''Fate of Nations'' is the sixth studio album by English singer Robert Plant, released 25 May 1993 on

Es Paranza Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in North America and Fontana Records internationally. It features former

Cutting Crew Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms". History 1985–1986: Formation While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede (bo ...

guitarist

Kevin MacMichael Kevin Scott Macmichael (7 November 1951 – 31 December 2002) was a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer, best known for being a member of the 1980s UK-based pop-rock band, Cutting Crew, who had a number-one hit in 1986 with "(I Just ...

on all songs and as well as being a backing vocalist. In addition, the album also features violinist

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

on one song. The song "I Believe" is a tribute to Plant's late son, Karac. The album was Plant's last solo album until his comeback with his seventh studio album '' Dreamland'' in 2002.

Background

Plant explained his album in the following terms:

Reissues

''Fate of Nations'' was remastered and reissued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

on 20 March 2007, this edition included 5 bonus tracks. In April 2019, the album was reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day 2019.

Track listing

Personnel

* Maartin Allcock – mandolin on "If I Were a Carpenter"; all instruments except drums and vocals on "Colours of a Shade" * Phillip Andrews – keyboards on "Memory Song (Hello Hello)" * Chris Blackwell – drums on "Promised Land" * Doug Boyle – guitar on "29 Palms", "Network News" *

Máire Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

– backing vocals on "Come into My Life" *

Francis Dunnery Francis Dunnery (born 25 December 1962) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and record label owner. Dunnery was the lead singer and guitarist for British prog-pop band It Bites between 1982 and 1990. Since 1990 he has ...

– guitar on "Come into My Life", "Promised Land" *

Nigel Eaton Nigel Eaton is a British multi-instrumentalist and composer best known for playing the hurdy-gurdy. Born in Lyndhurst, Eaton played the piano and cello before switching to the hurdy-gurdy in 1981 when his father, Christopher Eaton, began manufact ...

–

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a vi ...

on "Come into My Life", "I Believe" * John Flynn – backing vocals on "The Greatest Gift" * Steve French – backing vocals on "I Believe" *

Chris Hughes Chris Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of ''The New R ...

– drums on "Down to the Sea", "Come into My Life", "I Believe", "29 Palms", "If I Were a Carpenter", "Promised Land", "The Greatest Gift", "Network News" * Phil Johnstone –

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. Th ...

on "Come into My Life"; piano on "I Believe", "29 Palms", "Memory Song (Hello Hello)", "If I Were a Carpenter"; organ on "Promised Land"; electric piano on "The Greatest Gift", "Great Spirit"; backing vocals on "Great Spirit"; electric orchestra on "Network News" * Charlie Jones – bass on all songs; all instruments except guitar and drums on "Down to the Sea" *

–

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

on "Calling to You" * Navazish Ali Khan – violin on "Network News" * Michael Lee – drums on "Memory Song (Hello Hello)", "Network News" * Kevin Scott MacMichael –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

on all songs; backing vocals on "I Believe" * Lynton Naiff – String arrangement on "If I Were a Carpenter", "The Greatest Gift" * Robert Plant – lead vocals; guitar on "Promised Land"; backing vocals on "Great Spirit" * Gurdev Singh – dilruba & sarod on "Network News" * Surge Singh – sarangi on "Network News" * Julian Taylor – backing vocals on "I Believe" * Richard Thompson – guitar on "Come into My Life" *

Pete Thompson Pete Thompson (born 1952) is an English rock drummer who has played with Silverhead, Robin Trower, Robert Plant, Pete Haycock, Eric Bibb, Ken Hensley, and David Byron. He has been a professional touring, recording and session drummer through ...

– drums on "Calling to You", "Come into My Life", "The Greatest Gift", "Great Spirit" * Oliver J. Woods – guitar on "Down to the Sea", "Memory Song (Hello Hello)" Production * Henry Binns – engineer * Julian Broad – photography * Cally – sleeve design * John Cornfield – engineer * Ross Cullum – engineer * Andy Earl – photography * Michael Gregovich – engineer, mixer *

– producer * Pete Lewis – engineer * Mark O'Donoughue – engineer *

Tim Palmer Timothy J. Palmer (born 4 October 1962, in North Shields) is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter of rock and alternative music. He mixed Pearl Jam's debut album '' Ten'' (1991) and tracks on U2's album ''All T ...

– mixer * Robert Plant – producer * Danton Supple – engineer * Jacquie Turner – engineer *Anthony Petrecca

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums Albums produced by Chris Hughes (musician) Robert Plant albums