Album Review: Alison Krauss’ ‘Windy City’

There are some incredible ballads on this splendid album of obscure covers, but what is really dazzling are the songs with a bit of tempo.

Written by Chuck Dauphin
Album Review: Alison Krauss’ ‘Windy City’
Alison Krauss - Windy City cover art

I first fell in love with Alison Krauss back in 1991, when I started my career in radio. Her single at the time was “I’ve Got That Feeling.” Even then – just barely twenty years old – you knew there was something special about her voice. She quickly became a favorite of both the Country and Bluegrass worlds, and her videos found favor with CMT. Then, in 1995, she hit commercial paydirt with her cover of Keith Whitley’s “When You Say Nothing At All,” which netted her several CMA Awards that fall.

Since that point, there’s one thing that I have longed for concerning Alison Krauss – the fire. Don’t get me wrong. She’s put together some incredible albums since then. But, I would say that ninety percent of her musical output, take away the excellent 2007 collaboration with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, has been ballads. They show her vocal tones to be a pristine and angelic as anyone. But, I missed that young fiddler from Illinois who set the world on fire.

Guess what? She’s back on Windy City. There are some incredible ballads on this splendid album of obscure covers, but what is really dazzling are the songs with a bit of tempo. When she sings “It’s Goodbye And So Long To You,” originally recorded by The Osborne Brothers, she attacks the song with as much vigor and swagger as anything she has done in quite some time. The same can also be said for her version of Johnnie and Jack’s 1951 top-five hit “Poison Love.” These performances have that fire and passion, and sound like she was having an absolute blast doing them. A little slower perhaps is her cover of “Dream Of Me,” a song that she learned in Bluegrass circles, but Country fans will recognize from the catalog of Vern Gosdin. Incidentally, Krauss was unaware that Buddy Cannon, her producer, was one of the writers of the song. She turns in a very moving performance on the cut.

But, any Krauss album would not be complete without ballads, and she delivers as always. “You Don’t Know Me” gets a beautiful treatment, as does her heartbreaking rendition of the Bobby Osborne / Pete Gobel title cut. As good as those cuts are, I urge, beg, plead with you to stop what you’re doing and go listen to her absolutely flawless take on Brenda Lee’s “All Alone Am I.” No, seriously. Go do it right now.

Ok, now that you’ve heard that, you will be ready to hear the rest of the album. I hope on her next album of originals, she takes this approach. The ballads are great, but when she’s got that fire and grit in her voice, it’s a sound to behold. All in all, this might very well be her most complete album in two decades. And, that is saying something very special!