You can hear a track from Allison Moorer's new album Crows (due Feb. 9 on Ryko). The song is called "The Broken Girl" and, to my ears, seems to fully realize Allison's more pop-oriented ambitions from Miss Fortune and Getting Somewhere. I believe in the press materials, she calls this track the best pop song she's ever written.
You can go here to check out the new song.
The new album from Allison Moorer will be released on February 9. Sticking with a tried and true formula (i.e. Allison's face = really nice picture), Crows now has an album cover...
I don't think I necessarily sold it short, but to my surprise, my appreciation of Allison Moorer's Mockingbird continues to deepen the more I hear it. And though my iPod is pretty backlogged with excellent music (just this minute, spinning the new Hayes Carll once more), I find myself reaching for Mockingbird pretty regularly, regardless of my prevailing mood that day.
I generally wear my loyalties to Allison on my sleeve, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that 2006's Getting Somewhere was a modest disappointment. Mockingbird feels somewhat like a stopgap before something else quite extraordinary, but it more than holds its own as a bold artistic statement. Mere cover album? Not on your life.
UPDATE: So Josh has challenged my brilliant defense of Mockingbird, as if my opinions require clarification (or justification). But seriously, he actually did remind me that I sorta missed the point, at least the one I had in my head before I sat down to type. BTW, Josh posted a sober and fair review of the album and obviously came to a different conclusion that my own, and I can't dispute his own take. However, my original point was this - I love that I can't really explain or defend why I keep finding reasons to listen to Mockingbird. My head tells me that this album isn't really much different than many such projects (i.e. vanity projects) by similar artists. In large part, it can be attributed to my love for Allison's music, and in this case, her voice. But there is something more, I'm convinced. As I listen to it again and again, I guess I hear a certain freedom, even abandon, that I haven't heard in her work before. All of her albums, several of them nearly perfect, have such a distinct, almost calculatedly focused sound, but Mockingbird is a vehicle for Allison to try out several different styles. Some of them work remarkably well, some fall a bit short. But there's beauty in even the failed attempts, and I think she's never sounded more uninhibited by expectations, especially her own. And in that, I hear many reasons to be excited about future releases by Allison Moorer.
I'm sure I've read too much into it. But it's always interesting when a record keeps sneaking up on you.
You can hear an interview and performance by Allison Moorer over at Acoustic Cafe. Also, if you caught Jay Leno on Thursday you got to hear "Dancing Barefoot" (written by Patti Smith), featuring a full band led by guitarists Doug Pettibone and Greg Leisz. Man, sometimes I really wish Allison would tour by herself with a proper band. But, on the other hand, she's really developed her talents as an acoustic performer (check out her guitar work on Acoustic Cafe).
BTW, from the interview, the four songs that were recorded for Mockingbird but left off the album were as follows:
Here's hoping these tracks pop up somewhere in the future.
UPDATE: Then again, sitting here listen to her performance of "Orphan Train", I'd venture that the her fully acoustic performance is even more stunning than the recorded version. It reminds me of when Allison used to perform "Moonshiner" in concert. Nice!
UPDATE II: While were on the topic, Joe Henry was recently on Acoustic Cafe as well.
If you happen to be a female singer-songwriter who thinks it's about time to release that covers record you've been sitting on, stick it back in the vault for another six months 'cause we seem to be experiencing a windfall (or glut) of such albums these days. Allison Moorer's Mockingbird comes hot on the heels of covers material from Cat Power and Shelby Lynne - both of whom actually get covered on Moorer's record - and it could suffer by comparison against those two excellent ladies.
As it turns out, however, Mockingbird stands its ground admirably against all comers, and while it might not quite be a an album on par with her best work (The Hardest Part and The Duel, two of my all-time favorite records), it is packed with powerful performances and hints at future directions. Enlisting Buddy Miller as producer is one of several wise decisions (husband Steve Earle couldn't quite corral her last album Getting Somewhere), and focusing on the work of female songwriters lends the project a common perspective. Moorer, as always, shows off her stylistic diversity, which runs the gamut from sultry (Nina Simone's "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl") to blistering (Gillian Welch's "Revelator"). Her voice, one of the single greatest voices currently recording today, is almost uniformly wonderful throughout ("almost" because Moorer inexplicably chooses too high a key for Joni Mitchell's sappy "Both Sides Now", the lone clunker). Some of the mournful numbers - though mostly excellent - tend not to stand out against the more challenging material (though Shelby's "She Knows Where She Goes" is fairly stunning). For my part, I really want to hear a whole album that slinks and sways like "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl". I'd say the same for "Revelator" except that recording sounds like an outtake from the scorching The Duel. "Ring Of Fire" would seem unnecessary but for the fact that she seems to be reclaiming it for June Carter from its iconic Johnny Cash mantle. Ma Rainey's "Daddy Goodbye Blues" is given a grimy workout, and Julie Miller's "Orphan Train" is turned into a gothic lullaby. Though Moorer has by now proven herself capable of mining territory far from her country origins, she still sounds most authentic dueting with Buddy Miller on Jessi Colter's "I'm Looking For Blue Eyes". Not to be outdone, Moorer does offer up the title track as the single original tune, and it more than holds its own as one of the record's standout tracks.
All of this adds up to a solidly great Allison Moorer release. It's essential listening for longtime fans, but there's plenty here for the casual listener. In fact, the sonic diversity gives this album an interesting niche compared to the aforementioned Cat Power and Shelby records. Hopefully, Allison will consider re-teaming with Miller for her next album, which could capitalize on his deep country-soul influences. But only she knows where she goes.
(Mockingbird will be available Tuesday, Feb. 19 from New Line Records. Looks like Allison will continue to reign as the Queen of The Wailing Women in the Kennedy house. And for the record, "Both Sides Now" isn't sappy, but the version on Mockingbird sure is.)
UPDATE: AllMusic's Thom Jurek concurs, probably loves Mockingbird even more than me.
Not as dirty as it sounds - sadly - but our friend Andy gets a major hat-tip for spotting this new article in Harp magazine.
(Thanks to Andy for the capture of the photo.)
UPDATE: I picked up my copy of Harp today. And for the record, I read Harp for the articles.
