Album of the Day

Since his Led Zeppelin days, Robert Plant has explored many different paths, and so it was on his FATE OF NATIONS, released 25 years ago this month. The album drew inspiration from turning-point artists like Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane and Traffic that Plant explained “were trying to tell the listener something, joining various traditions, with the sense of a quest being insinuated and bandied in their acoustic and electronic themes.” The U.K. singer-songwriter does his heroes proud on a set of richly textured folk and rock arrangements, with lyrics that touch upon concerns both personal (“I Believe,” an elegy to his son) and political (“Network News”). FATE OF NATIONS would be Plant's last real solo album for nearly a decade, and it has the majestic feel of a musical summation.