Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has shared his thoughts on the ageing world of rock'n'roll.
In conversation with MOJO about his new collaborative project with American bluegrass and country singer Alison Kraus, titled Raise The Roof, Plant offers his opinion on heritage bands who still play together after decades on the scene, stating they look "sadly decrepit", and likening them to "hanging onto a life raft".
He explains: "The good thing about Alison and I is that we’re a couple of kindred spirits. Most musicians form a band, then they stay in the band until it’s over – 20 years, 30 years, 50 years, whatever it is – and it starts to look sadly decrepit. It’s like people hanging onto a life raft, or staying in a comfortable place."
Speaking on his musical partnership with Krauss, Plant adds "With us, there’s nothing written in blood. We were ready to do something new, and we knew how good it was before, so we can just join up again and see where we go. We’ve got nothing to lose."
Led Zeppelin broke up in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham. Although the group have got together several times since to play one-off gigs, Plant has quashed any talk of Led Zeppelin officially reuniting, fearing for the state of their legacy if they continued into old age. In 2017, the singer admitted, "You can’t ever really go back. It’s tough enough repeating yourself with something that’s a year old, never mind 49 years old. I’ve got to keep moving.”
In other related news, the singer recently revealed he had been having dreams about John Bonham over lockdown, describing the occasions as "magnificent moments of great relief.”
Raise The Roof will be released on November 19 via Warner Music. The project is Plant and Krauss' second time working together, and follows the release of Raising Sand in 2007.
