A tradition originated in 19th century England that a bride should, on her wedding day, have “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue,” with the idea that these items would ward off the devil and provide the bride with a happy ever after. Alison Kraus & Union Station (AKUS) employed a similar strategy in crafting their first album in 14 years, Arcadia.
Something Old: The unusual combination of “other world,” ethereal, airy, angelic, emotional ballads from the voice of Alison Kraus, mixed with four bluegrass-leaning numbers with top singers and players like what they have produced since 1992! With two exceptions, this is the same AKUS band that recorded Every Time You Say Goodbye. And, ahem, Jerry Douglas, the best resophonic player in the history of the world, is a spry 68.
Something Blue: Aside from playing with bluegrass instruments, blue here refers to sad. Even tragic. Over half of the songs on Arcadia are ballads of lament, or downright appalling tales. Lest you despair, this genre is not uncommon in the world of bluegrass. Recall The Carrol County Accident, No School Bus in Heaven, Little Bessie, Pretty Polly, Long Black Veil, The Flood, and Bringing Mary Home. Mountain people tell real-life tales, many of which are hard, sad, or dreadful. And we love listening to them because they are honest.
Alison admitted that, “With a lot of these tunes, you hear these tragic stories, but they combined it with a beautiful melody and poetry. It was how people got their true-life stories told, and I’m always drawn to the truth.”
“Someone asked me, how do you sing these tragic tunes?” she says. “I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story. And I want to hear what happened.”
Something Borrowed: Several of these songs were borrowed from the public domain or are very old songs that were re-arranged by Alison. And AKUS did borrow Russell Moore from IIIrd Tyme Out for this album and tour.
Something New: Ladies and gentlemen, you will notice that Russell Moore (guitar, lead vocals, and baritone harmony vocals) is both borrowed and new to the band. He is the soulful new male lead vocalist in AKUS who sings lead on four songs. While Russell, the longtime leader of the band IIIrd Tyme Out, may be new to AKUS, but he is very well known in bluegrass circles. Alison used to listen to him sing on stage with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver in the 1980s when she was a teenager! Russell is the most decorated male singer in IBMA history and a star in his own right. (He won bluegrass singer of the year six times in a row.) I wondered if he could transition to this stellar group, and would his voice fit in. My worries were needless. On Arcadia, Russell proves that he is no one’s understudy or fill-in.
Russell’s lead vocals are one of the album’s highlights. I remember seeing Rhonda Vincent & the Rage playing a IIIrd Tyme Out hit, and young Zack Arnold was wowing the crowd with the lead vocal. Russell was hanging out on stage and admiring the young man’s vocal prowess, and teasing him a bit. On the third verse, Zach motioned to Russell, who stepped to the mic, and as he did, heads turned and looked to see who was singing. Russell showed everyone that he has one of the great male voices in bluegrass, and can sing with anyone and capture the audience
Alison said this of Russell’s first day in the studio with AKUS:
“I couldn’t believe it when we went into the studio and his voice came through the speakers. He just stands there and sings with his hands in his pockets, and he kills it. The first song he did was Granite Mills, and about 10 minutes in, Ron was covering his mouth because he started giggling. Russell came in and inspired us all.”
If you like the AKUS more straight-up bluegrass style, check out cut number nine, Snow. It is the most driving song on the album. Granite Mills is also bluegrass-oriented but slower. It tells of a horrible fire in 1874 in Fall River, Massachusetts, in which many women and children died, many jumping to their deaths. While far from upbeat, it is a song you cannot stop listening to. It’s the power of story.
Richmond On The James is a Civil War ballad that recounts a teenage soldier dying on the battlefields of Richmond. It makes no political statements, opting instead to take you to that bloody field and the last thoughts of a teen who only wanted to make his family proud. It may remind you of the Country Gentleman’s 1962 classic, Two Little Boys.
It is not by accident that Alison chose songs by Jeremy Lister as the opening and closing songs. Arcadia leads off with Looks Like The End of The Road which is a haunting lament:
Goodbye to the world that I know
Looks like the end of the road
Isolate in the darkest of nights
And I’m down to the wire
Surrounded by fire
The final song, Looks Like A Light Up Ahead, is also a lament but one with an eye to future hope:
The leafless limbs are shaped like veins against the sky
And tears are falling down from tired and bloodshot eyes
But I’ll dry them off and I’ll follow the pathway
There’s a light, there’s a light up ahead
Alison’s lead vocals on the other songs are stunning in vocal quality, and in their ability to get inside and move the listener deeply. She is the GOAT. While I wished there were more hard-driving bluegrass songs on this album, after many plays, I leave in awe of what Alison and Union Station have given us after a fourteen-year sabbatical.
