellent album that continues to reveal new layers to Plant.
It’s quite different from FON, less immediate, a darker, slower, unhurried beast. Give it time though and it will reveal itself to be worthwhile. Plant is leaning into the ageing of his voice – listen to him on a cover of Dylan’s One More Cup Of Coffee, Plant singing with a wizened fragility that works in the song’s haunting blend of darbuka, Spanish guitar and synths. Darbuka, guitar and synths works as shorthand for the palette Plant is working with here, world music (particularly North African percussion) and folk with a slight electronic presence making for a musically literate and heady brew. This reaches its apex with the massive version of Hey Joe, which begins with a sparse electronic deconstruction of the song that becomes increasingly nightmarish with a intentionally unsettling performance from Plant and a full-band freak-out that’s as heavy as anything LZ ever did. Speaking of which, this may be the best band Plant has ever worked with in his solo career, able to adapt flawlessly to any tone or style thrown at them. In particular, drummer Clive Deamer is a master of touch and doesn’t seem capable of mistakes, and Charlie Jones gives a smooth, moody bass performance that adds a lot.
Yet there are times when Plant keeps it pure and simple without the bells and whistles. Morning Dew is beautiful, Plant’s voice a delicate whisper against John Baggott’s entrancing keyboard backing. Perhaps my favourite song is Song To The Siren, Plant giving one of the best performances he has ever put on record in this sensitive, blissful take on Tim Buckley’s classic.
Whether the bleak epic Darkness Darkness or the near surf-rock (yes really) of Dirt In A Hole, Dreamland is a rich and rewarding album that Plant fans should not hesitate to purchase.
(rateyourmusic.com/release/album/robert-plant/dreamland/) Review by Matt_K, Dec 11 2021
01. Funny In My Mind (I Believe I'm Fixin' To Die) (04:44)
02. Morning Dew (04:26)
03. One More Cup Of Coffee (04:03)
04. Last Time I Saw Her (04:41)
05. Song To The Siren (05:53)
06. Win My Train Fare Home (If I Ever Get Lucky) (06:04)
07. Darkness, Darkness (07:10)
08. Red Dress (05:24)
09. Hey Joe (07:06)
10. Skip's Song (04:55)
11. Dirt In A Hole (04:45)
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