Wednesday 07/05/08 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss @ Cardiff International Arena

With a Led Zeppelin reunion tour looking less likely by the day, there’s no shame in feeding on Robert Plant’s most recent musical collaboration. On the surface, it looked unfeasible: pitting someone like Plant’s machismo vocals against that of Alison Krauss’ crystalline timbre seemed nonsensical, especially when set to the tones of bluegrass and country. With hindsight though, producer T Bone Burnett has delivered with aplomb in juxtaposing these two musical heavyweights into one unified force. The end result is the pair’s Rising Sand album - a record brimming with both joyful, and mournful, country-folk laments. Both Krauss and Plant took to the stage in opposing attire - the first opting for an elegant number whilst the latter was stitched in shiny-red slacks and a worn black shirt. 

From the opening bars of 'Rich Woman', you could see the music tapestry being unlocked from both parties with Plant dimming his vocals to match Krauss’s smooth delivery. It didn’t take long for the first nod to Zeppelin to be met with Black Dog being transformed from a rollicking blues workout into a sedate piece of bluegrass. Although Plant was the main draw for many in the sage crowd, he was only too happy to pass on the plaudits to Krauss as her solo turn on 'Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us' was drenched in taut vocal harmonies and swooping violins. Another Zeppelin number, 'Black Country Woman', gave Plant a little room to extend his powerful vocals before joking with the crowd, ‘Some of these songs are so old my daddy used to sing them to me’.

Both Krauss and Plant exited to allow T Bone Burnett to step forward from his guitar picking and lay down some of his own wistful folk-rock numbers. The pair returned with a brilliant rendition of 'Down To The River To Play', lifted from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? The last Zeppelin track, 'The Battle Of Evermore', was a clear example as to how Krauss and Plant are able to bring their musical differences into one. Plant fired his way through the track whilst 

Krauss took on the part of the late Sandy Denny, matched her harrowing vocals to nigh-on perfection. The set ended with the stomping 'Your Long Journey' with Plant playfully switching vocals with his new musical sidekick. Whether Led Zeppelin venture out on tour again remains to be seen, but Plant is more than adept in his current musical guise.