Alison Krauss has a voice that Nashville would die for: powerful but understated, emotionally transparent and achingly irresistible. But So Long So Wrong justifies her decision to stick with the Union Station bluegrass band rather than split for a solo country career. Music this subtle and self-effacing is rare in any category; Union Station shun both the hot-licks showboating of conventional bluegrass and the soft-rock suburbanization of contemporary country. Instead, the band's singular hybrid is both musically sophisticated and unaffectedly sincere, combining the hooks of pop melodicism with the purity of mountain spirituals through an acoustic latticework that emphasizes team interplay rather than individual virtuosity.

With her shimmering soprano spotlighted on eight of the album's 14 songs, Krauss shows that she can sing just about anything. That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that she should. The power balladry of "It Doesn't Matter" betrays a weakness for schmaltz, though the conviction in Krauss' understated trill can redeem the sort of sentimental cliché that would have Reba McEntire chewing the scenery. Within more nuanced material, such as the title song and the two by Mark Simos ("Deeper Than Crying," "Find My Way Back to My Heart"), Krauss makes meditative melancholy sound like an emotional refuge, a haven where she can give intimate voice to what one of the songs calls her "secret heart of hearts."

When Krauss isn't center stage, her high harmonies and fiddle fills reinforce the sense that Union Station are a band rather than merely a supporting cast. Guitarist Dan Tyminski provides vocal complement in a more traditional bluegrass vein, while the two numbers written by banjoist and guitarist Ron Block rank with the album's best. Krauss may pay a commercial price for her loyalty to Union Station, but the artistic dividends are worth it. (RS 759)

DON MCLEESE