See Robert Plant’s Cosmic Take on ‘Black Dog’ From ‘ACL’ Episode
Robert Plant returns to Austin City Limits for the first time in 14 years as the singer and his Sensational Space Shifters headline the hour-long October 15th episode of the music series.
The eight-song televised set from Austin’s Moody Theatre features Plant reshaping Led Zeppelin classics alongside cuts from the singer’s 2014 LP Lullaby and… the Ceaseless Roar.
In addition to a cosmic, bluesy rendition of Led Zeppelin IV‘s “Black Dog,” Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters also run through Zeppelin’s “The Lemon Song,” “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” and a rendition of “Whole Lotta Love” that integrates the Willie Dixon-penned blues classic “I Just Want to Make Love to You.”
In addition to the performance, Plant sat down with Austin City Limits executive producer Terry Lickona for a discussion about the “sonic jello” the Sensational Space Shifters created, his need to continue to explore musically and how Austin inspired Lullaby and… the Ceaseless Roar.
“I’ve passed through here so many times. Texas doesn’t normally carry a particularly good reputation a hundred miles further on outside the state, but I’ve been playing around Austin on and off over the years, and when I started working with Patty Griffin, I found far more depth to this area around Austin,” Plant said. “I really enjoyed my time here.”