Fate of Nations
1993 studio album by Robert Plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fate of Nations is the sixth studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, released 24 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all songs as well as backing vocals. In addition, the album also features violinist Nigel Kennedy on one song. The song "I Believe" is a tribute to Plant's late son, Karac.
Sawmills Studio (Fowey)
Monnow Valley Studio (Monmouth)
| Fate of Nations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 May 1993[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1992–1993 | |||
| Studio | RAK Studios (London) Sawmills Studio (Fowey) Monnow Valley Studio (Monmouth) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:34 | |||
| Label | Es Paranza (North America) Fontana (rest of the world) | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Robert Plant chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Robert Plant studio chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Fate of Nations | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Music Box | [4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
Background
Plant explained his album in the following terms:
From the very beginning of this project, around January 1991, right after the Manic Nirvana tour, I knew what I was going to do: go back into my past, listening to [Moby] Grape, the [Jefferson] Airplane, Tim Hardin, Quicksilver, Traffic, and other turning-point artists in rock. These people 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. I'm also proud of what I've attempted to do lyrically [on the album], trying to tell vivid tales that come from a hearty tradition of prose.[6]
Reissues
Fate of Nations was remastered and reissued by Rhino Records on 20 March 2007, with five additional bonus tracks. In April 2019, the album was reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day 2019.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Calling to You" | Robert Plant, Chris Blackwell | 5:48 |
| 2. | "Down to the Sea" | Plant, Charlie Jones | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Come into My Life" | Plant, Blackwell, Doug Boyle, Kevin Scott MacMichael | 6:32 |
| 4. | "I Believe" | Plant, Phil Johnstone | 4:32 |
| 5. | "29 Palms" | Plant, Blackwell, Jones, Boyle, Johnstone | 4:51 |
| 6. | "Memory Song (Hello Hello)" | Plant, Johnstone, Jones, Blackwell, Oliver J. Woods | 5:22 |
| 7. | "If I Were a Carpenter" | Tim Hardin | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Colours of a Shade" (UK edition) | Plant, Johnstone, Blackwell, Maartin Allcock | 4:43 |
| 9. | "Promised Land" | Plant, Johnstone | 4:59 |
| 10. | "The Greatest Gift" | Plant, Blackwell, Jones, MacMichael, Johnstone | 6:51 |
| 11. | "Great Spirit" | Plant, Johnstone, MacMichael | 5:27 |
| 12. | "Network News" | Plant, Blackwell | 6:40 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Colours of a Shade" | Plant, Johnstone, Blackwell, Allcock | 4:45 |
| 14. | "Great Spirit" (acoustic mix) | Plant, Johnstone, MacMichael | 3:54 |
| 15. | "Rollercoaster" (demo) | Plant, Jones, Blackwell, Boyle, Johnstone | 4:01 |
| 16. | "8:05" | Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller | 1:49 |
| 17. | "Dark Moon" (acoustic) | Plant, Rainer Ptacek | 4:57 |
Personnel
- Robert Plant – vocals, guitars (9), backing vocals (11)
- Phil Johnstone – harmonium (3), acoustic piano (4), organ (9), electric piano (10, 11), backing vocals (11), electric orchestra (12)
- Phillip Andrews – keyboards (6)
- Kevin MacMichael – guitars (1–7, 9–12), backing vocals (4)
- Oliver J. Woods – guitars (2, 6)
- Francis Dunnery – guitars (3, 9)
- Richard Thompson – guitars (3)
- Doug Boyle – guitars (5, 12)
- Maartin Allcock – mandolin (7, 8), guitars (8), bass (8), Aeoleon pipes (8)
- Gurdev Singh – dilruba (12), sarod (12)
- Surge Singh – sarangi (12)
- Rainer Ptacek – resonator guitar (14)
- Charlie Jones – bass (1–7, 9–12), all instruments [except guitar and drums] (2)
- Pete Thompson – drums (1, 3, 9, 10, 11)
- Chris Hughes – drums (2–5, 7–10, 12)
- Michael Lee – drums (6, 12)
- Chris Blackwell – drums (9)
- Nigel Kennedy – violin (1)
- Navazish Ali Khan – violin (12)
- Nigel Eaton – hurdy-gurdy (3, 4)
- Lynton Naiff – string arrangements (7, 10)
- Máire Brennan – backing vocals (3)
- Steve French – backing vocals (4)
- Julian Taylor – backing vocals (4)
- John Flynn – backing vocals (10)
Production
- David Bates – A&R
- Chris Hughes – producer
- Robert Plant – producer
- Michael Gregovich – engineer, mixing (9, 10, 12)
- Tim Palmer – mixing (1–8, 11)
- Henry Binns – second engineer
- John Cornfield – second engineer
- Ross Cullum – second engineer
- Pete Lewis – second engineer
- Mark O'Donoughue – second engineer
- Danton Supple – second engineer
- Jacquie Turner – second engineer
- Martin "Cally" Callomon – sleeve design
- Julian Broad – photography
- Andy Earl – photography
- Bill Curbishley – management
Charts
| Chart (1993) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 37 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] | 38 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] | 56 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] | 10 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] | 19 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 32\ |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 6 |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 34 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Russia (NFPF)[16] reissue |
Gold | 10,000* |
| United States (RIAA)[17] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||