Alison Krauss *New Favorite* is my new favorite! (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

I have never been a country music fan, but I have recently taken a liking to Alison Krauss. Her music is excellent, and her voice is great! It started out with my purchases of the Forget About It and Now That I've Found You...A Collection SACDs. The latter title is simply awesome! Then over the weekend, I bought New Favorite on CD. Yes, I bought the CD, not the SACD...for now. I couldn't find the SACD locally, and on a whim, I bought the CD for $12.99 at Best Buy. New Favorite is great! I love the music, and as with the other two albums I have, the sound quality is first-rate. I must get the SACD. If you like Alison Krauss and haven't yet picked up New Favorite, get it. If you are not familiar with Alison Krauss, check out some of her stuff. She is definitely worth a listen.

 

[Joel Mack]

Alison's an amazing talent. Love her voice...

 

[Phil A]

Keith, you should hear it on multi-channel SACD (2-channel SACD is of course excellent as well). It is an excellent recording as well as content. It's one disc that really makes me happy I picked up the Sony 777ES multi-channel player.

 

[Evan S]

Man, I told you. I told you.
Yes, do yourself a favor and get the SACD...it's still the jewel of my collection.

 

[KeithH]

O.K., I will definitely have to get the SACD. I was hoping that a particular store I like to shop at would have it at a good price. They had the first two Alison Krauss SACDs very cheap, but they have not gotten in New Favorite on SACD. There is always the Internet.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Is this one with her and the Union Station, or more of a solo effort. I liked her solo efforts, a little too much bluegrass for me when she's with the Union Station folks.

 

[Rachael B]

Patrick, it's with Union Station and some of the album is quite bluegrass and the boys do vocals on a couple of tracks, but the rest of the album is pure Alison. I wish she'd jump into another genre myself. Ever since I heard her sing Johnny Mercer's THIS TIME THE DREAMS ON ME for the soundtrack of MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, I've wished she'd make atleast one album of jazz. She seems to be awfully devoted to her bluegrass/country roots. She may never stray from them. Just buy the album it's quite good.

Keith, you should of bought the hybrid disc in the first place! Best wishes!

 

[Evan S]

Patrick, I'll agree with you to a point.

I own two albums by AKAUS. "New Favorite" and "So Long So Wrong". It seems to me as if there is a slight favoring of Alison's material on the newer album and less bluegrass on the new release. Thats not to say it isn't there. Big bluegrass feel on tracks 2, 4, 6, 9 but in an album of 12 tracks, 66% Alison is good enough for most. Songs 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 & 12 all sound like they could easily have been on one of her solo releases. In fact, I have the solo release of "Forget About It" and even though I really enjoy that release, I think "New Favorite" blows it away musically. Even the Bluegrass tunes you can get used to after a while, unlike on some of the earlier albums. If you can handle stuff like "Man of Constant Sorrow" on the O' Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack, you can easily handle "New Favorite".

Not to mention this release sets the standard as far as SACD sound quality is concerned.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Okay, I've listened to New Favorite, and I would go nuts if I had to listen to the Union Station male vocalist over and over (not the biggest fan of "Man of Constant Sorrow" type of vocals/style of music). I'd probably create a CD-R that excised the songs with the male vocalist if I owned New Favorite.

 

[Danny Tse]

I got Forget About It and I love it. Have to put the SACD on my shopping list now. I was surprised some of the songs were written by Michael McDonald of Doobie Brothers fame.

 

[Joseph Young]

Alison w/Union Station is definitely more bluegrass. I consider solo Alison pop, not country (not even by 'new country' standards).
That said, I admire her work. She has a lovely voice and her songs are very melancholy (in a good way). My roomate and I used to listen to 'forget about it' a lot. Haven't heard the new one, but I'm sure it's just as good.
If more artists approached commercial adult contemporary pop with the delicacy and grace that she does, the state of that genre would most certainly be improved.
Joseph

 

[KeithH]

Rachael

I bought the New Favorite CD on impulse, just to finally hear the music. No big deal. I'll get the SACD. The CD will be used in the car or office.


All,

Whether Alison Krauss is on her own or with Union Station, I love the music. That said, I would like to see her try her talent with jazz. That would be great.

 

[mike_decock]

I bought "New Favorite" on LP since it was the first LP from a DSD master (AFAIK). The sonics are terrific and the music is great.

-Mike...

 

[MickeS]

Was anyone else as surprised as I was to see her hawking McDonalds products? Good way to get some money and get your name out there though, and she didn't have to say a word about McDonalds. Still, it seemed like sort of an odd marketing campaign, for both of them.
/Mike

 

[Joe Cole]

I have all of Allison's own stuff and a couple on SACD. i really enjoy her singing, live and on CD/SACD.

On her latest on SACD, 'New Favorite' the first cut and another one, it seems to me that she is too close to the mike. Anyone else notice this? SACD sure does bring out the details in a recording......

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Friends,
I am listening now to Now That I've Found You, the SACD, based on recommendation from Keith.
I really like this. This is the second Rounder Super Audio I have gotten ou tof two that sound wonderful.
I am really learning to love Alison's voice and the guitar/fiddle craftsmanship is superb.
I will look for New Favorite but Tower has been out for a while...

 

[KeithH]

Joe said:

On her latest on SACD, 'New Favorite' the first cut and another one, it seems to me that she is too close to the mike. Anyone else notice this? SACD sure does bring out the details in a recording......

Can you explain what you mean by this? What are you hearing that sounds odd? Have you compared the CD and SACD to verify that it is something specific to the SACD layer? I have the straight CD for now and have not noticed anything unusual.
Lee,
Now That I've Found You: A Collection is excellent. I love the music and the sound quality. Glad to hear you are enjoying it as well. I imagine you appreciate track 2, "Oh, Atlanta".

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I imagine you appreciate track 2, "Oh, Atlanta".

More than you know. I first heard this song performed by others, after moving back home to Atlanta from New York, a city I enjoyed working in but hated living in. The time was 1990 and David Dinkins was the mayor and the unemployment rate was a whopping 13.5%!
The lyrics in that song summed up my feeling at the time very well.
Atlanta is a very special place for us Southerners!

 

[Joe Cole]

Keith,

I am not sure of how to express it but: her vocal track on the first song sounds to me as if she is too close to the mike or it is set to loud. I have the plain CD and it does not sound the same on it. On the SACD there is a slight distortion in her voice, the gain is set to high or something like that. The instruments are fine and clear sounding all the way through the song.

This evening I saw a video of Allison singing a song from a newish movie sound track on CMT, maye from 'the ya ya sisterhood'. Does anyone know if this is just for the film or the beginning of a new CD for her?

 

[KeithH]

Lee,

You gotta love it when music has such significance in your life. That's what makes music great. That's a great story, and I can appreciate where you are coming from.


Joe,

As I recall, Alison Krauss has at least one song on the soundtrack for Ya Ya Sisterhood. So, the song you heard on TV might not be released on a new album.

Thanks for the info. on the New Favorite SACD. That is most disconcerting. I intend to pick up the SACD, and when I do, I will listen for that distortion. Rounder is a relatively small label. I wonder if sending them an e-mail message with your concerns about the sound quality would get some real feedback, especially if you told them that the distortion does not appear on the regular CD.