Windy City is the fourth solo studio album by bluegrass-country artist Alison Krauss. Released on February 17, 2017, the album is Krauss' first solo release since Forget About It in 1999, and includes ten covers of classic songs that she selected with producer Buddy Cannon.Howell, Coti (2017). Alison Krauss Announces New Album of Classic Covers, 'Windy City'. Wide Open Country. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
The deluxe edition adds four live versions of tracks. The Target Exclusive version adds two more tracks to the deluxe edition. The Cracker Barrel Exclusive version adds one more track to the regular edition. The Barnes & Noble Exclusive vinyl LP version has an alternate cover image.
Critical reception
Windy City received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 69 based on 10 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Mark Deming of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and calls it "a richly satisfying experience." Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Madison Vain rated the album an A− and states Windy City "enforces Krauss' legacy as one of American music's standout talents."
Commercial performance Windy City debuted at number one on both the country and Americana charts in the US and UK, as well as number nine on the all-genre Billboard 200 with 38,000 album-equivalent units, of which 36,000 were pure album sales. As of March 2018 the album has sold 128,800 copies in the United States.
Track listing
Personnel
Alison Krauss - vocals, fiddle Barry Bales - bass Richard Bennett - bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Tic Tac Ron Block - gut string guitar Buddy Cannon - background vocals Melonie Cannon - background vocals Sidney Cox - background vocals Suzanne Cox - background vocals Chad Cromwell - drums Scott Ducaj - trumpet Teddy Gentry - background vocals John Hobbs - Hammond B3, piano Jim Horn - saxophone Jamey Johnson - background vocals Mike Johnson - lap steel guitar Kenny Malone - percussion Brent Mason - acoustic guitar, electric guitar Joe Murphy - tuba Matt Rollings - piano Charles Rose - trombone Jeff Taylor - accordion Bobby Terry - acoustic guitar Dan Tyminski - background vocals Tommy White - lap steel guitar Hank Williams, Jr. - background vocals
Strings
Monisa Angell Zach Casebolt Seanad Chang Janet Darnall David Davidson Conni Ellisor Jim Grosjean Ali Hoffman Anthony LaMarchina Carole Rabinowitz Sari Reist Julia Tanner Wei Tsun Chang Mary Kathryn Van Osdale Vanosdale Katelyn Westergard Kristin Wilkinson Karen Winkelmann
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) 70Australia Country Albums (ARIA) 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 40 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) Click on "Veckans albumlista". 29 Taiwanese Albums (Five Music) 8
Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position US Top Country Albums (Billboard) 49 US Folk Albums (Billboard) 17
Release history Region Date Format(s) Label United States February 17, 2017 Capitol United Kingdom March 3, 2017 Decca
References