Customer Reviews

A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Not exactly a best of rather more a gathering of tracks that might be less familiar with the work she's done outside of bluegrass and her albums with Union Station.
It's an interestingly eclectic compilation that embraces both her film soundtrack contributions and collaborations.
Both in the case of the traditional folk tune "You Will Be My Ain True Love" which was an Oscar nominated duet with Sting from "Cold Mountain". Other film music is represented here with "The Scarlet Tide", again Oscar nominated from "Cold Mountain", "I Give You To His Heart" from the animation "The Prince of Egypt" and, perhaps best known, the unaccompanied own "To The River To Pray" from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Not strictly a soundtrack recording, the bluegrass fiddling "Sawing On The Strings" stems from the 2004 CMT Flame Worthy Awards show while "Baby Mine" is trawled from a Disney tribute album.
It's another tribute collection, this time to the Louvins, that provides "How's The World Treating You", a haunting old school country duet with James Taylor.
Elsewhere on the collaborations front there's mainstream country suicide ditty "Whisky Lullaby" from Brad Paisley's "Mud On The Tires" while "Get me Through December" and "Molly Ban" respectively hail from albums by Natalie MacMaster and The Chieftains.
Perhaps the most surprising pairing though is with rocker John Waite whom she shares duties with on his biggest hit, "Missing You".
A second duet with Waite, the moody yearning country ballad "Lay Down Beside Me", is one of five previously unreleased recordings (all produced by Krauss) that make this all the more essential for Krauss completists. The remaining four new cuts all come at the start of the album, running down from mountain air piano ballad "You're Just A Country Boy" through the rippling Appalachian tinkles of "Simple Love" and the bluesy folk "Jacob's Dream" to slow swaying, banjo flecked lullaby "Away Down The Rive"r that shows off Krauss's pure crystal stream vocals to excellent effect.
A new album should be along later this year or early next, but for now this will tide fans over quite nicely.

As far as I'm concerned Alison Krauss sings like an angel, fiddles like the devil and can do no wrong. If you don't agree you might as well stop reading now.

This is a collection of gems that Alison has provided to others as duet partners, for tribute albums and for movies plus 5 new or unreleased tracks. It includes Best Song Oscar Nominees "The Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain True Love" both from Cold Mountain, the Grammy nominated duet with James Taylor "How's The World Treating You" from a Louvin Brothers tribute CD and the multiple 2004 CMA Award Winner (Best Song, Best Vocal Event and Best Video), her duet with Brad Paisely on the perfect "Whiskey Lullabye." Speaking of lullabies, there's also "Baby Mine" from a collection of Disney songs.

If that's not enough to satisfy you, there's more movie music her - the immensely touching "I Give You To His Heart" from The Prince Of Egypt and the sheer brilliance of the a capella "Down To The River To Pray" from O Brother! Where Art Thou. Other collaborators include the Chieftains and John Waite with whom she remakes his hit "Missing You" and reveals a more forceful, earthy power to her usually ethereal voice and they also duet on Don Williams' "Lay Down Beside Me" which is one of the previously unreleased songs on the CD.

But it is the other 4 we've not heard before that start off the CD and are the true treasures here. "You're Just A Country Boy" warns a guy about the dangers of going after a higher class woman, "Simple Love" describes exactly that and the singer's desire for one, "Jacob's Dream" is the stunning narrative of two little boys who go missing and the heartbreaking "Away Down The River" in which a dying woman comforts the one she leaves behind. All 4 could not possibly be any better and "Jacob's Dream" sound like it could become Alison's signature
song.

The unimpeachable quality of these four new songs makes me glad that Alison chose not to wait for 6 or 7 more for a completely new album to release them, which could have taken years. To get all those other scattered diamonds gathered back into one place is just the icing on a delicious cake.

I get the sense that this album is a filler: something to put out there until Alison and Union Station come out with their next, hopefully soon.

