Who is Alison Krauss

Raising Sand

1. Rich Woman
2. Killing the Blues
3. Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us
4. Polly Come Home
5. Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
6. Through the Morning, Through the Night
7. Please Read the Letter
8. Trampled Rose
9. Fortune Teller
10. Stick with Me Baby
11. Nothin'
12. Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson
13. Your Long Journey

A self-named "Led Head" friend of mine told me about this CD. His thoughts were that the world as we knew it was coming to end when Robert Plant joined up with a 'country musician'. Having somewhat more eclectic tastes--I didn't think so.

What a treat to open the CD and hear "Rich Woman" on Halloween. A.D.D's headliner review gives the best description of the Southern Gothic 'feel'.

Another particularly eerie song is "Fortune Teller," where Plant sings the tale of a young man who goes to a fortune teller and discovers that he will fall in love with the first woman he sees--which turns out to be the Fortune Teller herself--now he's happy as can be and he gets his fortune told for free. (Yup, corny as KS--but the sound is very cool!)

For the most part, the music will probably suit Alison Krauss fans more than Plant's, but Plant's fans need to listen--just to hear how strong the man can be on soft music.

The best of any profession are the people who raise the bar for the rest. The test of a great collaborative work is -- is the whole better than the sum of its parts? Plant, Krauss, and Burnett started out at the top of their respective forms, but this CD is truly a masterwork among their individual collections, too. "Raising Sand" is going to open the door for a long more mind-bending work. - R. Kyle (Knoxville, TN)

I'm LOST in Raising Sand at the moment ... If this isn't the Folk-rock masterpiece of the year I'd be surprised. These musicians are great together and the production/engineering sound great on this stereo (nice packaging with lyrics ~ 57:26 min.). I may have to spend a while wiping my drool off of the floor, this Raising Sand album is one trippy and far-out album. I'm floored! Their voices together are a match made in Heaven - He has found a better way - t'amant (WA)

Contrasts Complement Each Other!
Robert Plant fans best forget the heavy Led and embrace the light Zeppelin as their man collaborates with bluegrass star Alison Krauss for a surprising set of mellow-to-upbeat songs that, after repeated listening, grow on you. Krauss's voice was new to me -- but, to my surprise, Plant's distinctive voice was, too, despite the fact that I'd heard his rocking tunes many a time. You see, it's like this: here Plant slows down, puts his cowboy boots up, and sings the blues, a little country, and even some early 60's rock and roll. Can you say "eclectic"?

Among the covers from the past are such diverse numbers as Gene Clark's 1969 wailer, "Polly Come Home," the Everly Brother's 1964 sock-hop rocker "Gone, Gone, Gone," and Tom Waits's mellow romancer from 1960, "Stick with Me Baby."

Although there are a few upbeat numbers like the opening track from 1955, "Rich Woman," and the aforementioned Everly Brothers piece, this album is for the mellow-minded who like to relax with their music by taking a rich, oaky glass of red wine in a dark room and sinking into the couch as it plays. Or, if you will, a hot cup of coffee to the same couch on a Sunday morn when the kids are out and the spouse on an errand. Sip it in, in other words, and swirl.

Remarkably, despite being from different planets, Plant's voice and Krauss's complement each other. Best of all is the glue that holds bluegrass star and rock and roller together -- T Bone Burnett (producer) and his band, the Blue Glow. They are technically and artistically perfect in putting new wrinkles in this mix of covers and new music.

If you're a Robert Plant fan who's set in your hard-rocking ways, pass. If you have an open mind and admire a singer willing to take chances and extend himself (with a talented singer/fiddler in her own right, Ms. Krauss), buy and savor it slowly. - Kevin A. Freeman (CT)

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 07/12/2009)

Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live

Disc 1
1. Let Me Touch You for Awhile
2. Choctaw Hayride
3. The Lucky One
4. Baby, Now That I've Found You
5. Bright Sunny South
6. Every Time You Say Goodbye
7. Tiny Broken Heart
8. Cluck Old Hen
9. Stay
10. Broadway
11. Ghost in This House
12. Forget About It
13. Faraway Land

Disc 2
1. A Tribute to Peador O'Donnell/Monkey Let the Hogs Out
2. The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
3. Take Me for Longing
4. I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow
5. Maybe
6. We Hide & Seek
7. But You Know I Love You
8. When You Say Nothing At All
9. New Favorite
10. Oh, Atlanta
11. Down to the River to Pray
12. There Is a Reason

Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live is a marvelous live album with some of the production values I have ever heard. Each track has a terrific warmth and richness.

The two-CD set combines the soft floating voice of Alison with the hard-driving bluegrass of a talented collection of musicians to provide a high level of entertainment, especially as morning or evening drive time listening in the car.

Ms. Krauss' voice is used to wonderful advantage in such tracks as "Let Me Touch You for Awhile," "The Lucky One," "Forget About It," "There is a Reason," and many others. One of my favorites is the plaintive "Ghost in this House." By the same token, the bluegrass instrumentals such as "Choctaw Hayride" and "Cluck Old Hen" can best be described as quintessential country-car-chase tunes.

For those who have never had the pleasure of listening either to Ms. Krauss or to bluegrass, this album is an excellent introduction to both and is an essential recording in every respect. -- Steven K. Szmutko (EWING, NJ USA)

Release Date: 11/05/2002

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Amazon Price: $14.99 (as of 07/12/2009)
List Price: $19.98

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