When I've Got That Old Feeling garnered Alison Krauss 1990's Best Bluegrass Recording Grammy, it was an acknowledgement of the talent and poise the former child prodigy had shown through her first three albums. The album's tantalizing blend of tasteful folk and traditional bluegrass certainly deserved the award. But Old Feeling was more important as a footbridge to where Krauss would take her music -- and bluegrass itself -- over the next decade. It blended country and bluegrass with pop elements (the latter being most evident on "Longest Highway") in such an effortless way, the album couldn't possibly be seen as a play for the mainstream. The sentiment behind the gentle sway of "It's Over" and "Wish I Still Had You" was universal; blended into the honeyed voice of Krauss, it was irresistible. At the same time, the playing on "Will You Be Leaving" and "Dark Skies" was not only technically skilled, but startlingly genuine. (Sam Bush's mandolin and the dobro leads of producer Jerry Douglas were particularly impressive.) The record was imbued with the same old feeling that Krauss and her Union Station guitarist Dan Tyminski would later draw upon for O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- it was a bluegrass album at heart, but it came from a place where emotion and honesty weren't labeled with a genre tag. ~ Johnny Loftus

Even those who don't instinctively like bluegrass will have a hard time ignoring the measure of Alison Krauss's talent. With an angelic, elastic voice that seems perfectly suited to the music, and her spectacular fiddle playing, Krauss has had a hand in revitalizing the genre and enjoyed popularity with bluegrass and mainstream audiences alike. I'VE GOT THAT OLD FEELING, Krauss's third outing for Rounder Records, released in 1990, was also her first Grammy-winner.

Lilting dobro, banjo, mandolin, and sweet harmonies flank Krauss throughout these 12 tracks that range from ballad-like sway ("It's Over") to mid-tempo bounce ("One Good Reason") to chugging foot-tappers ("Dark Skies"). The album is also notable for its merging of traditional bluegrass roots with pop accessibility, pointing the way for Krauss's future releases and eventual commercial breakthrough. The band's down-home technical skills are unassailable, as "Will You Be Leaving" proves (with the banjo, mandolin, and fiddle lines on this song giving Flatt & Scruggs a serious run for their money). Above all, it is Krauss's subtlety and emotion that gives these tracks heart, making this disc the first in a string of the artist's defining releases.