It's still good _ more a pop album than country or bluegrass (other than "Sawing On the Strings'' and its all-star cast that includes Tony Rice, Sam Bush and Stuart Duncan as well as Union Station.) Nothing wrong with that _ Alison would be a pop diva (I actually hate that term) if she wanted to be. But it's still doesn't have the sequenced feel of most of her albums. More like One from Column A, another from column B, a third from Column C.

Again, a lot of it is really good. "Jacob's Dream'' is a striking folk tale _ I thought of a different version of the much-recorded "Long Black Veil.'' I'm sure I've heard "Country Boy,'' _ it sounds like something from a Broadway musical. What surprised me is that one of the writers is Fred Hellerman, who has to be the same Fred Hellerman who teamed with Pete Seeger and others with the Weavers, a huge folk act in the early '50s until they were blacklisted.

In any case, a nice collection while we wait for more.

Alison Krauss' sweet singing style is something I love to listen to, really even more than her bluegrass work. As such, this is mostly a welcome collection, especially as it gathers together songs from a variety of sources such as soundtracks and tribute albums. I had heard many of them before, but a few were new to me, such as "The Scarlet Tide" from the Cold Mountain soundtrack (a real gem). There are many duets, some of which - with James Taylor on "How's The World Treating You" - work better than others (Brad Paisley). Then there are the five new songs... The CD starts right out with four of them, and they are pretty, but also fairly uniform in terms of being slow, weepy tunes. I guess that's handy for hardcore fans who already have the other songs on the CD, but I think the producers made an error in starting the disc out that way. It kind of gets the proceedings off to a sluggish start. I'm thinking that Alison would not do four brand new songs in a row in a concert setting - she wouldn't want to destroy the momentum. So why do it on a collection of some of her best other work? So the new songs should have been spread throughout the album. Still, the volume and diversity of the material on Hundred Miles makes it a CD that more than justifies its existence. (My final musing (rant?) ... The overwhelming dominance of 5-star customer reviews for EVERYTHING new that comes out on this site makes me wonder what it would take for some of those reviewers to EVER rate something less than five stars... It must be nice to live in a world where everything is perfect!)

This CD, which does not pretend to be bluegrass music, suffers from the absence of the Union Station musicians and the lack of upbeat songs. The best song, "Jacob's Dream," is about the death of two pioneer children. Alison Krauss has beautiful vocals, but I was not entertained by the material. The last CD by Alison Krauss and Union Station, "Lonely Runs Both Ways." is terrific.

This Girl sings like no one else, but this CD could use a little jacking up. If it's mood music you want this may do it but don't look for any peppy stuff in this CD. Had I heard what was on it I would have passed it up.

This is Alison Krauss's second collection. The first was the hugely successful NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU released in 1995. This latest collection, A HUNDRED MILES OR MORE, essentially follows the same formula: Include tracks which Krauss performed on other artists albums, tracks recorded for soundtracks and tribute albums, and throw in a few previously unreleased tracks. The biggest difference is that this new collection seldom features Union Station, and as such there is little here that would be mistaken for bluegrass. Here's how the album breaks down:

Tracks 1-4: These are all previoulsy unreleased and feature the mainstream county/adult contemporary side of Krauss. The songs are highlighted by her angelic voice. No recording dates are given, but Krauss is listed as the producer.

"Sawing on the Strings" is the only overtly bluegrass song on this collection. Krauss and Stuart Duncan play fiddle with Sam Bush on Mandolin and Tony Rice on guitar. The song was first performed on CMT's 2004 "Flame Worthy Video Music Awards" show.

"Down to the River to Pray" is the a capella standout from the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Soundtrack.

"Baby Mine" was recorded for THE BEST OF COUNTRY SING THE BEST OF DISNEY. This lullaby was used in the movie "Dumbo."

"Molly Ban (Bawn)" is from the Chieftain's album DOWN THE OLD PLANK ROAD. Also joining the Chieftain's is Bela Fleck on banjo on this lovely ballad.

"How's the World Treating You" was originally included on LIVIN', LOVIN', LOSIN,: SONGS OF THE LOUVIN BROTHERS. It features a wonderful vocal duet with James Taylor.

"The Scarlet Tide" is a haunting ballad from the soundtrack for "Cold Mountain."

