Robert Plant and Allison Krauss seem like an unlikely duo. Robert Plant, once the lead singer of Led Zeppelin is one of the most famous rock singers of all time, meanwhile Allison Krauss is one of the most famous bluegrass singers who was at one point the female artist who had the most Grammy awards. Back in 2007 they released a collaborative album called Raising Sand to critical and commercial acclaim. 14 years later they are preparing to release their long awaited second album, Raise the Roof. This week they have released their second single from the album, ‘High and Lonesome’, the only original track from the album, written by Plant and producer T Bone Burnett.

‘High and Lonesome’ is underpinned by a steady drum beat and bass line all the way through it. This beat keeps you listening attentively through the song, although the powerhouse of the song is in Plant’s vocals. He sounds emotional and expressive repeating the lines ‘I must find my love’ or ‘Will she still be mine?’, building the tension in the song with every verse. The chorus’s in the song are beautiful, Plant is joined by Krauss on backing vocals which adds a richer sound to the music and helps to emphasise the lyrics. Musically there is sparse guitar work all through the song and some great mellotron work in the chorus which makes the song feel more uplifting. The song ends gracefully, with a slow fade out which incorporates more of the mellotron work giving it a peaceful ending compared with the musical up’s and down’s of the verses and chorus’s.

To conclude, I will give this song a 7/10 as it is a great original Plant / Krauss tune which fits in with the work they have done so far, my only quibble with it is I would have liked to have heard more of Krauss’s voice in the mix, as it’s a bit quiet and I think the song would have benefited from more of her singing.

Rating: 7/10