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Fate of Nations |
| Produced by Chris Hughes and Robert Plant | |
| Released on May 21, 1993 | |
| UK CHART POSITION #6 . . . US CHART POSITION #34 . . . GOLD ALBUM (12/7/93) | |
| Find it at GEMM | |
| 92264-2 cover [high resolution scan] |
A nother masterfully conceived and executed album from the charismatic spiritualist. Drawing the old bones of Physical Graffiti from the deep sands of time, Robert Plant dances with the ghost of “Kashmir” on the opening “Calling To You” and proves he hasn’t lost a step since his youth. Old shadows appear throughout, from “Great Spirit” to “29 Palms,” delivered in the rich and saturated sleepy exoticism that has become a Plant hallmark. Though new players are involved (drummer Chris Hughes, guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael), many of the songs seem to date from the last lineup; thus, Chris Blackwell is credited with cowriting five tracks but only appears on one (“Promised Land,” which he didn’t cowrite). It’s a testament to the template that Plant has laid out since his days in Zeppelin, departing little from his original vision and audibly improving on the product with age (similar to Phil Collins, whose …But Seriously… was equally masterful). Fate of Nations contained several shoulda-been hits (only “29 Palms” charted well), including “Calling To You” and “I Believe.” A cover of Tim Hardin’s moldy oldie “If I Were A Carpenter” is less effective; Plant nails it, but who cares? Every time I listen to Fate of Nations, I’m impressed all over again that Plant has managed to carve out such a fine solo career. Every album he makes is made to be the best, driving himself onward where a weaker man might have retreated to the comfort of the past. My only knock on this effort is the heavy-handed packaging, spewing out environmental factoids that bandy about some pretty big numbers: 40 tons of radioactive waste left on Gulf War battlefields, 67 million tons of oil burned during the same war, etc. Maybe environmental consciousness powers Plant, but he should stick to the one renewable energy source he knows best: himself.
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| 92264-2 lyric sleeve | 92264-2 back sleeve |
TRACK LISTING
CREDITS
ROBERT PLANT -- vocals, guitars, backing vocals
CHRIS HUGHES -- drums
PHIL JOHNSTONE -- harmonium, piano, organ, electric piano, backing vocals, electric orchestra
CHARLIE JONES -- bass, everything else
KEVIN SCOTT MacMICHAEL -- guitars, backing vocals
PETE THOMPSON -- drums
Martin Allcock -- mandolin
Phillip Andrews -- keyboards
Chris Blackwell -- drums
Doug Boyle -- guitars
Maire Brennan -- backing vocals
Francis Dunnery -- guitars
Nigel Eaton -- hurdy gurdy
John Flynn -- backing vocals
Steve French -- backing vocals
Mavazish Ali Khan -- violin
Michael Lee -- drums
Nigel Kennedy -- violin
Lynton Maiff -- string arrangement
Gurdev Singh -- dilruba & sarod
Sursie Singh -- sarangi
Julian Taylor -- backing vocals
Richard Thompson -- guitars
Oliver J. Woods -- guitars
Michael Gregovich -- engineer, mixing
Tim Palmer -- mixing
Julian Broad -- photography
Andy Earl -- photography
Cally at Antar -- sleeve design
| REGION | RELEASE DATE | LABEL | MEDIA | ID NUMBER | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WW | May 21, 1993 | Fontana | LP/CD/CS | 514 867 | picture sleeve |
| US/CAN | June 1993 | Es Paranza | CD/CS | 92264 | picture sleeve |
| RUS | CD Maximum | CDX | 998200 | w. bonus tracks |
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