Alison Krauss & Union Station - Live [LIVE]

Alison Krauss, Alison Krauss and Union Station

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 (158 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #582 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #1 in	Music > Country > Live Albums > Bluegrass
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  #3 in	Music > Country > Bluegrass > Contemporary

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 67 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 (REAL NAME)

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.

25 of 26 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)

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.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Disc and SACD Implementation, June 18, 2003

By	David A. Goucher (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

As an AKUS fan I already had much of the music on this disc so my purchasing it was as my first exposure to the SACD format. The multichannel production is primarily stereo with center and rear channels providing ambient echo. I'm still learning about SACD and its differneces over CD (PCM) are subtle. Music (vocals in particular) are warmer and more realistic. The "edge" present in CD recordings seems softer. Details (subtle notes, whispers, etc) are heard more distinctly. Alison's fine voice and the instruments of Union Station really do the SACD format justice. Alison begans the track "Down to the River" acapella. With only her voice to be heard I realized how good SACD can be. Her singing on the track is simply the most realistic recording I have ever heard come through my speakers. Beautiful group and lead singer - beautiful sounding recording