MUSIC REVIEWS

ALLISON KRAUSS' A HUNDRED MILES OR MORE: A COLLECTION
By R. A. Pearson

Allison Krauss' April 2007 release A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection contains 16 cuts from her career outside Union Station; five were previously unreleased. Krauss fans will certainly recognize a different version of "Down to the River to Pray" from O Brother, Where Art Thou? plus the Oscar-nominated songs "The Scarlet Tide" and "You Will Be My Ain (sic) True Love," written for the movie Cold Mountain.

Other songs on the CD of interest include the true blue grass number "Sawing on the Strings," her duet with James Taylor on the Louvin Brothers "How's the World Treating You," the haunting ballad of two small boys lost in the mountains in "Jacob's Dream," the mournful love song "Get me Through December," and two songs with John Waite, "Missing You" and Don Williams' "Lay Down Beside Me."

A Hundred Miles or More: A Collection is a compilation of songs from so many places it is hard to describe the musicians and producers on the CD. Krauss' band, Union Station, does appear in various places and the collection debuts five new songs: "You're Just a Country Boy," "Jacob's Dream," "Simple Love," "Lay Down Beside Me," and "Away Down the River," all of which feature Krauss as the producer.

Allison Krauss fans had mixed reviews on this one. There are some great tunes here: "Get Me Through December," "Missing You," "Jacob's Dream" and "Sawing On the Strings" are very impressive, but listen to it before you buy it; it ain't all Union Station.

John Wait's January 2007 release, Downtown, Journey of a Heart, is a remake of many of the major hits he scored as the front man for the bands The Babys and Bad English plus other solo hits he made along the way. The highlight of the CD is the stunning duet with Allison Krauss on a new rendition of "Missing You" (the same version released on A Hundred Miles or More), and the easy flowing ballad "St. Patrick's Day." Other songs of note on this anthology include "The Hard Way." "Isn't It Time," "When I See You Smile," "New York City Girl" and "In Dreams." One surprise cut on the CD is Wait's performance of the Bob Dylan classic "Highway 61 Revisited." It is hard to say who will really enjoy this CD. I did, but I enjoy the old songs remixed and reinterpreted. You may want to sample a few songs on this one before you purchase it, John Waite fan or not.

Joan as Police Woman's 2006 CD Real Life is now available in a two-disc package. The original CD included 10 cuts including "The Ride," "Eternal Flame," the title cut "Real Life," and "Christobel" all of which were popular in the United Kingdom. The second CD includes six rare tracks including, "Show Me the Life," "Sweet Thing" (a David Bowie Cover), and "Happiness is a Violator," a song for Condoleezza Rice. Joan was big in the UK as a member of The Dambuilders and the Black Beetle. Joan is also backed on the CD by former band member Anthony of Anthony's Johnsons. This CD got rave reviews from the UK press and has something for everyone.

Another CD with something for everyone is Instant Karma, Amnesty International's two disk CD collection of the songs of John Lennon to save Darfur. The CD contains artists such as U2, R.E.M., Christina Aguilera, Jacob Dylan, Lenny Kravitz, Aerosmith, the Black Eyed Peas, Snow Patrol, Postal Service, Jackson Browne, Los Lonely Boys, and many others doing covers of Lennon songs such as "Mother," "Power to the People," "Imagine," "Cold Turkey," and "Whatever Gets You Through the Night." The CD contains great artists, great tunes and it is for a great cause. Here is a chance to make a difference in the world and cop a good set of tunes in the process.

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