10 Most Rocking Robert Plant Solo Songs

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Our 10 Most Rocking Robert Plant Solo Songs article showcases Robert Plant’s most roaring numbers from the post-Led Zeppelin years. It includes songs from his solo albums and a few side projects, including The Honeydrippers and the Robert Plant and Jimmy Page album Walking into Clarksdale. We did not include anything from his collaboration with Alison Krauss because we feel that is a separate entity within itself. One that we enjoy.

Robert Plant has spent much of his solo career trying to separate himself from his Led Zeppelin days. You cannot blame him, because he is a musical artist with much more to say. His solo studio run under his own name reached eleven albums with Carry Fire in 2017, while his later work also includes the 2025 Saving Grace album with Suzi Dian and the Saving Grace band. While we have done multiple Robert Plant articles on this site, this is our first one looking specifically at his most rocking songs from his solo career and related projects. We had a lot of fun doing this one.

# 10 – Shine It All Around – Mighty ReArranger

The Mighty Rearranger by Robert Plant (2007-03-20)

We open our 10 Most Rocking Robert Plant Solo Songs list with a great one from Mighty ReArranger. The album was released in 2005 and was Robert Plant’s eighth solo studio album. “Shine It All Around” is a great mid-tempo track with a big drum sound from Clive Deamer. The song also features Justin Adams on guitar, John Baggott on keyboards, Billy Fuller on bass, and Liam “Skin” Tyson on acoustic guitar. The songwriting credit goes to Plant, Adams, Baggott, Deamer, Fuller, and Tyson. It is hard to believe the record is already more than twenty years old.

# 9 – 29 Palms – Fate of Nations

We continue our Robert Plant rocking songs list with a track from our favorite solo Robert Plant album, Fate of Nations. This is a driving mid-tempo rock and roll song, which you can definitely get a sense of if you watch the video as it opens with a clip of the open road. It is pretty enjoyable watching these old Robert Plant videos and seeing a man who was such a mystery to so many of us in the 1970s showcasing himself in modern rock videos. Fate of Nations was released in 1993 during the grunge era. “29 Palms” was the album’s first single and became a Top 5 hit on Billboard’s Album Rock Tracks chart.

# 8 – Rockin’ at Midnight (The Honeydrippers) – The Honeydrippers: Volume One

In 1984, Robert Plant released the EP The Honeydrippers: Volume One. This was not really a Robert Plant solo album but rather a project led by Plant that brought together musicians including Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Paul Shaffer, Nile Rodgers, Dave Weckl, and Wayne Pedzwater. None of the five songs were originals, as the project revisited 1950s and early 1960s rock and R&B material. The big hit was, of course, the remake of “Sea of Love,” but the closer “Rockin’ at Midnight” is the song we have chosen to represent this interesting outlier in Plant’s post-Zeppelin career. Jeff Beck plays lead guitar on “Rockin’ at Midnight,” while Nile Rodgers handles rhythm guitar, Paul Shaffer plays piano, and Keith Evans adds saxophone. Jimmy Page appears elsewhere on the EP but does not play lead guitar on this track.

# 7 – Most High (Page / Plant) – Walking into Clarksdale

Walking Into Clarksdale by Jimmy Page & Robert Plant [Music CD]

Continuing with this list, we pick a song from another album that is not officially a Robert Plant solo album. Walking into Clarksdale was the 1998 studio album by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and was as close as we got to a Led Zeppelin reunion that released a full album of new music. Of course, it featured only half of Led Zeppelin, as John Paul Jones was not part of the record and John Bonham had died in 1980. Michael Lee plays drums on the album while Charlie Jones plays bass. “Most High” has always been our favorite track on the album.

# 6 – Calling to You – Fate of Nations

We return again to our favorite Robert Plant solo album, Fate of Nations, with the roaring track “Calling to You.” This one rocks hard, and there is definitely a bit of a “Kashmir” vibe to it. “Calling to You” was the album’s opening cut and was also released as a single. Robert Plant and Chris Blackwell wrote the song. Can we get an Ohh Yeah? Yes, we can. Just take a listen.

# 5 – Hurting Kind (I’ve Got My Eyes on You) – Manic Nirvana

Many fans were not really happy with some of the solo material Robert Plant released during the 1980s, and some of that resistance carried into Manic Nirvana in 1990. A lot of the complaints had to do with the keyboards and the big production sound. Yet listening back to “Hurting Kind (I’ve Got My Eyes on You),” it definitely rocks a lot harder than people sometimes remember. The song was written by Plant, Chris Blackwell, Doug Boyle, Phil Johnstone, and Charlie Jones. It also reached number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. That is why we are including it on this list.

# 4 – In the Mood – The Principle of Moments

The Principle of Moments (Expanded & Remastered)

Released on Robert Plant’s second solo album, The Principle of Moments, “In the Mood” showcases a nice mid-tempo, almost swing-type groove, but at the core of it is some really hard-rocking soul. The Principle of Moments was released in 1983. The song, which of course has nothing to do with the famous Glenn Miller number, was written by Robert Plant, Robbie Blunt, and Paul Martinez. It became a Top 40 hit for Plant, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. On Billboard’s rock chart, it reached number four.

# 3 – Tall Cool One – Now and Zen

Like many others who were huge Led Zeppelin fans, I was not crazy about “Tall Cool One” when it first came out. However, over time I have come to admire the song’s energy, clever lyrics, fantastic chord changes and melody, and of course the special production that was what many people did not care for. Jimmy Page plays guitar on the track, and Plant worked several Led Zeppelin samples into the recording. In the end, this one really rocks, and that is what this article is all about.

# 2 – Burning Down One Side – Pictures at Eleven

I love Robert Plant’s first two solo albums. None of us knew what to expect after the breakup of Led Zeppelin, and of course many people were expecting Led Zeppelin-type albums. But Robert Plant solo is not Led Zeppelin, and that is something Plant has tried to establish throughout his solo career. “Burning Down One Side” opened his debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven, and became the first Robert Plant solo single many of us heard. Robert Plant, Robbie Blunt, and Jezz Woodroffe wrote the song, with Phil Collins playing drums on the recording. Honestly, this did not disappoint. This rocked!

# 1 – Other Arms – The Principle of Moments

I do not think I am speaking just for myself when I say this is my favorite Robert Plant solo song. “Other Arms” was written by Robert Plant and Robbie Blunt and opened The Principle of Moments in 1983. Atlantic wanted to release the song as a single, but Plant resisted because he did not want to be pigeonholed as a hard rock artist. Even without a standard commercial single release, “Other Arms” reached number one on Billboard’s Top Tracks chart. It took the top spot on August 13, 1983, ending the Police’s nine-week run at number one with “Every Breath You Take.” You know people were digging it.