"Whiskey Lullaby," of course, was a huge country hit for Brad Paisley with Krauss sharing the lead vocal.

"You Will Be My Ain True Love" is another track from "Cold Mountain," with Sting providing harmony vocal.

"I Give You to His Heart" was originally included on THE PRINCE OF EGYPT: NASHVILLE, a country version of the original movie soundtrack. This song was written by Ron Block, who also plays guitar and sings harmony.

"Get Me Through December" is taken from Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster's album IN MY HANDS. This lush ballad also features Krauss's older brother Viktor on bass.

"Missing You" has Krauss dueting with John Waite on a re-make of his 1984 smash hit. Many of the amazon.com reviewers have turned their nose up at this track; to me it simply shows that Krauss can sing rock 'n' roll with the best of them. It's also one of my favorite tracks. The song is from Waite's 2007 album DOWNTOWN...JOURNEY OF A HEART.

"Lay Down Beside Me" closes the album with a fifth previously unreleased tune. This time Waite returns the favor and joins Krauss on a country classic written by Don Williams.

If A HUNDRED MILES OR MORE has a flaw, it's that overall the collection is ballad heavy. But like Krauss's earlier collection, this is the most cost effifient way to add these stray tracks to your collection. [Running Time - 67:39] HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I had such high hopes for this album before it was showed up. Her previous releases with Union Station were artistic wonders - brilliant musicianship and thoughtful lyrics that required repeated listening to fully understand the complex relationships and stories that were presented. I couldn't wait to hear what they had been cooking up. Unfortunately, they didn't do any cooking on this album and I sincerely hope this is an aberration. I WANT to assume that someone simply gave her some bad advice or pushed her (I like to think kicking and screaming) to release some pabulum and make a quick buck. Until I hear differently, I'll continue to hold out hope that she's in the recording studio with Union Station working on another wonderful album.

The song writing here doesn't hold a candle to "New Favorite" and "Lonely Runs Both Ways" and the performances themselves are pleasant enough (upon repeated listening, about four of the songs on "Miles" are keepers) but they are not the excellent work that I have associated with her in the past. Alison has the capability to sing the most beautiful, clear tone and only occasionally (to good effect) let a breathy tone in. "Hundred Miles" reverses this trend as she over-uses a breathy tone and in doing so lowers herself into the sea of mediocre, but pleasant singers that she previously soared above. Her song choices (please tell me that someone ELSE chose this mess of tunes for this album) are an embarrassment. Boring tunes, with silly or depressing themes (the body count on this album is very high - by the end, multiple children and adults have committed suicide, been killed, or otherwise died) and on many of the songs, I found myself glancing down at the time elapsed on my car's CD player as the music droned on and on (well into 5 minutes on too many).

The best song? "Down to the River to Pray" - recorded years ago before the bad influences who produced this sorry lot got to her. The worst? Probably "Missing You" which is such a shock to the ears when the drums and electric guitar start pounding at the beginning of the track that I had to check the player to make sure I hadn't accidently hit a button somewhere and jumped to a top 40 radio station. What on earth prompted her to record (and then release) such a sell-out? Alison - the lure of popularity is NOT worth it. Please stay true to your artistic roots and never again make this deal with the devil.

P.S. What are people thinking to make a song like "Whiskey Lullaby" such a big hit? I agree that the singing is wonderful and I love both of their voices and the tune itself. But it's all wiped out by the stupid lyrics. Why don't these two people pick up the phone and call each other? What version of what religion has angels singing whiskey lullabies? Who writes the words "put the bottle to her head and pulled the trigger?" I am drawn in when she sings (in previous albums) "let me touch you for a while" or "when you cross over there's no turning back once that burning bridge is gone." THAT's poetry. This is sad, silly junk.

I will give Alison Krauss a million bucks if she will just release a straight-ahead bluegrass album again. Seriously. PLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAASE. Use your resonance. Use your range. PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASE.

There are not enough superlatives for Ms. Krauss, her voice or her music. She's an amazingly talented performer.