ROBERT PLANT AND THE SENSATIONAL SHAPE SHIFTERS

In the past couple of years, Robert Plant has left a few great bands in his wake, one of whom was Led Zeppelin.

After the incredibly successful one-off Led Zeppelin reunion concert from 2007, he left huge, multi-millon dollar deals for a larger scale reunion on the table to go off and tour with Alison Krauss.

Of course, that ended up working out for him: the Raising Sand album won six Grammys, sold a ton, and redefined him as a more mature (but not "adult contemporary") artist. Of course, there had to be a lot of pressure for them to follow up that classic album, but Robert bailed on that one too, to form the Band Of Joy with Buddy Miller from the Raising Sand touring band, and Patty Griffin, whom Buddy was producing at the time.

That was a really cool album, but again, Robert has moved on to form a new band, The Sensational Shape Shifters.  I don't know when the new album is coming out, but Plant made a very interesting move: on July 12, he and his band did a gig in London, and released it as a downloadable live album the next day.

This sounds like his most wild band yet.  I loved the band will Alison Krauss, but it was pretty musically conservative, as many T-Bone Burnett productions are (and I love Burnett's productions). I loved Band Of Joy as well, but it was like a harder edged version of the Krauss band. But bringing back guitarist Justin Adams, who worked with him on the Mighty Rearranger album, brings back the non-anglo/world music vibe that he hasn't had for a while. There are some really great versions of Zeppelin songs on this live album.   I'm definitely looking forward to the new studio album, which will be made up of mostly originals.

BUDDY MILLER'S "THE MAJESTIC SILVER STRINGS"

This is actually a group, led by Buddy Miller, one of my favorite artists of the '00s. Buddy has made great records on his own and with his wife, Julie Miller.  He produced two of my favorite albums of 2010, Robert Plant's Band Of Joy and Patty Griffin's Downtown Church. I actually discovered Buddy as a member of Emmylou Harris' band during her Spyboy era (I saw him open for her and play guitar in her band about a decade ago).

Bill Frisell, a kind of art-jazz guy who has played a lot with John Zorn and also Vernon Reid, is also in the band. So is Marc Ribot, another guy who has played with Zorn, but he's played a lot with Tom Waits as well. And finally, Greg Leisz, who I know mainly as the steel guitarist who plays with Matthew Sweet, but he's played for tons of other artists as well.

This album features mostly traditional country songs re-interpreted in interesting ways with lots of guest vocalists, including Patty, Emmylou, Julie, Lee Ann Womack and Mark Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius, a solo artist who played with Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions Band). It doesn't come off as a gimmicky record-label contrived production, it's quite good.  I like Buddy's simpler stuff, and I'd also like to hear more of Buddy singing (he mostly stays back and lets other people sing), but it is a really cool album, very ambitious. It reminds me in some ways of Don Was' Orquestra Was project, just in how it takes country to a very different place.  A lot of this album makes me feel like I am at a beach party in Hawaii as the sun is coming up.

The highlights: the most rocking song on the album is Roger Miller's "Dang Me" (given a different twist by Chocolate Genius, singing "they oughta take a rope and hang me!") and Emmylou's take on '50s country singer Stonewall Jackson's "Why I'm Walkin'." Buddy and Marc take the vocals on George Jones' "Why Baby Why" which is excellent and Julie sings "God's Wing'ed House," which she wrote the lyrics to (Marc wrote the music).

If you've heard of Buddy Miller and want to check him out, this is NOT where to start. For that, I'd go with Buddy & Julie's The Best Of The Hightone Years.  But give this one a few listens, it's rewarding.

PATTY GRIFFIN - DOWNTOWN CHURCH - TIE FOR #11

There's not a lot of gospel music in my collection, but when I find something (or someone) I like, I really like it (or them).  My second favorite album of 2010 was Mavis Staples' You Are Not Alone, and another album that almost made my top 10 was Patty Griffin's Downtown Church.

