Robert Plant: “I’ve Got a Huge Arsenal of Unreleased Material” on Phone

Robert Plant is no wilting flower.

The former Led Zeppelin frontman and current co-performer with Alison Krauss (the two just released their latest album Raise the Roof) revealed to the outlet Planet Rock that he has a large collection of unreleased songs—”two albums,” he says, that are “remarkable”—on his phone that are ready for release, should he decide to do it.

When asked in the interview if he had to take a break from music during the pandemic, Plant replied, “Well, I’d already taken stock to be honest because when I hunkered down, I was already 71.

“I think I got most of the stock I could take [was] just coming to terms with an exaggerated personality where I thrive on adventure, in whatever form. So, I just had to minimize everything, my mind’s eye. So, I looked to the music that I’d already created that I had not actually found having use for.

“Alison [Krauss] and I had virtually finished Raise the Roof and then we knew we had to wait because it’s brand-new music. But what nobody else knew was I’ve got a huge arsenal of unreleased material – some of it completely finished, mixed, and ready to go.

“But I could never find a window to let it out because I was with The Sensational Space Shifters after I came back from Texas. I spent another two albums or seven years with them playing around the world into Africa and mixing it with Gambian musicians.

“So this other stuff, I’ve started to open it up and look at it and I was just flabbergasted. I mean, this old iPhone is absolutely full of unheard, remarkable bits of music. It’s on the cloud as well! Thing is, it’s all sorts of music. So, it could be what everybody’s always wanted. Or it could be something that nobody could even imagine. There’s just so much stuff.

“I started seeing what it was (and) sending it down to my pal Tim Oliver who engineers and mixes my stuff normally down at Peter Gabriel’s place (Real World Studios) and we started mixing some other stuff. Mastering some stuff. (My phone) is laden with incredible stuff.”

But will that “incredible stuff” that Plant has stored away on his phone ever be released?

“If I make another record with Alison, no,” he told Planet Rock. “Or if I go back to The Space Shifters, definitely not because I shall be writing new stuff.

“I kind of want to know what I’m going to do next. Today is a day where I’m so thrilled to be a part of this new record (‘Raise the Roof’) and new combination of spirit, energy, and musicians. Two years time, maybe we’ll be doing it again. But maybe not. Maybe it will be somebody else. Maybe I’ll be doing some stand-up comedy… well, it’ll be sit down (comedy) by then!”

Photo by David McClister/ShoreFire Media