Music Review: Robert Plant - Band of Joy

If you've never heard of Robert Plant then you literally must be from another planet. Plant is arguably the best known vocalist in hard rock history and yet somehow refuses to embrace his Led Zeppelin days in order to pursue other more personal musical pursuits. This year is no exception. It's 2010 and Robert Plant is solo once again!

After winning 5 Grammy awards for the multiplatinum countrified "Raising Sand" CD with singer Alison Krauss, Plant has decided to pass on a Led Zeppelin reunion tour and head back into the recording studio for his 9th solo CD, "Band Of Joy."

The new CD is made up of songs written by outside writers including David Hidalgo and Louie Perez from Los Lobos, Richard Thompson and Townes Van Zant. Of the 12 tracks there's only one Plant original called "Central Two-0-Nine" co-written with singer songwriter Buddy Miller and that song sounds like it could be an outtake from "Raising Sand." This is not the first time Plant has chosen to lean heavily on outside writers. But, who really cares? A good song is a good song.

There are many different musical styles on the album: Indian, Blue Grass, Folk, Blues and a little Rockabilly. If you're looking for the heavy sounds of "The Ocean" or "Custard Pie" you won't find anything like that here. There are some great tunes though and I would highly recommend downloading: "Angel Dance," "House Of Cards," "You Can't Buy My Love," and my personal favorite, "The Only Sound That Matters."

If you're still "in the mood for a melody" you will find it on "Band Of Joy." But if you wanna rock, better pull out your copy of "Now & Zen" and give that another spin.

Drumroll please… 6 1/2 out of 10 drumsticks!