Patty actually is already in my top 10, as she sings on Robert Plant's Band Of Joy album (and she's also in his touring band). And like Band Of Joy, Downtown Church was produced by the great Buddy Miller.

Like Buddy, Patty is part of the sort of "parallel" Nashville scene (I don't really want to use the "a-word"). Artists like Lucinda, Emmylou, Earle and Miller, who are surely country and yet are ignored by the country music establishment. This album is more gospel based than most of her albums, and in fact was recorded in a church in downtown Nashville.

There are a few guests here: both Millers (Buddy and his equally talented wife, Julie Miller),  Emmylou Harris and Shawn Colvin all pitch in, but it's Patty's show.   It's a combination of originals and covers, including Hank Williams' "House Of Gold" (which Willie Nelson also covered on his new album, Country Music), and traditional songs like "Death's Got A Warrant" and "If I Had My Way." Yes, these songs have been done before.  But to my ears, they haven't been overdone, and in fact, I think that Patty does a service by keeping them alive for a new audience to hear. Beyond that, she makes them her own.  She has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard, she can sing the phone book and I'd probably like it. But singing these incredible songs of faith and love... it actually is "divine."

BEST OF 2010 - #5 - ROBERT PLANT "BAND OF JOY"

People asked, how could Robert Plant possibly walk away from his collaboration with Allison Krauss to do another solo album? Their album Raising Sand, won six Grammys over two years, sold over a million records in the US and was highly acclaimed. It even seemed to accomplish what Robert couldn't do on his own for over two decades: take him out of Led Zeppelin's shadow. It must have been tempting to do a second duo album.

The thing is, they did try, and it wasn't working. Keep in mind, Robert Plant is the guy who turned down probably well into the eight figures for a Zeppelin reunion tour to work with Krauss.

I interviewed Plant eight years ago or so, and he told me "I ain't got much time, I can't mess around," meaning he didn't want to waste time on projects if he wasn't 110% behind them. So, rest assured, when he does an album, he means it. If it were about the money, he'd be singing Zeppelin songs and making millions of bucks. He follows the muse these days, period.

So when things didn't work out this time with Krauss (he has said the door is open to work together again), he put together a new band with an old name: Band Of Joy, the group he and John Bonham played in before Zeppelin. He collaborated with the great Buddy Miller (who played guitar in Plant/Krauss' touring group) for the Band Of Joy album.  Where Raising Sand was almost a reverent museum piece of semi-obscure Americana, Band Of Joy sees Robert bringing his west coast psychedelic influences to the party. The touring band features Buddy and also the incredible singer Patty Griffin.  I saw one of their first US shows.  The show floored me. The album does also. I know some of the source material on the album (like Raising Sand, it is mainly covers). Los Lobos, Richard Thompson, Townes Van Zant. But there's lots of really obscure songs, that Robert really brings to life. Like Raising Sand, this is an album you don't have to be a Zeppelin fan to enjoy.

Check out: "Angel Dance," "House Of Cards," "Silver Rider," "Falling In Love Again," "Monkey," "Satan Your Kingdom Must Come Down."

ROBERT PLANT AT THE BOWERY BALLROOM - MIND BLOWINGLY GREAT

People were surprised at the news that Robert Plant is doing another “solo” album, instead of following up the success of his six time Grammy winning Raising Sand with Alison Krauss. But the thing is, when he started touring with Krauss, people were surprised that he opted to do that instead of a Led Zeppelin reunion tour, which he would have made way more money for. The thing is, Robert Plant doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to, and he definitely isn’t doing anything for the money. It turns out that, in his mind, the second album with Krauss (which they did start sessions for) wasn’t happening for whatever reason. In his mind, it wasn't working... so it was time to move on to something else.

