ALBUM REVIEW: Alison Krauss and Union Station – “Paper Airplane”
Year of the Album — #057
Alison Krauss & Union Station – “Paper Airplane” (2011, New Rounder)
Alison Krauss has the most distinct, original voice in contemporary bluegrass, and aside from her brief stint as a top 40 artist when her cover of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All” went mainstream, she’s been blissfully under the radar. This has lent her career the qualities of a chameleon, allowing Krauss to play the music she wants, when she wants to. But whatever her experimentations, she’s always come back around to working with her band Union Station. And though Paper Airplane is her first album with the band since 2004’s Lonely Runs Both Ways, the music picks up right where they left off.
The title track is pure melancholy, with Krauss’s vocals sliding over a light background of guitar, banjo and hints of strings: “Love is hard to measure hidden in the rain,” she sings. “That’s why you’ll find me here all alone and still wondering why.” But the true highlights are among the well chosen covers. On “Dimming of the Day,” originally by Richard Thompson, Krauss puts forth one of her most stunning vocal performances in recent memory. “You pull me like the moon pulls the tide,” Krauss plaintively sings, and it’s immediately clear why her voice will always be welcome between my headphones. Krauss’s 14th album is as good as her first, and she shows every sign that she’s capable of writing wonderful roots music for years to come.
ARTISTS TO WATCH: Tin Cup Gypsy
Tin Cup Gypsy
These Nashville cats arrive on the scene with a fully fleshed out sound that takes the likes of Nickel Creek and Alison Krauss’s Union Station and melds this with the capability of handling seventies-era California country with equal ease. They’ve earned praise from Sara Evans, with whom they’ve toured, and they’ve performed on large stages, everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to the Late Show with David Letterman, and everywhere else in between.
My only question: Where has this band been all my life? Their sound pieces together just about everything there is to love about contemporary bluegrass, country and Americana, without trying to court pop-country success that would dilute their sound in the process. More than that, they’ve got stage presence and the ability to sound great in a studio setting and on a live stage. Their latest album, Calico, has been out since January, and it deserves to make more waves in the country world.
Check out a recent live performance below with new song “She Just Is,” as the band opened for Sara Evans last fall:
Then check out their cover of “The Chain,” by Fleetwood Mac … which unbelievably only has TWELVE HITS on YouTube! What the hell is wrong with the world?
This is music which deserves to be given notice. As soon as I’ve had a chance to hear the entire album, I’ll definitely have to give Calico a review here officially. Until then, spread the word! This band’s the real deal.
