Customer Reviews

Getting Somewhere

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Alison has such a lovely voice that it is a shame that it gets so covered up by Steve's production. A rather muddy sound to this -- which may fit Steve's style in some cases, but not in what Allison does best ... which is to let her lyrics work their magic while that beautiful voice is clear and up front. The lyrics are even less clear on this album than has been the case on several of her recent songs.

It takes a lot of listening to get what Allison has to say, and she is an excellent lyricist with some of the most powerful songs in today's country-Americana field. But as one commentator says, she is allowing herself to drift too much towards pop. And that is just not her best metier. Compare the placement of her voice on this album with that of Brandi Carlile on her recent CD. What a shame that Steve did so badly by this wonderful talent.

At first listen, 'Getting Somewhere' plays like an Allison Moorer foray into traditional singer-songwriter pop. However, after a few spins, Moorer's personal lyrics begin to come to the surface. 'Work To Do' and 'Fairweather' are tight pop songs that deal with moving on after the end of a bad relationship and the resulting promise of a clean slate. While the protagonist of 'The Duel' from Moorer's previous album of the same name was "a newborn atheist", the main character on 'Hallelujah' wearily professes that "faith is hard to find, thank God I found mine in time". Moorer's double-tracked vocals on 'Where You Are' are simply sublime in a touching chamber-pop tune reportedly written for her sister, Shelby Lynne. Moorer's powerful voice is in fine form throughout the album and she is backed by a top-notch band that never overplays its hand. There is not a wasted note or lyric on this album that clocks in at a bit over 30 minutes. Moorer has never been better as a lyricist and this is exemplified by the timely closing song 'Getting Somewhere', with it's eerie slide and electric guitar and lyrics that allude to Hurricane Katrina "broken and banished left there to sink, knee deep in water not one drop to drink" and the Iraq War "motherless babies and husbandless brides, stranded with nothing but tears in their eyes, no home to go to their world ripped apart, look to the sky and they open their hearts".

Those country traditionalists wedded to Allison Moorer's old sound will not like the way she's changed upon wedding Steve Earle. But Moorer has never allowed herself to be stuck in or chained to any one musical style, and this transition from alt-country toward a popular sensibility is a superb showcase for her fine songwriting and her magical voice. Give it a try. I love the varied instrumentation she employs as well as the variety of themes she explores. It's definitely a new day for Allison, and this change, in my view, has done her a world of good.

Love, loss, courage and survival. These have been recurring themes in Allison Moorer's music ever since '98's Alabama Song, and with this Steve Earle-produced release, she deals with them again, taking a straighter if harder road than ever before on her journey toward peace of mind, redemption and--dare I say it?--happiness. While I would've loved to have discovered more tender ballads here (there are really only a couple and no one writes or performs them better), I can't deny that any more may have taken this album off-course. Clearly, Allison knows just what she wants to express, and she has never sounded stronger or more resolute in doing so. On first listen, I even sensed a kind of urgency, almost as if she's making up for time lost. This may explain the brevity of the songs (six of the ten are under three minutes in length); but they're exactly as long as they need to be and she doesn't waste a single second. It's obvious that the timing and nature of this release has a lot to do with recent, significant changes in Allison's personal life, but never mind that, there's plenty of our own lives in these songs as well. And while I treasure, and always will, beautiful songs such as "Steal the Sun" from her back-catalog, I can't help but recognize and appreciate the growth and open-heartedness of this wonderful artist. I hope this release finally gains Allison Moorer the attention and respect she's always deserved, for I have found her marginal commercial success up to now utterly inexplicable, especially when I hear some of the stuff out there that has "made it." Keep on going, Allison, and keep on growing!!

....have been all over the place. And, I suppose that's to be expected...Allison has landed in the nether land where country, pop, and rock overlap. Some like that; some don't...I liked it just fine....

We have here an album about the good and bad of relationships, and just plain survival...she has "Work to Do" and she's "Getting Somewhere"...all in great form. "Fairweather", which deals with an unreliable lover, is probably my favorite track...

