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.

32 of 33 found the following review helpful:


Hot Damn, It's the Soggy Bottom Boys!  Jan 28, 2004 By Brian Sawyer
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.

23 of 23 found the following review helpful:


Wow!  Jan 07, 2003 By Marsha B. Rupe
I have heard Alison Krauss and Union Station piecemeal over a period of years on the weekly KUNM-FM radio program "Folk Routes," and jumped at the chance to pick up this live, 2-CD set. Live sets often are a gamble sound quality wise, but I was pleasantly surprised (estactic is the right word) with "Alison Krauss + Union Station Live." Alison shines on both vocals and fiddle, examples of the former on songs such as "Baby, Now That I've Found You," and the latter on the rolicking, crowd-pleasing instrumental "Cluck Old Hen." Jerry Douglas's dobro is a strongpoint of both the band and this performance. Dan Tyminski takes over lead vocals on another of many highlights of this set, "The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn," with a long dobro lead-in by Jerry. And, of course, the real crowd pleaser on this set is Tyminski (lead vocals), Jerry, Ron Block and Barry Bales reprising their work on the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack foundation, "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow." For me, another gem on this set carried over from the "Oh Brother" soundtrack is Alison, Dan, Ron and Barry soaring rendition of "Down to the River to Pray." This incredible CD -- a great value -- continues to see heavy rotation in my CD players.

24 of 25 found the following review helpful:


Excellent Disc and SACD Implementation  Jun 19, 2003 By David A. Goucher
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

16 of 16 found the following review helpful:


A MUST-HAVE  Nov 23, 2002 By momwith2kids
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.

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