ALISON KRAUSS + UNION STATION - NEW FAVORITE

Once again, Alison makes the huge mistake of thinking her band is as interesting as she is. Don't get me wrong, I love Union Station. I think they are brilliant musicians and I love the way they sound as a performing unit. All of this stems from the fact that my attraction to Alison is her beautiful voice and the amazing soft arrangements her band creates around her delicate sound. When Dan or one of the other members take over on lead vocals, that appeal vanishes. The music is proficient and I'm sure he's a great vocalist in the world of Bluegrass, but to me those tracks represent one less beautiful piece of music I'm missing out on. I'm also not partial to the down home instrumental tracks. They're just not my style or taste.

I bought this album when it first came out while I was living in Vegas. The first song I heard was 'The Lucky One'. At that point in my life, I really felt that song mirrored my own self image. I considered myself extremely fortunate and almost supernaturally lucky. I was fairly carefree and easy going. I wasn't much for deep love or anything like that. I'd kinda given up on the idea of love. It didn't bother me a whole lot. Not like it did later on. The first song on the album was a beautiful number that also appealed to me. 'Let Me Touch You For Awhile' echoed my personal views of men around me at the time. I was kinda dating a couple different straight or married men. Not being very discriminating... Yikes. I can't believe myself back then. Anyway...

The rest of the Alison songs are just as wonderful and brilliant. She has such an expressive voice. She draws the emotion right out of the music. 'New Favorite' is also another track I really love and feel a great deal of affection for. Especially after my ex left. This song described my situation to a tee and I always felt sad when I heard it. After the fade out, stick around to hear a blooper of sorts when the band starts a track and screw up. It's only a couple seconds long, but it's an interesting addition to the record.

In so many ways, it's hard for me to give her a bad review. The songs themselves seem almost irrelevant when you get down to why I listen to her. I just love the sound of her voice. At the same time, she always chooses songs I find emotionally full and hard hitting. The combination of Union Station's beautiful arrangements, perfect song selection and Alison's vocals make almost anything she does a winning amalgam of sound. I just wish they'd save the band member vocals and instrumentals for a completely different project. They should put out the Alison Krauss album and then a totally separate Union Station record.

Ultimately, it comes down to the listener to decide. You have to know if it's right for you. I know I will continue to buy her material and I will continue to rip the discs and re-burn them sans Union Station heavy tracks. I always call the folder I rip Alison tracks into "Beautiful". So that will be my final word for today: BEAUTIFUL.

ALISON KRAUSS + UNION STATION - NEW FAVORITE
01. Let Me Touch You For Awhile
02. The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
03. The Lucky One
04. Choctaw Hayride
05. Crazy Faith
06. Momma Cried
07. I'm Gone
08. Daylight
09. Bright Sunny South
10. Stars
11. It All Comes Down To You
12. Take Me For Longing
13. New Favorite