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Charmaine Chan

Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation

Mighty Rearranger

(Sanctuary)

Whither the wetness  of Coldplay and company now? Why bother with  the darlings of the current cool set when an old hand beats them all hands down with an effortlessly contemporary record steeped not in anything as profound as media mania, but in decades of songcraft, passion and musicianship?

Robert Plant, burdened by a peculiar history against which he's always judged, still has something

to say.

And he says it here to best effect by building up an irresistible head  of steam while reining in his cohorts. Then, four tracks in and thumbing his nose, Plant lets rip, declaring  to the royal family of middle-aged rockers who show up at every charity photo-op that he, at least, is still relevant: 'My peers may flirt with cabaret,/ some fake the rebel yell./ Me, I'm moving up to higher ground,/ I must escape their hell,' he intones on Tin Pan Valley, elegantly striking himself off Elton John's Christmas card list.

Mighty Rearranger is much more than the sum of its parts - no track is overshadowed by the rest, making  for a coherent whole. Plant's new personnel are the reason.

Drawn from the likes of Portishead and Cast, his backing band are a rottweiler on a lead in the opening exchanges and a growling, prowling menace thereafter.

Given freedom to roam, Strange Sensation (led by guitarist Justin Adams, 'Britain's Ry Cooder'), don't thrash around, but instead weave Celtic, African and folk references around Plant's beloved Delta blues, effortlessly recalling various moments in his previous career. Did somebody mention Led Zeppelin?



Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation