When you hear or read the phrase, "She's picked up 26 Grammy's", you could be forgiven for thinking that Alison Krauss was some sort of Olympic weight lifter with a penchant for raising awards. The truth however is even more astonishing: she has actually won 26 Grammy's and is only 39 years old. To put this into some sort of context Tiger Woods has won 14 Major golf titles, Lewis Hamilton has 16 Grand Prix wins to his name and Roger Federer 16 Grand Slam singles tennis titles. In the back slapping world of Grammy appreciation only two people surpass Krauss in terms of trophies won. Even the likes of Stevie Wonder, 22, Aretha Franklin, 18, and the legendary Leonard Bernstein, with 16, fail to come within touching distance of America's favoured Bluegrass ambassador.
Despite her pedigree, and her potentially over festooned mantle piece*, she still managed to keep a fairly low profile away from her homestead. All that changed radically after her collaboration with Robert Plant on their 2007 album 'Raising Sand'. That album, coupled with the attention and critical acclaim it brought with it, thrust Krauss further into the limelight and raised her profile to new heights, especially on this side of the pond. If there was a chance that you may have missed the delights of her angelic voice then that time has surely passed. Although tempted and willed to repeat the process once more with West Brom's greatest export Krauss decided it was time to return to the fold and has released this album with her band of 26 years, Union Station, their first since 2004's 'Lonely Runs Both Ways'.
Continue reading: Alison Krauss, Paper Airplane Album Review