Customer Reviews

Mockingbird

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Mockingbird

This new album from Allison Moorer has continued to grow on me. The overall result is a well-delivered and interesting mix of very good songs. The more times I hear it, the better it sounds.

The first few times around a few tracks overpowered the album. Yet the last four tracks were so strong, I decided to listen to it again a few times. I put on my trusty headset to really focus in on the music. Sure enough, I heard a lot of great elements I had missed.

Ms. Moorer's musical pedigree has been well touted in her bio. When you've been nominated for a Grammy award on a major record label, people do tend to take notice. Perhaps the excessive hype hurt my expectations, especially when she's described as a "technically gifted vocalist."

I'm sure the number crunchers decided that by adding some well-known covers they could be sure her songs would get played at Gap stores and restaurants everywhere. By and large they've succeeded. Those songs will get this record played, though they are not my favorite parts of this album.

Her take on "Both Sides Now" has a tighter musical arrangement and seems more suited to her voice than the other remakes. "Ring of Fire," "I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl," and "Daddy Goodbye Blues" have each grown on me but could have all been improved.

"Ring of Fire" as done here highlights a subtle recording choice. The vocals were clearly not leveled. You can hear her as she gyrates closer and further from the microphone. This seems to have been intentional, as recording engineers love to give songs that "live" recorded feel. The vocal overlays seem to be fighting against the instrumentals on this song. The sound engineers seem to have magnified this too for effect. You have to improve more upon the original when you're putting your name on a song. I'm still not crazy about the musical arrangement on this track, convinced it sounds too much like the Christmas classic "The Little Drummer Boy." Yet I've grown to appreciate her take on the song more.

Both "I Want a Little Sugar In My Bowl" and "Daddy Goodbye Blues" have a blues treatment that was off-putting at first but sounded better on subsequent listens. As a huge Nina Simone Anthology fan, I'm probably in a very hard-to-please group. I didn't mind the hollow recording on "Daddy Goodbye Blues" as much as some others. In the end these two tracks, though nice, seem misplaced here.

My favorite tracks are 1, 3, and 9-12. "Mockingbird," "She Knows Where She Goes," "Where is My Love" and "I'm Looking for Blue Eyes" are all beautiful smooth ballads. Each song has a nice mix of folk and country that lends to a recognizable sound. And "Orphan Train" really stands out as well. They really showcase Allison Moorer at her best here.

I liked her broad genre treatment, which reminded me of several Lyle Lovett albums I love. "Dancing Barefoot" and "Revelator" each have more of an upbeat alternative rock feel with hints of folk. Those songs showcase the best crossover appeal of this album.

No doubt "Ring of Fire" will get notice in these remake obsessed times. Yet there is so much more on this album that is interesting and compelling.

For fans of:

Trisha Yearwood Love Songs
Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Bailey Rae
Joni Mitchell Shine
Judy Collins Wildflowers
Nora Jones Come Away with Me
Lyle Lovett It's Not Big It's Large
Emmylou Harris The Very Best of Emmylou Harris: Heartaches and Highways
KT Tunstall Eye to the Telescope

Enjoy.

So far this year Cat Power, Shelby Lynne and now Allison Moorer have released cover albums. Of the three this is my favorite. Interestingly she covers both Cat Power (Where Is My Love) and a song written by sister Shelby (She Knows Where She Goes). The arrangements and vocals are splendid throughout. For me the weakest track is Ring of Fire, but she gets into a groove with Patti Smith's Dancing Barefoot that doesn't let up for the rest of the album. She shows her musical range from punk to country to folk to blues while maintaining a flow and consistency to the album, thanks to producer Buddy Miller. And thankfully the title track is not a Carly Simon cover, but an original composition.

I love music. Like reading, I can't imagine going a day without listening to music. That's exactly why I invested years ago in an iPod that can hold my entire music collection, and why I upgraded to a newer iPod this year as my old one was ready for retirement.

I enjoy a wide range of musical genres - country, folk, rock, pop, Disney, rap, jazz. Really, there is no limit for me regarding genre. What I like in my music collection is a song that moves me to some emotion, whether joyous or sad, and has a pleasing, catchy rhythm. Even more, I love it when that song tells a story. And, of course, I like the vocals to be engaging, with the appropriate tone and passion in the singer's voice.

When Amazon.com offered Allison Moorer's CD MOCKINGBIRD for review to its Vine members, I listened to some clips from the CD online and then decided I liked what I heard enough to give it a fair review. As we all know, however, clips that last a few seconds only give a very general idea, but cannot express the overall mood of the CD or the talent of the singer and musicians. I could tell from the clips that I didn't hate the CD. That's a good start.

