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Fate of Nations

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Fate of Nations
Studio album by
Released25 May 1993
Recorded1992–1993
StudioRAK Studios (London)
Sawmills Studio (Fowey)
Monnow Valley Studio (Monmouth)
Genre
Length63:34
LabelEs Paranza (North America)
Fontana (rest of the world)
Producer
Robert Plant chronology
Manic Nirvana
(1990)
Fate of Nations
(1993)
No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded
(1994)
Robert Plant studio chronology
Manic Nirvana
(1990)
Fate of Nations
(1993)
Dreamland
(2002)
Singles from Fate of Nations
  1. "29 Palms"
    Released: April 1993
  2. "I Believe"
    Released: June 1993
  3. "Calling To You"
    Released: August 1993
  4. "If I Were a Carpenter"
    Released: December 1993[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Music Box[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Fate of Nations is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on Es Paranza Records in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former Cutting Crew guitarist Kevin MacMichael on all songs and as well as being a backing vocalist. 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.

Background

[edit]

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.[5]

Reissues

[edit]

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

[edit]
Original release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Calling to You"Robert Plant, Chris Blackwell5:48
2."Down to the Sea"Plant, Charlie Jones4:00
3."Come into My Life"Plant, Blackwell, Doug Boyle, Kevin Scott MacMichael6:32
4."I Believe"Plant, Phil Johnstone4:32
5."29 Palms"Plant, Blackwell, Jones, Boyle, Johnstone4:51
6."Memory Song (Hello Hello)"Plant, Johnstone, Jones, Blackwell, Oliver J. Woods5:22
7."If I Were a Carpenter"Tim Hardin3:45
8."Colours of a Shade" (UK edition)Plant, Johnstone, Blackwell, Maartin Allcock4:43
9."Promised Land"Plant, Johnstone4:59
10."The Greatest Gift"Plant, Blackwell, Jones, MacMichael, Johnstone6:51
11."Great Spirit"Plant, Johnstone, MacMichael5:27
12."Network News"Plant, Blackwell6:40
2007 bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Colours of a Shade"Plant, Johnstone, Blackwell, Allcock4:45
14."Great Spirit" (acoustic mix)Plant, Johnstone, MacMichael3:54
15."Rollercoaster" (demo)Plant, Jones, Blackwell, Boyle, Johnstone4:01
16."8:05"Don Stevenson, Jerry Miller1:49
17."Dark Moon" (acoustic)Plant, Rainer Ptacek4:57

Personnel

[edit]

Production

[edit]

[6]

  • 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

[edit]
Weekly chart performance for Fate of Nations
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 38
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 56
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 10
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 32\
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 6
US Billboard 200[14] 34

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Russia (NFPF)[15]
reissue
Gold 10,000*
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 477.
  2. ^ AllMusic review
  3. ^ Music Box review
  4. ^ Rolling Stone review
  5. ^ Led-Zeppelin.org. "Led Zeppelin Assorted Info". Archived from the original on 14 May 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Discogs. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  13. ^ "fate of nations | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Robert Plant Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Russian album certifications – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations" (in Russian). National Federation of Phonogram Producers (NFPF). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Robert Plant – Fate of Nations". Recording Industry Association of America.