Hear Robert Plant’s Moody Elbow Cover for Benefit Compilation

Robert Plant goes full-blown art-rock with his textured cover of Elbow’s “The Blanket of Night.” His minimalist rendition – featured on the British Red Cross’ newly released compilation LP, The Long Road – finds the rock icon adopting a breathy tone over droning piano and flickering distortion. The track is available to stream via Spotify.

“Moving silent her lips by the moon’s only light / Sowing silver prayers in the blanket of night,” Plant sings, in one of several spacey lyrics. Elbow’s original version was featured on their sixth LP, 2014’s The Take Off and Landing of Everything.

The Long Road, out now, aims to raise awareness of the “struggles faced by refugees and asylum seekers at a time of increased global conflict and migration.” All proceeds from the album will benefit the British Red Cross refugee services in the U.K. The compilation, produced by Ethan Johns, also features contributions from Tinariwen and Kindness, among others. 

Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters launch their “Southern Journey” U.S. tour on Friday, March 4th at the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival in Okeechobee, Florida. The 11-date trek will conclude March 20th with a performance at Austin City Limits Live.