Forget About It

For the first time since 1990, Alison Krauss steps apart from Union Station and gives herself solo billing on *Forget About It*. Even though most of the members of her longstanding backing band appear on the album, the subtle change in credit is significant. *Forget About It* moves beyond the bluegrass that Krauss had spent most of her life perfecting and inhabits its own musical niche: a place that retains the emotional honesty of country and bluegrass, but adopts a more delicate, atmospheric musical backdrop. “Never Got Off the Ground” and “Could You Lie” are tinged with just enough dobro and mandolin to keep Krauss connected to her roots, but other songs ascend to a another plane. What really sets *Forget About It* apart is the writing. Nashville turns out dozens of great songs a year, but by the time they reach radio they are usually buried in layers of flashy instrumentation and overproduction. Krauss strips all that away, and to listen to “Stay,” “Maybe,” and “Ghost in This House” is to be offered the undisturbed essence of each song.

Alison Krauss gets introspective and personal on her seventh album, one of her solo outings that shoves Union Station in the background while conventional country steps up to the spotlight.