Alison Krauss and Union Station - Lonely Runs Both Ways Review

Bottom-Line: Lonely Runs Both Ways continues AKUS unbroken string of seriously good music; this is a talented group of people who seem to have fun playing together. 

Like a moth drawn inexorably to the flickering flame, I am drawn to Alison Krauss and her blue grass band Union Station.  And this is never the kind of music I thought I would ever be drawn to, but something in its simple beauty, the uncomplicated eloquence of its instrumentation, the quiet honesty in the music, speaks to me.  Perhaps it is the poet in me that appreciates the message of the music and its affects on my soul.  Whatever it is I like it, and the more I listen to Alison Krauss and Union Station (AKUS), the more I grow to love this (almost) purely American genre of music. 

I bought Lonely Runs Both Ways without ever hearing a track from the album.  I so enjoyed the music on the live release of AKUS, that I took a chance on their latest release; I gambled that it would be as good or better then the band's past efforts, and I was not disappointed.  Though that all too familiar blue grass sound it there, there is freshness to the music as well.  Although AKUS are widely considered the sound of today's blue grass, the band was not content to sit on their laurels; each track on Lonely Runs Both Ways is fresh, crisp, and new.  And it might be just me but Ms Krauss has taken her voice to another level; on two tracks in particular, Doesn't Have To Be This Way and A Living Prayer, her voice reaches new heights, and its all good!        

The music on Lonely Runs Both Ways is not rushed, and certainly not over-produced, the right balance is struck and each member is afforded a chance to shine within the bosom of group. Lonely Runs Both Ways is a sweet mixture of good music with meaning; the lyrics are sharp and full of depth.  For instance on track No. 7 Pastures of Plenty Dan Tyminski takes lead vocal duties on this traditional, patriotic tune written by Woody Guthrie. Tyminski's voice has an earthy, honest quality to its tenor that is hard to ignore.  The song is a more a hymn than a ballad in the truer sense, and Tyminski belts it out with real feeling. 

Lonely Runs Both Ways continues AKUS unbroken string of seriously good music; this is a talented group of people who seem to have fun playing together.  They are a family as much as a group and that dedication to each other comes across clearly in their music.  The full measure of their appeal to this reviewer is that I never tire of listening to their contemporary brand of blue grass; in deed a grave more.  When is their next album due?   

Alison Krauss & Union Station is: Alison Krauss, lead vocal, fiddle, & violin.  Union Station comprises Dan Tyminski, acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocalist; Jerry Douglas, dobro; Ron Block, banjo and guitar; Barry Bales, upright bass.