New Allison Krauss and Union Station 2004 (merged) (1 Viewer)

[Dan Joy]

OK, I had the day off and have been listening to music all day. AKUS new album is wonderful, both sonically and material wise. Sorry I can't be more specific. Gotta go Big Head Todd's dvd is a calling my name!

 

[GlennH]

Picked it up at Target today, but haven't listened yet. Target's first week sale price is only $9.98.

And, by the way, this release has been discussed in this other thread. Apparently Circuit City is even cheaper on this one.

(admin note - thread merged)

 

[Dave F]

Sorry Phil, I didn't mean to make it sound as if I didn't believe you. I was just wondering if there was any new info, since companies will sometimes claim that something isn't in the works in order to boost sales of the currently available product.

-Dave

 

[Phil A]

Dave, I sent them an E-Mail and got the response. They may very well change their mind 6 mos. or a yr. down the road. For $9, I said what the heck. I did not buy the 2nd Norah Jones album even though the record label said no more hi-rez. It was $10 on sale when it came out but I had too many things on my list of what I wanted. Now last I heard in Feb. it is coming to SACD and DVD-A. So who knows. Dave the E-Mail I got was on November 9, the date I posted. I doubt if they had anything planned it's going to change any time in the near term.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I've listened to this some more and it just holds up very well. It is a beautiful recording as well.

 

[Ross M]

I've listened to this cd many times over since release and I can say that it is an incredible cd. The songs are very melodic and of course Alison and US sound amazing. I must say it is one the finest sounding redbook cd's I have. The recording of this is amazing. The songs are sequenced great and I find myself playing it over and over and never skipping any songs.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

I believe Gary Paczosa has been their engineer since their "So Long, So Wrong" album, or maybe even earlier. I've found him to be an amazing engineer. Everything I have that he has engineered sounds spectacular. I don't have my copy yet, I hope it's in my stocking Christmas morning.

 

[Evan S]

This CD is without a doubt, another showcase for Alison's incredible vocals. Man she's so lucky to have been blessed with a voice like that. She's not really breaking any new ground for herself with this album, it's not really taking many chances, but that's all well and good for me.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Is this album a mixture of contemporary ballads mixed with more traditional uptempo bluegrass? That was the mix of last couple of albums.

The more I get into AKUS, the more I like the more traditional stuff. After I have a their cds for a while, I will skip most of ballads for the more uptempo stuff. I really liked AK's solo album when I bought it, but now I hardly spin it because it has so many ballads on it.

 

[Evan S]

Kyle, it's very similar to the last two AKUS releases. If anything, there is less Dan Tyminski on this album and more Alison if my memory serves me well. I think there are something like 13 tracks and Alison sings on at least 8 of them, maybe 9. There is one instrumental and the other three are bluegrass songs sung by Dan. There is some traditional bluegrass here, but maybe less than you would like.

 

[GlennH]

Been listening for the past week off and on. I like it quite a bit. Alison is in top form as usual, as are the rest. Here's a rundown of the 15 tracks (total time 47:40):

Lonely Runs Both Ways

1. Gravity - Alison vocal, subdued and slow-paced, an instrumental interlude in the middle features guitar and dobro.

2. Restless - Alison vocal, a little more up-tempo. Harmony by the guys.

3. Rain Please Go Away - more traditional bluegrass, with Dan vocal in a wailing style, instrumental interludes feature Jerry's dobro, Alison's fiddle, Ron's banjo.

4. Goodbye Is All We Have - Alison vocal, dobro featured in the background.

5. Unionhouse Branch - Uptempo instrumental, featuring the fiddle up front, then the others in turn.

6. Wouldn't Be So Bad - Alison vocal, mellow.

7. Pastures of Plenty - Dan vocal, backed mainly by banjo, and the rest of the instruments in parts.

8. Crazy as Me - Alison vocal, a short dobro interlude.

9. Borderline - Alison vocal, nice harmonies, violin interlude, then guitar, contains the line ".. lonely still runs both ways .." from which the album is named.

10. Poor Old Heart - Alison vocal, banjo featured, harmony, fiddle interlude.

11. This Sad Song - Dan vocal, bluegrass.

12. Doesn't Have to Be This Way - Alison vocal, mellow. Guitar interlude, then violin.

13. I Don't Have to Live This Way - Ron Block vocal, bluegrass.

14. If I Didn't Know Any Better - Alison vocal, mellow. Probably my favorite on this CD at this point.

15. A Living Prayer - Alison vocal (clear as a bell) on a Ron Block song. Simple, subdued guitar backing.

So of the 15, Alison has lead vocal on 10, Dan on 3, Ron on one, and one instrumental.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Wow Glenn, thanks a lot. That's a great break down.
Sounds pretty similar the the format of the last album.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Thanks Glenn. It's a great album...I like tracks 2, 8, 9, 15...uh, actually all of them really.

 

[Dan Joy]

I went to see akus live last night. As similar to last year, they didn't disappoint! A few snafus on the equipment side(being that is was the 3rd show I will let that pass) but Alison's voice has never sounded better:b
The encore acopello (spelling?)was unbelievable with Down to the River and ending with A Living Prayer. Man the band was tight and Alison's satire was on par as usual. Don't miss this album and especially a chance to see them live!

 

[GlennH]

I became a fan by buying the Live! DVD and SACD. Would like to see them live, but they haven't come here yet, and it doesn't look like they're scheduled.

http://www.alisonkrauss.com/tour.dates/index.html

Would love to see/hear them in Pittsburgh's Heinz Hall. Tremendous acoustics.

 

[GlennH]

A USA Today article on Alison.

 

[PaulDA]

Just got this disc. Another amazingly well recorded album (too bad it's not available in hi-res). Highly recommended.