When I received the CD, I ripped it to MP3 files so I could import them to my iPod and listen to them whenever and wherever I could, intending to give the album several days of play time before writing a review for it. Technology was with me, and I set my iPod to play only songs from the MOCKINGBIRD CD for a few days.

I soon found that I had trouble paying attention to the songs as they played. While they had a good sound, they just didn't grab me, serving better as background music that offers no distraction. Ms. Moorer's vocal skills are competent, but failed to be charismatic. In addition, she sang every song on this CD in the same tone, the same mood. Indeed, I began to believe that she herself was bored with this CD while recording it. Although there are some very good songs on this album (including cover songs like RING OF FIRE), the lack of variance in mood dampens their allure, making each song sound much like the next track.

Amazon.com has this CD categorized MOCKINGBIRD in the Folk genre, but as I listened I was struck more with a bluesy-country feeling. Not a bad genre, and with some addition work and guidance, I expect Ms. Moorer could one day record an album I find much more interesting than this one.

Allison Moorer's Mockingbird contains a series of highs and lows producing an uneven listening experience. Ring of Fire is an embarrassment that will never challenge the Cash sound. I want a little Sugar in My Bowl misses the blues mark but is an enjoyable interpretation. The balance of the CD is generally good if standard work. Overall, this is an enjoyable CD but not an inspiring one.

Cover albums are a risky business at best. And for the life of me I cannot think of one that has entirely worked. Tribute albums are a different thing - at least with multiple artists paying tribute to a singular artist or cause.

But a singular artist covering music that has already been recorded is always an iffy proposition - especially if the material is well known and had been popular in the day.

I'm a huge fan of Allison Moorer's disk, 'The Duel'. But not so much of 'Mockingbird'.

The entire disk is marginal. Nothing shines - even for a moment. It is very frustrating, especially because Moorer has such a great voice. The song choices and arrangements are flawed. Deeply.

I don't think the fact that all the songs are by female writers has anything to do with it. Buddy Miller's production doesn't really add a thing to the songs - and possibly detracts from it.

A 4/4 version of "Ring of Fire"? The blandest cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot"? And an emotionless take of Gillian Welch's "Relavator? It was really too much to take.

I don't know why I do this to myself. I'm a sucker for a cover album, or the possibility of one and they never come out well. Not at all. Ever.

Here is hoping Moorer can come back with a new disk of original material that suits her. That suits me. But this ain't it.

Steve Earle's missus and Shelby Lynne's kid sister has never quite made the first rank of stardom, despite an Oscar nomination (A Soft Place to Fall from The Horse Whisperer). With this cleverly-titled set of covers, she demonstrates a vocal maturity and interpretive sensitivity which could do the trick. But it is not a complete success. The mixing is often very good but sometimes overwhelms the vocal. There is no doubting her vocal skills, but she deserves better production values.

The opening, self-penned title track is, ironically enough, the weakest. The tune is slight, the seventies-style keyboard arrangement is rather trite, and the whole mix is too smooth by half.

Ring Of Fire becomes a slow, rock-me-gentle anthem, bringing out the smoldering romanticism of the June Carter Cash classic. The effect is quite magical, but some fans of the song may need to listen to this version a few times to tune into it. It's worth it.

Dancing Barefoot is one of the more up-tempo tracks, but perhaps a little too subdued to inspire you with the need to dance, barefoot or otherwise. There's no doubting her vocal skills here, though.

I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl is Blues with a swing -- smooth and easy Blues, without the edge and earthiness. Some listeners will enjoy it, others will prefer their sugar less refined.

Go, Leave has some beautiful orchestration and a delicate, melodic lilt that repays repeated listening.

Revelator is good, but the style is exactly that of Gillian Welch's original, but lacking the brilliance in the guitar accompaniment. So the comparison is negative, even though Moorer sings it well. If a cover simply makes you want to go back to the original, it has surely failed.

I really wanted to enjoy her interpretation of the Joni Mitchell standard Both Sides Now, but I found it frustrating. The melodic thread of the song is so strong, it needs full rein. But Moorer restrains it, trying to add soulfulness, but losing the lyricism.

Daddy, Goodbye Blues boasts a fine Blues guitar backing and a mix that attempts an authentic Delta sound, with a live performance feel. For me, it didn't quite work. The drum beat is too solid and monotonous, becoming intrusive rather than supportive, and the vocals tend to get overwhelmed by both strings and percussion.

She Knows Where She Goes is much more successful, simply because it allows her voice to be heard. There are shades of Sandy Denny in the mournful beauty of the singing.

