When Alan Jackson approached bluegrass star Alison Krauss about producing his latest record, he was thinking of a rolling cascade of banjo and fiddle behind his laid-back vocals.

But Krauss had something else in mind.

The result, "Like Red on a Rose," marked a bluesy, romantic turn for the country superstar who shot to fame singing good-time anthems like "Don't Rock the Jukebox" and "Chattahoochee."

The tone is quiet and contemplative, with the 48-year-old Jackson pondering travel, home and love in his easygoing baritone.

Krauss brought the songs to Jackson, who broke with his usual routine of writing most of his own material. She also chose the musicians and arranged the material.

"He just came in and killed it. He sang beautifully," Krauss said of Jackson.

Jackson, who headlines a concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre tonight, has scored two hits with the album since its release last September. The first single (and title cut) from "Like Red on a Rose" captured the sound of the album, with Jackson singing over a moody backdrop of keyboard and guitar.

"It's anything but a ditty," said Ken Boesen, program director at WPOC-FM (93.1) in Baltimore. "It's so out-of-the-ordinary for Alan. It seems to be a little on the polar side. People either really like it or really don't like it."

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