There are two important realities of the Raising Sand project that you need to know: first, the album does about everything you could ask of a country-folksy cover record; second, the project features the expertise of two musical legends, namely Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.

The idea for a collaborative album took off after Plant and Krauss shared the stage together years back, and the product is a 13-track masterpiece of melodic melancholy that is simply good for the soul. Raising Sand offers tear-jerkers, sing along-ers, and mystifiers, performed by musical talents that make the album worth revisiting again and again.

The album features country-folk classic tunes repackaged with the inspirations of Plant, Krauss, and a tasteful backup band. “Polly Come Home” and “Trampled Rose” process in haunting funeral-march sobriety, followed by “Gone Gone Gone” which serves as a great transition into the more upbeat sounds of the rest of the album.

Alison Krauss’s voice is timeless in ‘Through the Morning, Through the Night’ and “Rosetta” brings that true gypsy aura, never complete without twangy banjo strings and thudding skin drums. One can hardly listen without thinking of campfires and pipes.

If you’re keen to sounds that range from folksy to groovy, melancholy to country, and all things in between, check out Raising Sand. And be sure to stop into the Raising Sand homepage as well and check out tour dates, news and more.

One more thing…my next post will fall on May 28. It’s a special day in musical history, and I’d like to offer the following challenge to any reader: using these clues, if you can guess what my next post will feature, I’ll personally purchase the item for you in the form of an iTunes gift card. No joke. First correct comment wins the prize.

Clue 1: Preachin’ on the burning shore

Clue 2: Delilah Jones

Clue 3: Hartford, Connecticut