skbreese's Full Review: Lonely Runs Both Ways by Alison Krauss & Union Sta...
Those who thought Alison Krauss had abandoned the bluegrass roots of her youth for the adult contemporary mainstream, will be very pleasantly surprised by her recent release, Lonely Runs Both Ways. Krauss and her band, Union Station, alternate between stunningly crafted folk, country, pop, and gospel ballads as well as, good old fashioned foot stomping bluegrass, with the 15 new songs on this recording. There is a sort of kinetic energy generated on the bluegrass tunes, that is tempered by Krauss' evocative vocals that range, at various times, from heartbreaking to thrilling.
Kruass' achingly pure voice is particularly suited for melancholy love songs, which seem to make up the lion's share of her repertoire. The robust bluegrass numbers feature vocals by band members Dan Tyminski and Ron Block, which give this recording a much needed face lift, and raise it above the mediocre level of some of Krauss' previous recordings like Forget About It, which bordered on the morose, due to an over abundance of mournful ballads. Krauss replaces her fiddle with the viola on several of the tracks, giving the tunes a richer, more refined sound, while Jerry Douglas adds dobro and lap steel guitar accents on many of the tracks, giving them a slight country western feel. The overall themes of restlessness and loss of love, are a perfect match for Krauss' wistful vocals and the band's fresh blend of bluegrass, folk, and country music.
The CD opens with Gravity, a country style ballad, with acoustic guitar and dobro accents. Kruass' shimmering vocals and viola add a plaintive feel to this lovely tune. The pace picks up with Restless, a mid-tempo folkish number with brush percussion, mandolin, and the ever present viola and dobro.
The first bluegrass tune of the set, Rain Please Go Away features Dan Tyminski on vocals, with the standard bluegrass banjo, fiddle, and acoustic guitar accompaniment, and sparing dobro accents. The next tune, Goodbye Is All We Have, is a melancholy ballad about moving out and moving on, with dobro lines weaving in and out of the guitar driven rhythm.
The pace picks up once again with Unionhouse Branch, the only instrumental on the CD. This upbeat bluegrass special, written by Jerry Douglas, features a lively, toe tapping rhythm, with fiddle, banjo, dobro, and guitar all thrown into the mix. The highlight of the recording, Wouldn't Be So Bad, is a haunting ballad written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. This poignant, bittersweet, piece deals with a scorned lover looking back with regret on past mistakes poor choices. Krauss' viola and Douglas' dobro underscore the somber mood of this selection.
Listeners will barely recognize Tyminski's version of Woody Guthrie's folk classic, Pastures Of Plenty. The banjo, fiddle, and dobro accents give this tune a unique sound, with a sort of delta blues flavor. Krauss invokes her chilling vocals again on Crazy As Me, another country style ballad with a guitar rhythm, and viola and dobro wrapping around a mid-tempo melody. Similarly, Borderline is a pop styled tune, with guitar, fiddle, dobro and background vocals by Dan Tyminski on the chorus. Krauss and Tyminski add a fiddle and guitar bridge, that accentuates the plaintive quality of this piece.
Next, the band revs it up a notch with another bluegrass flavored number, My Poor Old Heart, featuring plucking fiddle and banjo solos with intermittent dobro lines. Sharp fiddle lines and guitar picking mark the opening strains of This Sad Song, another bluegrass styled tune with vocals by Ron Block.
This leads into another pop- styled number, Doesn't Have To Be This Way. This tune features Krauss' high pitched trill and viola accents. An acoustic guitar and viola bridge are the highlights of this evocative number. Ron Block's I Don't Have To Live This Way, picks up the pace again as Block and Tyminski join together in the lead vocal for this up-tempo bluegrass number with fiddle and lively acoustic guitar solos.
Krauss adds another mournful ballad to the mix with If I Didn't Know Any Better, a folk styled tune with viola, acoustic guitars, and ringing dobro lines. The final piece, A Living Prayer is a gospel flavored composition by Ron Block. It features a simple acoustic guitar melody and Kruauss' intimate, piercing, high soprano vocals, that are perfectly matched to the hymn-like quality of the piece.
This collection is a fine showcase of Kruass and Union Station's finely crafted blend of folk, pop, gospel, and bluegrass styles. Krauss' maturity is evidenced in her ability to alternate between the rough hewn bluegrass from her roots, and the more sophisticated pop style that has brought her a little closer to the mainstream.
If there's one fault with this recording, it's that there are a few too many gloomy tunes, but even that is tempered to some degree by the bluegrass numbers, which tend to be a little more spirited. This is definitely a CD that I will play over and over again. The catchy musical phrases and melodic hooks make this a particularly memorable recording, and one of Krauss' all around best. It's definitely one that fans of Alison Krauss And Union Station will want to add to their collection.
Follow-up to their Grammy-winning Platinum album, Live! Lonely Runs Both Ways is the highly anticipated new studio album from the world s finest purve...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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