The singer-songwriter Robert Plant hailed as “remarkable”
Although Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant established himself in the realm of heavy rock, his days of being aligned to that genre are resigned to the history books. He has firmly moved on from the period that is deeply linked to his youth and a version of himself that Plant no longer recognises when he looks in the mirror.
Since Led Zeppelin parted ways following the tragic death of drummer John Bonham, Plant moved on and began a new chapter of his artistry. In recent years, he’s evolved into the arena of folk and Americana music, which is more suitable to his voice and artistry at his current age than his former area of expertise.
Additionally, due to his growth as an artist, Plant’s music taste has altered. The records that speak to him profoundly are bodies of work from the same sphere that he now operates in rather than the latest hard rock bands.
Plant’s recent projects have seen him collaborate with singer-songwriter Alison Krauss and his band Saving Grace with Suzi Dian, which sees the group reimagine a series of traditional folk songs. While he’s been offered obscene earnings to reunite with Led Zeppelin, which would also see him play much larger venues, it’s simply not of interest to him.
During a guest appearance on BBC 6 Music during the festive period in 2021, Plant treated listeners to a glimpse into his eclectic record collection. The 20-song playlist proved to be a fascinating insight into the type of music that makes him tick, including singer-songwriter Feist, who is one of Plant’s favourite singers of recent years.
While the Broken Social Scene member isn’t a prolific solo artist, her six albums have all been worth the wait. Her 2011 record Metals remains the highest-charting release of her career to date in the United States, landing in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 200, and includes the track ‘Undiscovered First’ which Plant aired on the radio.
During his introduction of the song, Plant said: “A remarkable Canadian singer-songwriter. You can’t get enough of these beautiful, great tangents of imagination from all these various artists. It’s really quite inspiring, and the whole idea of actually finding a good cross-section of stuff to play without ending up playing most of the stuff that was recorded in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1929, it’s been a tough call.”
The love between Plant and Feist is reciprocal. In the press run for Metals, she revealed to The Independent how ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin was currently her ringtone. Explaining her decision, the Canadian lovingly said: “That song has such a giant riff; every now and then, you’ll see a spark of jealousy in someone’s eye when my phone goes off. It also makes me answer before Robert [Plant] starts singing because great as his screaming is, it tends to disturb people.”
Unfortunately, the two talents have yet to collaborate or share the stage, but hopefully, that will change. Listen to ‘Undiscovered First’ below.
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