11.6.17 Admittedly I have not kept up with Plant's post Zeppelin works other than 83s The Principle of Moments. And I was a wee lad then. So, in fairness I had to crash coarse the past 2 and a half decades of Robert's releases on the ol' Spotif-a-trolla.

After many days of ingesting his body of work I reached the conclusion that I would place Carry Fire alongside 2010's Band of Joy and 2005's Mighty Rearranger. The jury is still out rather it surpasses its predecessor 2014s remarkable Lullaby and...The Ceaseless Roar with the same backing outfit The Sensational Space Shifters. Carry Fire seems more like a continuation of Lullaby. Which I definately prefer in this case because they have really developed a pleasing sound as again they journey across multiple continents of musical styles. 

From Michael Gallucci's review: …Plant has refused to settle into expectations, unlike so many of his contemporaries who cling to their classic-rock pasts like the past 40 years never happened. . . .