So, he moved on, as he has done several times in recent years: he’s left Jimmy Page, he left his bands The Priory Of Brion and The Strange Sensation, and now the Alison Krauss project. But he wasn’t done with Nashville. He called up the great Buddy Miller, who played guitar on the tour with Alison, and asked Buddy to put together a band and produce a new album. The band includes the incredible singer (and songwriter) Patty Griffin.

This long introduction kind of explains, for those of you who aren’t familiar, the band I saw on Sunday night at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. They had chemistry, and they had mojo. The show was incredible: they did stuff from their Band Of Joy album (which comes out today) – including covers of Richard Thompson’s “House Of Cards,” Los Lobos’ “Angel Dance” and Townes Van Zandt’s “Harm’s Swift Way.” They did some stuff from Raising Sand, “Rich Woman” and “Please Read The Letter.” Some real obscure stuff from Robert’s career – “All The King’s Horses” (from 2005’s The Mighty Rearranger) and “Down To The Sea” (from 1993’s Fate Of Nations).

Amazingly, Robert was happy to back up the other members of his band. He went to the back of the stage to play harmonica when Buddy took the mic for one of his best songs, “Somewhere Trouble Don’t Go.” He sang backup when Patty sang “Move Up” (from her recent Buddy Miller-produced album Downtown Church from earlier this year) and also when his other guitarist Darrell Scott sang “A Satisfied Mind.”

And yes, they did mine the Led Zeppelin catalog, and to great effect, without making it a “Zeppelin Gone Country” show. “Misty Mountain Hop,” “Houses Of The Holy” (which is one of my favorites, and a totally underrated song, as far as Zeppelin songs go), “Gallows Pole” and even “Rock and Roll.” Patty Griffin looked like she was having a great time rocking out – moreso than she does at her own performances! The show was just about an hour and a half, and most of the crowd greeted everything ecstatically (admittedly, the Zep songs got the loudest reactions, along with Robert’s solo hit “Tall Cool One”).  I’m sure when they do a proper tour, the shows will be longer, and I totally recommend you check out the album and the tour when it comes to your town.

ROBERT PLANT REACTIVATES HIS EX-BAND...

... Band Of Joy.  OK, I apologize for the purposely misleading headline, I couldn't help it. No, Robert Plant isn't putting Led Zeppelin back together! He is, however, reactivating his pre-Zep group, Band Of Joy (which also included John Bonham). It's not a reunion: none of the former members are involved.

He made the announcement today on his website. His band includes the great Buddy Miller.  Buddy played in the band on Robert's tour with Alison Krauss.  Robert guested on Buddy's great album with his wife, Julie Miller, Written In Chalk, which came out last year. And Buddy co-produced Robert's upcoming solo album.

Also in Robert's band: Patty Griffin!  That's pretty cool, and not too surprising. Patty and Buddy have worked together often, Patty was on Solomon Burke's Nashville album that Buddy produced, she sang on Buddy and Julie's Written In Chalk, and Buddy produced her latest album, Downtown Church, which is one of my favorite albums of the year so far.  

But anyway, what's funny about this whole development is that now people are going to be asking Robert Plant when he's going to reunite... with Alison Krauss. After decades of "the Zeppelin question," I bet he'll grin about that.  I think the deal is, she's working with her longtime band Union Station again, so when Robert and Alison finish their current projects, they'll get back together for a new album. They are both signed to the same label, Rounder Records, so there's some synergy there. But I think this is great for Robert: I know he worked hard for years to get himself out of the shadow of Zeppelin.  He's certainly not denying that he was in the band, and he's surely not turning down the royalty checks.  But I think at his age, he just doesn't want to have to compete with his younger self. And I think his album with Alison, Raising Sand, is really his first post-Zeppelin work that truly did that. It's cool that the

sort of left-of-center country scene has embraced him like this.  I bet the album

will be great. Robert and Band Of Joy tours in July (nowhere near the tri-state area, unfortunately), see the dates here.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: SADE, RAE, PATTY AND MORE

Last week, I didn't make it in to work on Wednesday due to all the snow we got here in New Jersey, so I didn't get to go on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SIRIUS XM's OutQ channel.