Allison is a pretty girl, with a fine voice, who has given us a well-produced recording. One caveat...31'01" is kind of short; that aside, great job.

Alison experiments with yet another genre in her fifth album, Getting Somewhere, and it's not as successful as previous experiments. This album has a lot of pop/lite rock flavor to it. Many songs have a much faster tempo to them, consistent with that genre. A number of tunes are catchy: Work to Do, Fairweather, and If Its Just for Today being the most obvious. The album as a whole, however, just doesn't quite have the feel of serious art like some of Alison's other work. It seems a bit hastily assembled in parts. The faster tunes also have the effect of dampening, or at least making less noticeable, the excellent and unique qualities of Alison's voice. She sounds more like a generic singer. On songs that are slower, like Getting Somewhere and, especially, Hallelujah, her unique voice again comes out and it's a good thing. I like this album, but it isn't Alison's best.

"Getting Somewhere" is a departure for Allison Moorer. It offers a lot. "You'll Never Know" boasts a sunny melody, "If I could I'd plant a seed & make a blossom grow, let colors flow around you." "Hallelujah" is the best slow tune on the set, "Wings are hard to find; thank God I found mine in time." (The word "wings" is replaced by "faith" in the later chorus.) Steve Earle writes with Allison on what is my favorite track on the CD, "Fairweather." Its bubbly hook and breezy chorus makes this a charmer. "New Years Day" sounds like she took a page from Emmylou Harris' "Wrecking Ball" with thundering guitars. "Where You Are" is lovely chamber pop complete with string section that Allison dedicates to her sister. "If It's Just for Today" is a sunny love tune with thankfulness for a good love. "Getting Somewhere" is a good set with Allison branching out into different musical settings. It works well most of the time. Enjoy!

After a series of trad/alt/prog roots-country collections, Allison is the last artist you'd expect to sell out, but upon first listen of "Getting Somewhere" you'd swear she's dog done gone and done it. But it's not the pop land her countrywomen contemporaries have run to. On "Getting Somewhere" Allison seems to have embraced her inner Go-Go. Souding more like Belinda Carlisle than Faith Hill, the songs are full of crunchy guitars, hummable hooks, Beatlesque chord changes and frosty harmonies. Not one track clocks in over four minutes, making them sound abbreviated at times. Gone are the meditative spaces that gave breath and breadth to songs on her previous two releases. That's not at all to say this album is bad, but if you're expecting "The Duel, Pt. 2" you're bound to be disappointed. Allison may be "Getting Somewhere", but just where exactly where remains to be seen.

Following on from the fantastic 'The Duel' Allison Moorer's latest release 'Getting Somewhere' is a massive, massive disappointment.
Quite simply the material on 'Getting Somewhere' is weak and gutless.
On the rare occasions Moorer tries to emulate the beauty and feel of 'The Duel' - such as on Hallelujah & New Years Day - Earle rips the heart out of the material with such an amateurish, pedestrian and thin production that you feel cheated ! Business and pleasure rarely mix and Moorer should take a long, hard look at this release and give serious consideration to re-installing RS Field next time around.

If Moorer wants a guitar groove that burns , drums that drive and vocals that mesmerise then Earle is simply not the man for the job.

Moorer is a fantastic talent who has one of the finest female voices of any genre (she can write a mean song too ! ) . This CD showcases none of her abilities and should be consigned to the bargain bins immediately.

Lets start off by breaking the myth--for all the hype about new musical directions Getting Somewhere mines the same musical territory as Miss Fortune and The Duel. And this is fertile ground for Allison Moorer to till, resulting in another stand up album. Songs like Hallelujah, Getting Somewhere and New Year's Day are the perfect fusion of her as a singer and as a song writer. The later is perhaps the highlight of the album, with its desperate, aching plea for hope. "I Don't Know How She Does It" brings her back closer to her country roots for a song about a woman leaving a drunken husband. The only problem with ballancing an album off of songs this strong is that songs like "Where You Are" and "I Got A Lot of Work To Do" come off pale and forgettable. However, overall this is a strong album, more reflective of hope and peace than any of Moorer's previous work.