Crows

Allison Moorer

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 9, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B00000E7MD
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #433 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

...a sophisticated, pop-flavored outing marked by intricate arrangements and delicate dynamics. --Billboard

Product Description

Oscar and Grammy nominated songwriter Allison Moorer returns with a refined collection of songs that mark a stylistic departure from her previous work. On Crows, Moorer combines an astonishing vocal performance with new material primarily written on piano, rather than guitar. Produced by celebrated Nashville producer R.S. Field (Buddy Guy, John Mayall), and featuring the single, "The Broken Girl."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Her Best Discs., February 9, 2010

By	A* (New York, N.Y. United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

I've been a fan of hers for years and loved her last disc, Mockingbird. But Crows is on an entirely different level. It leans so heavy on melody and strings allowing her voice to really shine and she gives you everything she has on these haunting songs. "Still This Side of Gone," is just melancholic beauty. The entire disc has this almost eerily atmospheric intimacy to it. The title track, "Crows," has a simple piano riff that underplays the lyrics brilliantly . And "Easy in the Summertime," follows in the same aforementioned formula. These songs, sort of like the rest of the disc, wrestle with inner turmoils of heartbreak/nature, but everything about this disc is just so polished and heartfelt that it avoids schlock. Moorer's voice has always been a thing of blues inflected beauty and with this disc's three upbeat tunes, it manages to have a hopeful poignancy to even the darkest of material on this disc. Wonderful album that matches the greatness of The Duel and The Hardest Part.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A New Fan of Allison Moorer, February 27, 2010

By	mary donegan (columbia, md. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I read somewhere about this singer and thought I'd give her a listen. I am not a fan of country music. I am now a big fan of Allison Moorer. This is an artist I can really relate to. My favorite singers are people like Bonnie Raitt, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Judy Collins. I feel Allison belongs in this group. Her songs are lyrical, heartfelt and I can understand every word she says. Hope she tours in my area soon.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Allison Moorer Does It Again!, February 13, 2010

By	Erik North (San Gabriel, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

So many of the great female singers that have come down the pike during the last ten to twenty years have come in the Americana genre, and Allison Moorer is one of those. With albums like MOCKINGBIRD, THE DUEL, MISS FORTUNE, and GETTING SOMEWHERE, she has set herself up as a consummate artist--not an easy thing to do in a genre whose artists steadfastly refuse to throw their lot in with the corporate country music establishment that has lauded Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift to the hilt. She's a natural maverick, not unlike her big sister Shelby Lynne or husband Steve Earle, one of the true rebels of recent decades. She just has a different way of showing it on her albums, and CROWS isn't any different.

With the exception of the twelfth track, "It's Gonna Feel Good (When It Stops Hurting)", which was written by the album's producer R.S. Field, everything on CROWS is from Allison's own pen, and her very stately and relaxed, acoustic rock oriented sound, splashed with occasional string sections, mandolin, and pedal steel, makes this a thoroughly listenable album. What is unusual about it, however, is how so many of the songs are in minor keys, giving them a mysterious, eerie quality, and the fact that Allison spends as much time at the piano as she does on guitar. Contrary to how that might sound, however, she doesn't try to imitate Norah Jones on any of her songs, either in vocal inflections or in sound; this album is still uniquely her, and her voice is as refreshing as on her past albums.

Allison, in other words, has done it again; she has made an album that will likely feature in a few Top Ten lists, including mine, when 2010 comes to a close.