Dreamland

First, a public service warning. This album contains the worst ever version of a Dylan song, so one is advised to skip track three, ‘One More Cup Of Coffee’.

That apart, the first solo album in nine years from the man who led Led Zeppelin is an inspiring example of how a legendary superstar can still make challenging music long after what one might justifiably have assumed to be his sell-by date. With his new band Sweet Sensation, Plant delivers an album brimful of controlled, passionate vocals, takes a running jump at several rock classics, and applies an adventurous psychedelic approach in the backing department that will bring you to the edge of your barstool.

The versions of Tim Rose’s ‘Morning Dew’ and the Hendrix hit ‘Hey Joe’ are truly stunning, not least in the way Plant mines the lyrical intent of the Rose song, while the latter gives ole Jimi’s version a run for its money. Lesser known works, like Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’ and Jesse Colin Young’s ‘Darkness Darkness’ come complete with a delicate sensitivity that allows Plant to perform the songs rather than just getting the words and notes right.

Especially impressive is the thoughtful medley, including elements from blues classics by Arthur Crudup, Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker, that reminds one of his best work with LZ. On other tracks, such as the opener based mainly on Bukka White’s ‘Fixin’ To Die’, he brings more gusto than you’d expect from a man half his age, with Porl Thompson’s squalling guitars and Clive Deamer’s loose-limbed drums setting out the stall for what’s to come, that Dylan aberration excepted.