Walking into Clarksdale
Walking into Clarksdale is the only studio album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, both formerly of English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released by Atlantic Records on 21 April 1998. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini over a five-month period at Abbey Road Studios.[1]
| Walking into Clarksdale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 21 April 1998 | |||
| Studio | Abbey Road Studios, London, England | |||
| Genre | Blues rock, hard rock | |||
| Length | 60:43 | |||
| Label | Atlantic (US/Canada) Mercury (international) | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Page and Robert Plant | |||
| Jimmy Page & Robert Plant chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Jimmy Page chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Robert Plant chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album debuted on the Billboard's Billboard 200 album chart at No. 8, while reaching No. 3 on the UK Album Chart. The single "Most High" was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1999, and reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 26 in the UK.
Plant re-recorded the song "Please Read the Letter" with Alison Krauss for their 2007 collaboration album Raising Sand. This re-recording won the Record of the Year award at the 2009 Grammy Awards.[2] "House of Love" was later re-recorded with different lyrics by Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters for their 2014 studio album Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar.
Clarksdale is a town in the Mississippi Delta, a historical home of Delta blues music.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | 91/100[3] |
| Uncut | 7/10[4] |
| AllMusic | 7.1/10 link |
| NME | 6/10[5] |
| Spin | 3/10 [6] |
| Robert Christgau | |
Track listing
All songs by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Charlie Jones, and Michael Lee.
- "Shining in the Light" – 4:01
- "When the World Was Young" – 6:13
- "Upon a Golden Horse" – 3:52
- "Blue Train" – 6:45
- "Please Read the Letter" – 4:21
- "Most High" – 5:36
- "Heart in Your Hand" – 3:50
- "Walking into Clarksdale" – 5:18
- "Burning Up" – 5:21
- "When I Was a Child" – 5:45
- "House of Love" – 5:35
- "Sons of Freedom" – 4:08
Japanese bonus track
- "Whiskey from the Glass" – 3:01
Note
- "Most High" and "Shining in the Light" were released as singles, with a music video for the former. "Most High" was also featured as a CD single with the B-side "The Window".
Personnel
Band members
- Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, co-production
- Robert Plant – vocals, co-production
- Charlie Jones – bass guitar, percussion, mixing on "Upon a Golden Horse"
- Michael Lee – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Steve Albini – engineering, mixing, recording technician
- Anton Corbijn – photography
- Martin "Cally" Callomon – design
- Paul Hicks – assistant engineering
- Lynton Naiff – string arrangements on "Upon a Golden Horse"
- Phil Andrews – mixing on "Upon a Golden Horse"
- Ed Shearmur – programming and string pads on "Most High"
- Tim Whelan – keyboards on "Most High"
Charts
Album
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 16 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 33 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] | 27 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] | 22 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] | 17 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] | 17 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] | 56 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[15] | 5 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] | 27 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 13 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[18] | 25 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] | 11 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] | 13 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] | 17 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] | 31 |
| UK Albums Chart[23] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200[24] | 8 |
| Hungarian MAHASZ Top 40 Albums Chart[25] | 25 |
Year-end
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums (RPM)[26] | 100 |
References
- Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Porcupine (2016). "Steve Albini talks about Page and Plant" (Video). Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - MTV News Staff (8 February 2009). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
- "Album of the Year - Walking into Clarksdale". Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- Bonner, Michael (May 1998). "The Rover". Uncut. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- Segal, Victoria. "Walking Into Clarksdale". NME.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2000.
- Vowell, Sarah (May 1998). "Reviews - Page & Plant Walking Into Clarksdale". Spin Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- "CG: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
- "Australiancharts.com – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Austriancharts.at – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Ultratop.be – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Ultratop.be – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Robert Plant Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3553". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Lescharts.com – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Jimmy Page & Robert Plant: Walking Into Clarksdale" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1998. 20. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- "Charts.nz – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Swisscharts.com – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Top 100 Albums – 2 May 1998". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
- "Robert Plant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- "Top 40 Albums – 17 May 1998". MAHASZ. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
- "RPM's Top 100 CDs of '98". RPM. 14 December 1998. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- "RIAA.org Walking into Clarksdale – 4 May 1998". RIAA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
