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List Price: $17.98 | | Label: Rounder / Umgd
Salesrank: 9012
Released: February 14, 1992 |
| Our Price: $11.99 |
| Used Price: $8.15 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Too Late to Cry Track Listing:
1. Too Late to Cry
2. Foolish Heart
3. Song for Life - Alison Krauss, Crowell, Rodney
4. Dusty Miller - Alison Krauss, Traditional
5. If I Give You My Heart
6. In Your Eyes
7. Don't Follow Me
8. Gentle River - Alison Krauss, Rakestraw, Todd
9. On the Borderline
10. Forgotton Pictures - Alison Krauss, Trischka, Tony
11. Sleep On - Alison Krauss, Mandrell, Nelson
Editorial Review:
On the surface, Alison Krauss's 1987 Rounder debut is a well-executed, completely satisfying bluegrass album with both traditional and contemporary elements. Once you realize that the sublime singer and expert fiddler you hear is a mere 15 years old, it becomes extraordinary. True, hearing a 15-year-old sing about "my whiskey on ice" and other such mature themes is a bit disconcerting, but what amazes is not what she's singing about but the masterful command she has over her angelic voice. And her fiddle licks are even more impressive. The record simply oozes potential and poise, even if the best was yet to come. --Marc Greilsamer
Too Late to Cry Reviews:
Her First, and One of Her Best! 
2008-07-14 - Hard to believe that over twenty years have passed since this gem emerged. She was an amazing talent then, and is even more of one now!
Too great to cry
2006-11-10 - This album demonstrates how absolutely phenomenal a singer and fiddler Alison Krauss since her early teens! Sheer delight to trace her gracious development as artist, leader, and influence over the decades.
Alison Krauss' Strong Debut 
2004-06-25 - In 1987 Alison was only 15, and some of the songs on this CD are kind of "honky-tonky". In "Song For Life" the lyric begins "I don't drink as much as I used to...." and it's a little incongruous putting the words together with the 15 year-old voice. Her vocal tone was a little twangy and nasal-sounding, almost strident as she belted out some of these tunes, and I wonder if she was influenced maybe a little by some of the Nashville Big-Hair bunch like Reba.
Still.... if she had not appeared until today and suddenly this recording appeared, it would be at least as head-turning today as it was 15 years ago. No other vocalist in the genre approaches this kind of material with this kind of instrumentation with THAT kind of voice. Alison surrounded herself by superstars like Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, so the supporting cast was top-notch.
In her first recording she was both astonishingly new and talented, but also showed great promise of things to come. In the recordings that followed she has unfailingly measured up to that promise. Even in her first record she began showing her taste for sorrowful mournful tunes of doomed love, even on uptempto tunes like "Don't Follow Me" and the title "Too Late to Cry". She also began demonstrating her talent for beautiful slow ballads like "Gentle River".
Required stuff for those who want the complete Alison Krauss collection, but I knock it down to 4 stars because the maturity of her voice and mastery of material would show up in full on later recordings.
Debut album set the standard for those that followed
2004-04-09 - Alison was just fifteen when she made her recording debut with this album but, even at that age, she was ready for it. She is both only a talented musician and a wonderful singer with a great voice, which has echoes of Dolly, Reba and Emmylou while not being too much like any of them. Her music has changed significantly through the years so fans of her more recent albums may not like her early work. My eclectic taste in music allows me to enjoy all her music though I generally prefer the early stuff.
The songs are mostly obscure, the most widely known being Song for life, which is a classic from the pen of Rodney Crowell. Alison plays the fiddle on all tracks where one is used, but there are two instrumentals, both covers (Tony Trischka's Forgotten pictures and the traditional Dusty Miller) that demonstrate Alison's skills as a fiddler very clearly. The remaining songs are only originals, mostly from the pen of John Pennell.
This may not be the best album that Alison ever recorded - though some think it is and I can understand why - but it is certainly among the best. It's not difficult to figure out why Alison has been so successful. If you are unfamiliar with Alison's early music, you should first try Now that I've found you - A collection. If you enjoy that, particularly the track Sleep on (taken from this album), give this a listen.
Oh, my. Oh, oh, my......
2003-05-15 - I remember distinctly when I first heard one of the cuts on the lp version of Too Late to Cry on a radio show called Grass Roots or something like that out of Kalamazoo, MI. I stopped whatever I was doing to listen closely to "Don't Follow Me", and then the first chance I got to get up to Lansing's Elderly Instruments (the best darn music & instrument store in Michigan)I bought it.
I think this recording is just about as perfect as anything since Abbey Road. Each song is a little gem. I really prefer Alison's voice as it sounds in these earlier recordings: stronger, more nasal. She purposely changed it to the softer, more pop-friendly version around the time of the "Every Time You Say Goodbye", I believe. But her singing is not the only treat; she had won many awards for her fiddle playing by this time, and it shines; and she is backed up by only the best musicians in bluegrass---Jerry Douglas & Sam Bush, for example.
Peppy, strong, and true to bluegrass roots.
