Digging Deep with Robert Plant

Digging Deep with Robert Plant has returned and the start of Season 4 reunites Robert with Matt Everitt after a long enforced break. Here they discuss what a touring musician does when he can’t go on tour, some of the musical rarities and curios that Robert uncovered at home during lockdown and the matter in hand, a very special song. The track is called Bluebirds Over the Mountain, and it was written and recorded by Ersel Hickey in 1958 and made a hit by Ritchie Valens that same year. Robert recorded a version for his 2017 album Carry Fire and enlisted the vocals skills of Chrissie Hynde, as you'll hear...

For this episode Robert Plant has chosen a song he recorded with Jimmy Page and Rainer Ptacek in 1997 entitled ‘Rude World’. Rainer was a hugely talented cult guitar hero with a unique blues folk style. This track features on a compilation to him called ‘The Inner Flame’ which also included contributions from PJ Harvey, Madeleine Peyroux, Evan Dando and Emmylou Harris (which tells how great Rainer was). If you don’t know his work yet, let Robert be the person to introduce you…

More than once on Digging Deep, Robert Plant has chosen songs by artists with whom he’s crossed paths many times over the years and this episode is no exception. The track in question is the iconic ‘House of Cards', written and first recorded by Linda & Richard Thompson whose own musical history intertwined with Roberts on more than one occasion. As he'll explain.

Musicians have growing and evolving connections when they write, perform and record together. The 4th episode in Season 4 of RP’s Digging Deep, ’13 Harps’ is about two friends who decided to make some music together. It's as simple as that.

It seemed inevitable that Robert Plant and Afro Celt Sound System would end up working together. Both trade in blending music from disparate geographical locations and find real pleasure in the unexpected results of unscripted collaborations. The only real surprise was why it took till 2001 for Robert and these sonic pioneers to get together. Fortunately, when they did. It was well worth the wait.

So here are. We’ve reached the end of another series of Digging Deep with Robert Plant. It’s been a collection of conversations partially defined by the unprecedented times we’ve been living in (and this episode touches on that) but, as always, some amazing music. We end the series with a cover version that Robert and Alison Krauss made their own on their world-conquering Raising Sand album. It’s the perfect way to end for now. And maybe it even points the way to the future…