Walking into Clarksdale

Walking into Clarksdale
Studio album by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Released	21 April 1998 (1998-04-21)
Recorded	Abbey Road Studios, London, England
Genre	Hard rock
Length	60:43
Label	Atlantic/Mercury Records
Producer	Jimmy Page, 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. The follow-up album to No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, 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 #8, while reaching #3 on the UK Album Chart. The single "Most High" reached #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.

"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

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

13. "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	5
Swedish Albums Chart	17
UK Albums Chart	3
Finnish Albums Chart	27
Swiss Albums Chart	31
German Albums Chart	13
US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart	8
Canadian Billboard Top Canadian Albums Chart	17
Belgian Albums Chart (Walloonish)	22
Belgian Albums Chart (Flemish)	27
Dutch Albums Chart	56
Norwegian Albums Chart	13
Australian ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart	16
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart	17
Hungarian MAHASZ Top 40 Albums Chart	25
New Zealand RIANZ Top 50 Albums Chart	11
Austrian Albums Chart	33

Singles

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

Sales certifications

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

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"