Robert Plant and Suzi Dian performed songs from their recent Saving Grace album behind NPR’s Tiny Desk, and it’s impressive to see how they fit all of their instruments behind it.
The pair were joined by four musicians who accompanied them on guitar, cello, drums, banjo, and cuatro. Dian brought along her accordion, too. Plant, half a century removed from Golden God status, even found some space to bustle the hedgerows of NPR’s knickknacks and shelves during the instrumental breaks. “This is just like Live Aid,” Plant quipped. “I couldn’t hear myself there either.”
Like Saving Grace, the setlist comprised a mix of folk songs and covers, including a moving rendition of Low’s “Everybody’s Song” and Moby Grape’s “It’s a Beautiful Day Today.” Plant introduced that track with an effusive overture to the San Francisco psychedelic rockers.
Plant and Dian closed their set with the only track that’s not on Saving Grace, the folk song “Gallows Pole,” which Plant previously sang on Led Zeppelin III.
“I’ve been singing that since God knows when,” he said at the end. “And I’ve never ever had a microphone that isn’t talking to me. My mom used to say, ‘Look at the exit sign in the back. Well, there’s nothing there. It’s been disorientating but it’s ben wonderful to see so many people late for lunch.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Plant spoke about how much Low’s music meant to him and why “Everybody’s Song” is the third tune from that band’s The Great Destroyer that he’s recorded. “I find them absolutely spellbinding,” he said. “I saw them live a couple of times in London, and they were always so impressive and beautiful.”
Set list:
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“Gospel Plough”
“Higher Rock”
“Everybody’s Song”
“It’s a Beautiful Day Today”
“Gallows Pole”
From Rolling Stone US
