MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: ROBERT PLANT & the SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS - LULLABY AND .... THE CEASELESS ROAR

Space shifters, indeed.  Plant and crew move sounds and styles back and forth without a care for the usual genres and rules.  He borrows the traditional Little Maggie, usually a bluegrass number, keeps the banjo, but adds washes of ambiance and drum breaks, making it Celtic-loop music.  The Space Shifters add all sorts of percussion and sound effects, outer space washes and ancient African stringed instruments.  It's kind of a mash-up of everything Plant has dabbled in over the years, from the blues lifts of Zeppelin, the Moroccan roll of the Page-Plant 90's experiment, and the Appalachian feel of the Alison Krauss partnership.

With a suitable amount of mysterioso-echo on his vocals, Plant wanders through some parishes, shires and mountain passes, searching for great beauties, with "red hair, raven hair, gold like the sun."  Sometimes it's a little too precious, such as Embrace Another Fall, with its Welsh verse sung by some mythical Princess, making it seem like the next theme song for Part 3 of The Hobbit.  Plus, there's a lot of little parts flying in and out of most of the songs, which can get a bit overwhelming sometimes, but if you're in the mood, it can also be a grand sonic journey. 

Of special note is the least-adorned number, called Somebody There.  Seems our boy and band had one regular old rock song to present, kind of an orphan from the rest of the material, a grand mid-tempo piece with a sweet chorus and rich guitar throughout.  Man, that one would have made a heck of a late 70's Zeppelin single.