Viktor Krauss: Far From Enough

Solo albums by sidemen are notoriously hodgepodge affairs. Not so with Viktor Krauss's debut. Krauss has helped Lyle Lovett, Bill Frisell, Elvis Costello, the Cox Family, and dozens more redefine bluegrass, jazz, rock, and Americana styles. Now the bassist-composer brother of Grammy-laden singer Alison Krauss has his own all-star band and his own shimmering gem of a CD. The largely instrumental album's modern roots-music hybrids and wide-open sound yield some of the dreamiest passages since Daniel Lanois's 1989 classic "Acadie." As he has for countless others, Krauss contributes the intuitive craft and resonant beauty of his upright bass work. And as bandleader, he balances a melodic ease with the roughened grind of funky chops, pushing his crack crew -- guitarist Frisell, drummer Steve Jordan, dobro master Jerry Douglas on steel guitars, and violist Alison breathing wordless vocals -- in textured interplay. Though Krauss includes a chilling version of Robert Plant's "Big Log" (sung by Alison), cites AC/DC for inspiring "Tended," and pushes the fusionoid funk envelope on "Here to Be Me," his CD is more darkly evocative than raucous. But it would be a mistake to relegate this movieless soundtrack to background music -- its subtlety is gorgeous