Robert Plant - 'Chevrolet'
Robert Plant releases new single ‘Chevrolet’ from his much anticipated forthcoming album ‘Saving Grace’.
Having been exposed to Robert Plant’s music growing up thanks to my father’s admiration for his work, I was eager to hear what his latest release ‘Chevrolet’ would bring, and it did not disappoint. ‘Chevrolet’ is the opening track from Plant’s forthcoming album ‘Saving Grace’, a record that has been six years in the making and is expected to drop on September 26th on Nonesuch Records.
The track is an adaptation of Donovan’s 1965 ‘Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)’, which is itself a reinterpretation of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy’s ‘Can I Do It For You’. Plant and his Saving Grace band consisting of Suzi Dian, Oli Jefferson, Tony Kelsey, Matt Worley and Barney Morse-Brown now strip the song back to the bones while infusing it with their own sound.
Sonically, the song has a simple yet calming quality to it, driven by a steady guitar line and layered with vocal harmonies. Plant’s raspy yet tender vocals complement the instrumentation of the track beautifully.
The lyrics of ‘Chevrolet’ are simple and built around repetition and a series of offerings (watches, chains, houses, diamond rings and, as the title suggests, a Chevrolet). The song has a sense of intimacy and seems to be less about the gifts being promised and more about the act of giving and the urge to connect with the other person. The repetition of its lyrics as well as the insistent rhythm of the track give the song a ritualistic quality.
‘Chevrolet’ follows the release of two other singles ‘Gospel Plough’ and ‘Everybody’s Song’. Plant and his band were brought together in 2019 by their shared passion for roots music. This autumn, Robert Plant and Saving Grace will make their U.S. debut, performing a series of shows across North America that fans definitely do not want to miss out on.
Words by Irina Atanasiu
