Robert Plant’s current group, Saving Grace, has released a second advance track from its upcoming self-titled debut album. The new song, “Gospel Plough,” finds the Led Zeppelin legend and the acoustic group putting an atmospheric spin on an old spiritual folk tune.
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According to a press release, Plant and Saving Grace transform “Gospel Plough” “into a hypnotic and alluring mélange of vocals, steel banjo, acoustic guitar and percussion.”
Plant shares lead vocals on the track with Saving Grace singer, Suzy Dian. The tune also features Saving Grace’s Oli Jefferson on percussion, Tony Kelsey on acoustic guitar, and Matt Worley on banjo. Cellist Barney Morse-Brown also is a member of Saving Grace.
As previously reported, the Saving Grace album will be released on September 26. The 10-track covers collection includes renditions of traditional folk tunes, as well as songs by blues greats Memphis Minnie and Blind Willie Johnson, and some contemporary folk and indie-rock rock artists.
Among the latter are Low, The Low Anthem, Martha Scanlan, and Sarah Siskind. Plant and Saving Grace released their version of Low’s “Everybody’s Song” as the first advance single from the album. You can pre-order the album now.
In a statement, Plant says of Saving Grace, “It’s an impressive collection of people now. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel about this. What I am really impressed by is this living, new world of whatever this music is. With this mélange of music, song and voice, anywhere and everywhere is the way to see the road ahead.”
More About “Gospel Plough”
The press release notes that Plant and Saving Grace began recording their debut album “informally in a barn setup and sometimes outdoors.” The sounds of the outdoor locale apparently were captured for the ethereal instrumental outro to “Gospel Plough,” during which birds can be heard in the background.
“Gospel Plough” also is known under the alternate titles “Gospel Plow,” “Hold On,” and “Keep Your Hand on the Plow.” The song first appeared in written form in 1917 in the Cecil Sharp Collection. The earliest known recording was by the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, released in 1930 under the title “Keep Yo’ Hand on the Plow.”
About Saving Grace’s Upcoming Tour Plans
Plant and Saving Grace will mount its first-ever North American tour in support of the album this fall. The trek currently features 15 confirmed dates in the U.S. and Canada. It gets underway October 30 in Wheeling, West Virginia, and is plotted out through a November 23 show in Valley Center, California.
Veteran Texas-based singer/songwriter Rosie Flores has just been announced as Saving Grace’s support act on the tour. Visit RobertPlant.com to check out a full list of tour dates.
Saving Grace also recently announced two intimate album-release shows scheduled for September 28 in London. The concerts will be held at the Circuit nightclub and will take place at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time.
(Photo by Tom Oldham)
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