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.


Absolutely wonderful!   November 17, 2002
 26 out of 29 found this review helpful

There is something wonderful about a live CD and I love AKUS, so I knew I was in for a treat when this double disc set came out. I have not been disappointed, especially since disc one and disc two are equally great!

Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski swap lead vocal duties, when they are not leading the rest of Union Station through the rollicking instrumentals. My favorite songs are "Just Let Me Touch You For A While", "Maybe" (Krauss' voice soars), the playful "Oh Atlanta" and the borderline depressing "New Favorite". The crowd comes into play heavily - they eat up "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow". At one point a heckler yells 'more' and Dan says 'this is not a race' - showing AKUS' not often seen playful side.

For two CDs, the price is right and it is a wonderful mixture of old and new AKUS music, along with some bluegrass standards not appearing on any of their other CDs. Truly a must-have set!


Hot Damn, It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!   January 28, 2004
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

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.


A MUST-HAVE   November 23, 2002
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

You've probably heard this a thousand times, but if you like bluegrass, and you liked the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou," you MUST pick up this live double-cd. The sound quality is ultimate perfection, no annoying audience noise during the songs, the musicianship is immaculate, the melodies are beautiful, and the harmonies are utterly fantastic. The music will make your heart pound, it even may bring a tear to your eye...I kid you not. Alison Krauss' voice is angelic, and Union Station's music and harmonies just create this unbelievable wall of sound. It's truly a gorgeous cd. Some of my favorite songs on here are Choctaw Hayride, Cluck Old Hen, Everytime You Say Goodbye, and Forget About It, Stay, Take Me For Longing and A Tribute to Peador O'Donnell--outstanding dobro work. But really this whole double-cd is great and I always listen to it all the way through. It cheers me up, makes the day seem a little brighter. I'm not exaggerating here. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your friend. Buy it for your folks.


Excellent Disc and SACD Implementation   June 19, 2003
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

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