So, if you tune in tomorrow morning at 9 am ET, I'll be talking about the albums I meant to talk about last week: Sade's Soldier of Love, Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea, Patty Griffin's Downtown Church, as well as new songs by rockabilly legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson, and a new group called The Black Belles (the latter two artists are both produced by Larry Flick's arch-enemy Jack White, so we'll see how this goes over).

TOMORROW ON OUTQ (WEATHER PERMITTING): SADE, RAE, AND MORE

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. We talk about - surprise! - music. Given that our area is supposed to be snowed in tomorrow, I may or may not make it in, stay tuned!

But if I do, I'll be talking about albums from some very talented ladies. First off is what might be the most anticipated album of 2010: Sade's latest, Soldier Of Love, which came out today. I only have the single, the title track, which I love. Sade is like Peter Gabriel, she's practically her own genre. Anyway, Larry has the whole album, so I'll be hearing some of it for the first time.

Corinne Bailey Rae's The Sea is just so, so sad. It is about her late husband, who died of an accidental overdose. I guess it is kind of like Lou Reed's Magic & Loss, about the death of a friend, or Sting's The Soul Cages about the death of his father or Neil Young's Sleeps With Angels, which was inspired by the death of Kurt Cobain. It's a hard album to listen to over and over, but it is a really good album at the same time. There are some beautiful sentiments, like "I Would Like To Call It Beauty" (inspired by a conversation Corinne had with her husband's brother), and "I'd Do It All Again." She had a hard time getting back into music, and then Questlove, a great guy by all accounts, gave her a live DVD of a Nina Simeone concert, and that helped her. I don't know how long I can really talk about this album for.

Patty Griffin's latest album, Downtown Church, is very gospel-inspried, and was in fact recorded in a church. Produced by the great Buddy Miller, it features guest appearances by Buddy, Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris. It's interesting: she could have made a much more "pop" album... especially since more people are finding out about her (she has been covered by Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson, Susan Boyle, The Dixie Chicks, Ben Harper and Emmylou Harris, among others). This would seem to be the right time to just go for it, and try and make the breakthrough album. Clearly not her m.o., and good for her. It's a really, really good album. I love her writing and her singing.

Once again, I am going to try and get Larry to accept Jack White's greatness. Actually, this proably won't work. As I've written about before, Jack is producing Wanda Jackson's new album, and the first single is out now. The A-side is a cover of Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good," and the B-side is a cover of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Shakin' All Over." The thing is, even five decades after she started making music, her voice still sounds really abrasive. I'm not sure the Amy cover works.

Then there is The Black Belles, an all-female rock band who I am sort of enjoying, the way you enjoy your first taste of a strong whiskey before you are old enough to drink. You're not actually sure you liked it at all, but you're going to try it again next weekend. Jack produced them, they have a cool sound, a cool look and I'm giving this one some time.

Well, I think it started snowing, so I don't know if I will make it in. If I don't, I'll be talking about all of this music next week. If I do, next week will be all about David Bowie!

MORE ARTISTS ADDED TO NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE CONCERT

Last month, I wrote about the lineup of artists that will be performing at the NARAS MusiCares 2010 Person Of The Year ceremony, paying tribute to Neil Young. They've just announced that Elton John has joined the bill, along with T-Bone Burnett, Leon Russell, Patty Griffin and country-pop group Lady Antebellum. So far, no one has mentioned that The Red Hot Chili Peppers won't be there, so maybe this might be their first performance with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

In other Neil news, the Archives Vol. 1 isn't his only box set out!  He has quietly released remastered versions of his first four solo albums: 1969's Neil Young, 1969's classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (featuring Crazy Horse), 1970's classic After The Gold Rush and 1972's classic Harvest. You can get a box set with all of them on vinyl.