Alison Krauss

Country/bluegrass sweetheart Krauss has done an excellent job of crossing over into major commercial success while retaining credibility with her core roots music audience. The superb recent collaboration with Robert Plant (Raising Sand) has further boosted her standing but sadly the grizzled rock god isn't featured on this live DVD. Guest cameos include James Taylor, country star Brad Paisley and another rock veteran, John Waite. Those tunes represent Krauss's crossover side, while two songs with Tony Rice ("Sawing on the Strings" and ""Shadows") will please bluegrass and folk lovers. As usual, Krauss surrounds herself with the very best players, the list here including Sam Bush and her Union Station comrades Jerry Douglas, Ron Block and Dan Tyminski. Her song selection is equally tasteful, with tunes from Don Williams ("Lay Down Beside Me"), Chet Atkins and Boudleaux Bryant ("How's The World Treating You"), and our own Gordon Lightfoot ("Shadows") included here. The word "live" is a little misleading, as Krauss is filmed singing in a Nashville studio, a rather dull setting visually. Interviews with the singers and musicians are interspersed with the songs but they tend to the banal or mutually admiring. The "play songs only" option here is recommended.