Windy City [B&N Exclusive]

by Alison Krauss

Overview

Alison Krauss is one of the artists who helped break down the barriers between bluegrass and mainstream country music, but even though country radio was willing to make room for her, Krauss never seemed to be interested in courting their favor. Krauss has always followed her own creative path and let the audience come to her with her mature and adventurous approach to acoustic music. Thirty years into her recording career, Krauss has made her most specifically "country" album to date, though it's a musical left turn into a very specific time and place in country's history. Released in 2017, Windy City is a polished and carefully crafted tribute to the countrypolitan sounds of the '50s and '60s, music that fused the emotional honesty and personal storytelling of country with smooth, sophisticated production dominated by pianos and strings, and the set list draws from old standards rather than contemporary compositions. Producer Buddy Cannon has designed Windy City as a showcase for Alison Krauss the vocalist, with her stellar fiddle work appearing on only one track. While pale shadows of contemporary country can be heard in these performances, numbers like "Losing You," "You Don't Know Me," and the title track owe far more to Patsy Cline's classic "Nashville sound" sides than anything that's come out of Music City in the past decade. Even when the music takes on a twangier approach on "Poison Love" and "It's Goodbye and So Long to You," Cannon's production and arrangements are steeped in the sounds of the past; while Krauss's bluegrass music always sounded fresh and contemporary in its approach, Windy City is the sound of her moving forward into the past. If this is a very different Alison Krauss album, it's also a good one; the accompaniment is slick, but it's brilliantly executed, and Cannon favors the clarity and emotional range of Krauss's voice. She meets the demands of the material beautifully, and she brings a warmth and subtle passion to songs like "Gentle on My Mind" and "You Don't Know Me" that makes you briefly forget the definitive recordings of these classics. It remains to be seen if Windy City is a brief creative detour for Alison Krauss or the first salvo of a new creative direction. But if Krauss wants to be the new voice of retro countrypolitan music, Windy City leaves no doubt that she has the talent and the intelligence to make it work, and this album is a richly satisfying experience. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	02/17/2017
Label:	Capitol
UPC:	0602557037517

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alison Krauss   Primary Artist,Fiddle
Jamey Johnson   Primary Artist,Vocals (Background)
Tom Bukovac   Guitar (Electric)
Charles Rose   Trombone
John Hobbs   Piano
Chad Cromwell   Drums
Jim Grosjean   Strings
Mary Kathryn Van Osdale   Strings
Melonie Cannon   Vocals (Background)
Regina McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Ron Block   Guitar (Acoustic),Gut String Guitar
Richard Bennett   Bass,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Gut String Guitar
Matt Rollings   Piano
Karen Winkelmann   Strings
Brent Mason   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Sidney Cox   Vocals (Background)
Vanosdale   Strings
Ali Hoffman   Strings
Joe Murphy   Tuba,Tuba
Janet Darnall   Strings
Carole Neuen-Rabinowitz   Strings
James Mitchell   Guitar (Electric)
Zach Casebolt   Strings
Wei Tsun Chang   Strings
Teddy Gentry   Vocals (Background)
Mike Johnson   Guitar (Steel),Lap Steel Guitar
Emily Nelson   Strings
Seanad Chang   Strings
Suzanne Cox   Vocals (Background)
Audley Freed   Guitar (Electric)
Bobby Terry   Guitar (Acoustic)
Kenny Aronoff   Drums
Kristin Wilkinson   Strings
Kenny Malone   Percussion
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica
Jim "Moose" Brown   Piano
Tommy White   Guitar (Steel),Lap Steel Guitar
Hank Williams, Jr.   Vocals (Background)
Barry Bales   Bass,Bass (Upright)
David Davidson   Strings
Greg Leisz   Pedal Steel,Lap Steel Guitar
Buddy Cannon   Vocals (Background)
David Angell   Strings
Glenn Worf   Bass (Upright)
Ann McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Buddy Miller   Music Direction
Monisa Angell   Strings
Anthony LaMarchina   Strings
Bobby Wood   Synthesizer
Scott Ducaj   Trumpet
Don Was   Bass,Music Direction
Jim Horn   Saxophone,Sax (Baritone)
Sari Reist   Strings
Julia Tanner   Strings
Jeff Taylor   Accordion
Conni Ellisor   Strings
Katelyn Westergard   Strings
Alfreda McCrary   Vocals (Background)
Dan Tyminski   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Elmer Laird   Composer
Gavin Lurssen   Mastering
John Hartford   Composer
Richard Bennett   Tic Tac
Rodney Crowell   Composer
Pete Goble   Composer
Jimmy Darrell   Composer
R. Miller   Composer
Buddy Cannon   Composer,Producer
Raleigh Squires   Composer
Randee St. Nicholas   Photography
Harold Breau   Composer
Keith Wortman   Executive Producer
Joann Ioannidis   Composer
Janet Darnall   Composer
Charlie Garcia   Assistant Engineer
Shannon Finnegan   Production Coordination
Stephen Lamb   Copyist
Jackie Murphy   Design,Creative Director
Justin Francis   Assistant Engineer
Pierre Havet   Composer
Bobby Osborne   Composer
Kristin Wilkinson   String Arrangements
Larry Paxton   Tuba Arrangement
Cindy Walker   Composer
Larry Reed   Engineer
Roger Miller   Composer
Manos Hadjidakis   Composer
David Angell   Contractor
David Habegger   Engineer
Willie Nelson   Composer
Dale Dodson   Producer
Carl Sigman   Composer
T.W. Cargile   Mixing,Engineer
Tony Castle   Engineer
Eddy Arnold   Composer
Gary Paczosa   Mixing,Engineer
Jean Renard   Composer
Neal Cappellino   Engineer,Digital Editing
Arthur Altman   Composer
Hank Cochran   Composer
Eduardo Ribeiro   A&R
Jean Gaston Renard   Composer
Chris Wilkinson   Assistant Engineer
Ryan Supple   Producer
Robert Jones   Engineer
Samuel Roberts   Assistant
Giannis Ioannidis   Composer
Derek Parnell   Assistant Engineer
Jon Hersey   Assistant
Jasper Lemaster   Assistant Engineer
Shani Gandhi   Assistant,Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Sean R. Badum   Assistant Engineer
Raymond Couture   Composer
Zack Pancoast   Assistant Engineer
Tim Swift   Producer
Kristi Foley   Producer
Tanya Orlov   Assistant Engineer
Paul Fuerstenberger   Monitor Engineer
Alissa Lindemann   Assistant Engineer