One nice thing about being an in-demand session musician: You’ve got all the right names and numbers in your Rolodex. Viktor Krauss, an Illinois-born bass player who currently resides in Nashville, has recorded and toured with Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Chet Atkins and Jewel. On his own debut album, 2004’s Far from Enough, he enlisted two of his employers, guitarists Bill Frisell and Jerry Douglas; hotshot drummer Steve Jordan completed the band, and little sister Alison Krauss sang a haunting version of a Robert Plant chestnut.
On II, Krauss doesn’t stray so far from what worked before. Guitarist Dean Parks is probably in your collection already, on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, this or that vintage Steely Dan record, and hits by everyone from George Strait to Puffy AmiYumi. Drummer Matt Chamberlain has backed David Bowie, Tori Amos and Morrissey. Frisell pays a visit, and Shawn Colvin sings a cover of “Shine on You Crazy Diamond.”
Even so, Krauss expands on what was a successful model: “Hop” and “Dudeman” conjure a worldly wanderlust informed by Ry Cooder and Bill Laswell, and “Eyes in the Heat” suggests a celluloid cityscape by night. Two more singers have cameos: Ben Taylor’s sandy croon on “When She’s Dancing” is destined for heavy rotation on WFUV-FM, while Lyle Lovett’s delivery in “(I Could Have Been Your) Best Friend” is a textbook example of that singer’s deadpan soul.