ROBERT PLANT And ALISON KRAUSS' 'Raising Sand' Available As Audiophile Quality Download

April 16, 2009

HDtracks, the web's leading source for high-resolution music downloads, has announced its exclusive release of an audiophile-quality, DRM-free 96kHz/24 bit FLAC remaster of LED ZEPPELIN vocalist Robert Plant and bluegrass and country icon Alison Krauss' "Raising Sand" album.

"Raising Sand" won five Grammy Awards, including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year" for "Please Read The Letter". The other wins were for "Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals" for "Rich Woman", "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Killing the Blues" and "Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album."

Lauded by audiophiles for its superior sound quality, "Raising Sand" was produced by T Bone Burnett who also, along with the Coen Brothers, scored the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, winner of three Grammy Awards in 2002.

"Raising Sand" was a collaborative effort between Plant, Krauss and Burnett, aided by a stellar band with guitarists Norman Blake, T Bone Burnett, Marc Ribot and Norman Black, multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Dennis Crouch. Sessions were recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles.

T Bone Burnett on recording: "I don't particularly like processing. What I really like is hearing … a group of musicians playing in a room. … I love the sound of an instrument bouncing off a wall and into a room when you hear that pure, deep sound."

Indeed, the HDtracks exclusive uncompressed 96kHz/24 bit FLAC download unleashes the full breadth of "Raising Sand"'s abundant low frequencies, with far greater control and detail than the CD. The soundstage is now more expansive, with superior focus and depth compared to the CD. The music's energy and drive are kicked up another notch!

The complete audiophile 96kHz/24bit album retails for $15.98, individual tracks are $2.49 each. HDtracks also exclusively offers "Raising Sand" as a CD-quality, 44.1kHz/16bit, DRM-Free FLAC file, AIFF, or 320 kbps MP3 files for $11.98 for the complete album, $1.49 for individual tracks.

HDtracks includes complete original liner notes and cover art in PDF format when you download a complete album.

HDtracks.com is one of the first online music distribution services to offer audio downloads in high-resolution formats, including 96 kHz/24 bit, 88.2 kHz/24 bit, 44.1 kHz/16 bit as well as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Coding) files and 320 kbps MP3 file formats. HDtracks.com provides DRM-free downloads, which can have an unlimited number of transfers on different platforms. The downloads also include complete liner notes in a PDF format.

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