ROBERT PLANT And ALISON KRAUSS Release Live Recording Of 'When The Levee Breaks'

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have shared a new live recording of "When The Levee Breaks", a song they have been performing together live for several years. The track marks the first release from Plant and Krauss since their collaborative 2021 album "Raise The Roof".

The arrival of "When The Levee Breaks" coincides with kick-off of the LED ZEPPELIN singer's and the country-bluegrass chanteuse's 2024 "Can't Let Go" tour, which officially launched on June 2 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The 2024 live tour features Plant, Krauss and their all-star band running through "a cosmic collision of early blues, country deep cuts, revolutionary folk-rock and lost soul music." Fans can also expect reimagined arrangements of classic LED ZEPPELIN cuts like "The Battle Of Evermore" and "Rock And Roll", and other surprises.

Plant and Krauss have been performing "When The Levee Breaks" regularly since hitting the road in support of their first collaborative effort, the Grammy Award-winning 2007 album "Raising Sand".

"When The Levee Breaks" was originally written and recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. LED ZEPPELIN reworked the song for the band's 1974 album, also known as "Led Zeppelin IV". The songwriting credits for the LED ZEPPELIN version listed the four bandmembers — Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham — along with Memphis Minnie.

Asked in a recent interview with USA Today if he enjoys performing a few reconstructed LED ZEPPELIN songs in his show or is it more obligatory, Plant said: "I love them and am very proud of them and to get to change them around and to hear that voice next to me, it allows for an exotic overview of the more dramatic elements. At times I'm emotional about it because I'm hearing these songs — they are all beautiful adaptations that I could never have dreamt. It's a great achievement."

Plant and Krauss's tour features support from their lead guitarist JD McPherson.

In addition to JD, the backing band consists of drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Dennis Crouch, multi-talented string player Stuart Duncan and Viktor Krauss on keys and guitar.

"Raise The Roof" debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 and spent 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Americana chart.

Upon its release, "Raise The Roof" amassed critical acclaim from The New York Times, New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Variety, Pitchfork, People, Associated Press, NPR and more, in addition to appearances on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert", "The Kelly Clarkson Show", CBS, PBS, MSNBC, the BBC and beyond.

Photo by David McClister