Walking into Clarksdale

Walking into Clarksdale
Studio album by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Released	21 April 1998
Recorded	Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre	Hard rock
Length	60:43
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant chronology
No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded (1994) Walking into Clarksdale (1998)

Walking into Clarksdale is a 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. Walking into Clarksdale took 35 days to record. The album was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini. The single "Most High" was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1999.

Clarksdale is a town in the Mississippi Delta, a historical home of Delta blues music.

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" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

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.^[1]

"Blue Train" is a song about Plant's sorrow in relation with the death of his first son Karac in July 1977.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link
Robert Christgau	[2]

Track listing

All songs by Page/Plant/Jones/Lee.

1. "Shining in the Light" – 4:01
2. "When the World Was Young" – 6:13
3. "Upon a Golden Horse" – 3:52
4. "Blue Train" – 6:45
5. "Please Read the Letter" – 4:21
6. "Most High" – 5:36
7. "Heart in Your Hand" – 3:50
8. "Walking into Clarksdale" – 5:18
9. "Burning Up" – 5:21
10. "When I Was a Child" – 5:45
11. "House of Love" – 5:35
12. "Sons of Freedom" – 4:08

Japanese bonus track

1. "Whiskey from the Glass" – 3:01

"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-sides "Upon a Golden Horse" and "The Window".

Chart positions

Album

Chart (1998)	Peak position
French Albums Chart[3]	5
Swedish Albums Chart[4]	17
UK Albums Chart[5]	3
Finnish Albums Chart[6]	27
Swiss Albums Chart[7]	31
German Albums Chart[8]	13
US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart[9]	8
Canadian Billboard Top Canadian Albums Chart[10]	17
Belgian Albums Chart (Walloonish)[11]	22
Belgian Albums Chart (Flemish)[12]	27
Dutch Albums Chart[13]	56
Norwegian Albums Chart[14]	13
Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart[15]	16
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[16]	17
Hungarian MAHASZ Top 40 Albums Chart[17]	25
New Zealand RIANZ Top 50 Albums Chart[18]	11
Austrian Albums Chart[19]	33

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1998	"Most High"	UK Singles Chart[20]	26
1998	"Most High"	US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[21]	1
1998	"Most High"	Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[22]	58
1998	"Most High"	Canadian RPM Alternative 30 Chart[23]	8
1998	"Shining in the Light"	US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart[24]	6

Sales certifications

Country	Sales	Certification
United States (RIAA)	500,000+	Gold[25]

Personnel

Page and Plant

• Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, co-production
• Robert Plant – vocals, co-production
• Charlie Jones – bass guitar, percussion
• Michael Lee – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Steve Albini – engineering, recording technician
• Anton Corbijn – photography
• Cally – design
• Paul Hicks – assistant engineering
• Lynton Naiff – string arrangements on "Upon a Golden Horse"
• Ed Shearmur – programming and string pads on "Most High"
• Tim Whelan – keyboards on "Most High"

References

1. MTV News Staff (8 February 2009). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
2. "CG: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
3. "Top 200 Albums – 25 April 1998". lescharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
4. "Top 60 Albums – 1 May 1998". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
5. "Top 100 Albums – 2 May 1998". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
6. "Top 40 Albums – 3 May 1998". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
7. "Top 100 Albums – 3 May 1998". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
8. "Top 100 Albums – 4 May 1998". musicline.de. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
9. "The Billboard 200 – 9 May 1998". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 September 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
10. "Top Canadian Albums – 9 May 1998". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
11. "Top 100 Albums – 9 May 1998". ultratop.be. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
12. "Top 100 Albums – 9 May 1998". ultratop.be. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
13. "Top 100 Albums – 9 May 1998". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
14. "Top 40 Albums – 10 May 1998". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
15. "Top 50 Albums – 10 May 1998". ARIA. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
16. "RPM Albums Chart – 11 May 1998". RPM. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
17. "Top 40 Albums – 17 May 1998". MAHASZ. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
18. "Top 50 Albums – 31 May 1998". RIANZ. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
19. "Top 75 Albums – 7 June 1998". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
20. "Top 100 Singles – 11 April 1998". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
21. "Mainstream Rock: May 09, 1998". Billboard. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
22. "RPM Singles Chart – 11 May 1998". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
23. "RPM Alternative Chart – 1 June 1998". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
24. "Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks – 25 July 1998". billboard.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
25. "RIAA.org Walking into Clarksdale – 4 May 1998". RIAA. Retrieved 1 January 2009.