Orphan Train is a gem -- a beautiful, folksy Gospel performance that does full justice to this classic. Here, Moorer's voice is allowed to weave its spell.

Where Is My Love also succeeds, again because it leaves the singer's voice to do the work and carry the message.

I'm Looking For Blue Eyes gives her voice full range, and leaves you thinking she could extend herself even more. The guitar coda on this track is very effective, and is a nice signing-off to the album.

This is a CD to add to your collection for when you are in a soulful mood, when you need a sweet voice to take you away from the everyday and bring you home to your heart.

In 2000 if you had asked me who my favorite country singer was, I would have answered unequivicably Allison Moorer. By 2002 or 2003 you had other artists coming into their own, but she still would have been right there in the top 5. Now she is just a country singer I like, but when I am pressed for a certain few artists I would recommend, I generally don't remember her. This is not good because she is one of the best singers in the business, but lately she seems to be relying on that voice to cover a lot of really ugly musical choices. This album, much like Misfortune, has a few brilliant moments, a few really awful ones and a whole lot of really forgettable ones. Both Sides Now could have been a good tune but for Allison's seeming desire to push her voice up into a reedy soprano, which never quite worked. On the other hand, when she settles into the burnished beauty of I'm Looking For Blue Eyes she is as haunting as ever. Dancing Barefoot drives along with the momentum of the guitair and Allison just pretty much rides the waves. And that is the problem with so much of this album--its just coasting.
Allison has long seemed more aware than her counterparts of her lack of commerical sucess and more bothered by that, and one has to wonder if it is taking a toll. Her last two albums have seemed almost ditzily unfocused, almost like an attempt to throw all the pasta at the wall to see what sticks. Getting Somewhere worked out okay because it fell into a bit of a dead space. However, with her sisters lovely reworkings of Dusty Springfield just out and new albums from Tift Merritt and Kathleen Edwards hot on her heels, this album could quite easily get overlooked in the shuffle.

I never realized how many wonderful musical artists that I have never heard of! I picked up Mockingbird just this morning and all I have done is listen to her stunning rendition of "Both sides now", I am so infatuated with this 1 song that I will wear it out. I have heard snippets of some of the other tracks and I am mesmerized by this album and artist. She dedicates this recording to her mama, and I am sure mama is proud! SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!!

In the ten years since first hearing "A Soft Place to Fall" (The Horse Whisperer), I have been an avid and loyal fan of Allison Moorer's music. And in that time I have been awed by each of her consistently wonderful releases, as well as by the fact that she has yet to become a household name. On her newest release, Allison, with a single exception, applies her amazing artistry to the songs of other writers, and does so with all of the passion and purity she has devoted to her originals. Cat Power, Joni Mitchell, Gillian Welch, Patti Smith, Nina Simone, Ma Rainey as well as other great writers and performers, and we, are the benficiaries of Allison's mesmerizing gifts, and she, along with producer Buddy Miller, have proven that great songs have more than one voice. There is genuine sadness and poignancy in these performances, which could only have come from the heart of one who has known not only the joys of Love, but also experienced the pain of losing it.

Never having heard of Allison Moorer prior to "Mockingbird" I was surprised to learn that she is considered a "country" musician. This CD certainly doesn't fall into exclusively into that genre. The overall effect here is more of a folk/rock/country singer/songwriter. The CD is an impressive demonstration of Moorer's range. She has a strong, melodic voice and she uses it here to cover songs from artists as diverse as Ma Rainey, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Jessi Colter, and David Rawlings, among others.

That Moorer is willing to tackle a Ma Rainey blues ballad, "Daddy Goodbye Blues," is impressive. However, it was a mistake to imitate the original Rainey version down to the sound of the 1920's recording techniques. Part of the joy of a cover is not only hearing a fresh take on an old favorite, but getting to hear the song "cleaned up" with state of the art sound.

Moorer puts her own spin on June Carter's "Ring of Fire." She has both slowed it down and prettied it up. It makes a nice alternative to the Johnny Cash version.

Her hauntingly beautiful version of "Go Leave" may inspire some to look for more of Kate McGarrigle's work.

Back to the blues, Moorer is fearless taking on "I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl." Nina Simone's classic has been covered by Billie Holiday to Ingrid Lucia. Moorer offers up a respectable version, closer to Simone than anyone else.

"Both Sides Now" could have been left on the editing room floor. It's not that Moorer doesn't do a good job with the song, it's just that it has been covered by so many and has been played to death over the past 30 years. I could go another 30 years without hearing this particular song again and never miss it.

Altogether, Allison Moorer has done an outstanding job on "Mockingbird." Recommended!