Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live [Live]

Alison Krauss and Union Station, Alison Krauss | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Rounder / UMGD
• ASIN: B00006LLLN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #1 in Music > Country > Bluegrass > Contemporary
  • #1 in Music > Country > Bluegrass > Traditional
  • #3 in Music > Country > Bluegrass > General

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This two-CD, 25-song set, recorded in Louisville on two nights in the spring of 2002, finds bluegrass's most celebrated crossover band at the top of its game. Krauss's warm, feathery vocals, capable of conveying complex emotions in a single note, appear more full-bodied than in studio recordings, yet lose none of their sensual appeal or dramatic tension. She's perfect, for example, as the melancholy temptress on "Let Me Touch You for Awhile," coming across as both savior and seductress, while Jerry Douglas's Dobro echoes the searing strains of passion and pain. With banjoist-guitarist Ron Block, bassist Barry Bales, and guest drummer Larry Atamanuik anchoring the rhythm, the ensemble deftly blends bluegrass with jazz, rock, and folk, combining lightning speed (though rushing through "Forget About It") with sophisticated chops, tangible emotion, and thrilling vocal blends. The crowd, more spellbound with every note, doesn't even breathe on "Ghost in This House" and nearly tears the place down on Dan Tyminski's voice-of-George Clooney showcase, "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow." But who could blame them? It's only one highlight on an album of uncommon artistry, a moving testament to how good live music can be in the hands of world-class players. --Alanna Nash

Product Description

Limited, numbered edition. Half-speed production & mastering, 180 gram high definition vinyl, static free sleeves. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Live Album with In-Studio Production Values, May 16, 2003

By 

Steven K. Szmutko (EWING, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live (Audio CD)

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.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot Damn, It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!, January 28, 2004

By 

Brian Sawyer (Westford, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live (Audio CD)

First, this album is everything you would expect from the first live album from such a fine band. Recorded in Kentucky, the birthplace of Bluegrass, it alternates slow ballads--featuring Alison Krauss's distinctive, beautiful voice--with rollicking, foot-stomping, quick-pickin' bluegrass numbers. It's a real treat, all the way through the 25-song collection. It's also very reasonably priced for an album of that length, and it includes most of the band's "hits." So, if you're interested in getting a first album by Alison Krauss & Union Station, this should be one of your top choices.

Now, for the fun surprise of the album (at least for me). In the Coen brothers' filmed tribute to southern roots music, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Alison Krauss's haunting voice is immediately recognizable as one of the tempting sirens (Gillian Welch and Emmylou Harris are the other two) in "Didn't Leave Nobody But The Baby," as one half of the vocals (Gillian Welch is the other half) in "I'll Fly Away," and as the lead vocal on the beautiful rendition of "Down in the River to Pray."

Less recognizable in that film, however, are the mysterious voices and musicians that make up the Soggy Bottom Boys, whose "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" serves as leitmotif for the whole movie. Anyway, a few tracks into disc 2 of Alison Krauss & Union Station: Live, I felt the thrilling surprise of the yokel in O Brother who exclaims "Hot damn, it's the Soggy Bottom Boys!" as they launch into their hit single to thunderous applause. Sure enough, the mouthpiece for George Clooney is none other than Dan Tyminski, guitarist and vocalist for Union Station, and their live rendition of "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" is clearly a Soggy Bottom Boys performance. Nice.

Incidentally, for all you O Brother fans, "Down to the River to Pray" is also on the album.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, January 6, 2003

By 

Marsha B. Rupe (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live (Audio CD)

I have heard Alison Krauss and Union Station piecemeal over a period of years on the weekly KUNM-FM radio program "Folk Routes," and jumped at the chance to pick up this live, 2-CD set. Live sets often are a gamble sound quality wise, but I was pleasantly surprised (estactic is the right word) with "Alison Krauss + Union Station Live." Alison shines on both vocals and fiddle, examples of the former on songs such as "Baby, Now That I've Found You," and the latter on the rolicking, crowd-pleasing instrumental "Cluck Old Hen." Jerry Douglas's dobro is a strongpoint of both the band and this performance. Dan Tyminski takes over lead vocals on another of many highlights of this set, "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn," with a long dobro lead-in by Jerry. And, of course, the real crowd pleaser on this set is Tyminski (lead vocals), Jerry, Ron Block and Barry Bales reprising their work on the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack foundation, "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow." For me, another gem on this set carried over from the "Oh Brother" soundtrack is Alison, Dan, Ron and Barry soaring rendition of "Down to the River to Pray." This incredible CD -- a great value -- continues to see heavy rotation in my CD players.