Customer Reviews

The Turn (US Version Only)

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

 

 

This revision of my initial review would be accompanied by at least another half a star, if Amazon allowed it, as my enjoyment of THE TURN deepened the more I listened to it:

As with Alison Moyet's last release, VOICE, this one requires a little time and patience. The set could have used a few more beats and more variety; it's a bit slow going. What's different is that it's all original material, and after a few listens, these songs began to get under my skin. This is the kind of album that rewards repeat visits, and is most effective in the still of the night. Mostly ballads, with real strings backing them up, rather than synthesizers, Moyet has managed to create something at once eccentric and subtle (it looks to me, after reading notes on three of the songs, created for a play entitled SMALLER, like Alison's bizarre makeup and feathers worn in the photographs were part of her costume, as she also played a character in the drama. The rest of the collection has a cohesive feel with relation to those songs). With regard to the music itself, there is some minimal percussion and keyboard work, occasional horns and plenty of acoustic and electric guitars, but the main attraction, as usual with Moyet, is her incredible voice, grown deeper and more expressive with time. My personal favorite, which emerged quickly, is the "The Man In The Wings," with it's low, vibrating guitar backing, reminiscent of the theme from TWIN PEAKS. "It's Not The Thing, Henry" is an odd but energetic and uptempo song that is more like the Alison Moyet of old, and it is another standout track. The three "show tunes" are saved for last, and it's easy to see why: they are really gorgeous; Alison stretched herself on VOICE, and these last few tunes on THE TURN reveal a mature artist at once more relaxed and in full possession of her talent. As heavily produced as this record is, it doesn't really come off that way, due to the tastefulness of the arrangements and the up-front recording of Moyet's vocals. Although I kind of miss the electric, beat-backed singer I've loved all of these years, I'm really impressed with the artistic risks Moyet has taken with VOICE and THE TURN. She may have lost some of her old fan base as a result, but I, for one, am staying with her ... I can't wait to hear what she comes up with next. Ever since HOMETIME, the CD that preceded VOICE, I have been grateful that Moyet, one of the U.K.'s most compelling singers, is still creating and singing.

I bought this CD as an import as soon as I learned it was available, and it was expensive. Perhaps a domestic release will find it more affordable in the future, but this CD is good enough to not feel cheated. My copy is a "Special Edition" which has one bonus track tacked onto the end, an uptempo rouser that seems to say, "never fear, my old friends, the Alison Moyet you once knew is still here." The song is "A Guy Like You," and it almost sounds like it belongs on another album, but I'm glad I have it, and if you are an Alison Moyet fan like me, you will want to add this version of THE TURN to your collection. Oh hell, you should get it with or without the bonus track.

Alison Moyet's new CD is densely textured on her original tracks. As a vocalist, Moyet's breakthrough on Voice is sustained. "Anytime At All" pumps deliciously with a throbbing midtempo beat as Moyet's voice passionately fills each moment, "Anything you need, if it raised a smile in you, I want to bring it to your door." "Can't Say It Like I Mean It" is a nouveau torch track about love missing a certain spark, "There are people who you think you're gonna love forever; Oh when you should know better." "It's Not the Thing Henry" sets the toe tapping with a dark lyric, "You've got to be simple if you think that you're moving more than the ire in me." "Oh how the shifting light once clean, precise, conspires now to play with you," Alison's voice burns on the slow sparse "Fire," an excellent track with emotional drama similar with what Dusty Springfield would ignite her best singles. "World Without End" smolders from its simple piano line and bursts full into flame with its moving string arrangement, "May we remain ever in your guard, home again, safely in your arms." "Home" sounds like a renegade theatrical track from Sweeny Todd complete with Marcel Azzola's accordion. "The Turn" is a moody set with theatricality perfectly reflected in the stark photography. It is a meaty & mature music, welcome in an era pop effervescence. Bravo!

It's funny because a lot of the reviews I've read from American fans of Alison Moyet are completely writting this CD off as a bomb. I have to disagree 100% I think this is her most solid effort so far. There may not be any "Super Singles" here, but the album as a whole is brilliant. I think the other reviewers are a little deaf.

Alison Moyet has come back to claim title of one of the best vocalist of this decade. Alison has always possesed that unique sound of wich no other singer can accomplish. Her songwriting skills surpass many modern day songwriters. She is one of the few female artists that I truly admire, that I have not had the pleasure of seeing live in concert. Alison, please do come to America, and don't be so "Invisible" to your fans here in America. With most admiration and love, Donny Davis, Houston, TX, USA.

I am currently constructing my Top 10 favourite Albums and this is absolutely one of them. As another reviewer has said listen to this album a few times it will get under your skin. Best album yet from one the greatest vocalists of our time. Other albums appearing in my top 10 are Wrecking Ball - Emmylou Harris, A Kick Inside - Kate Bush, Tapestry - Carol King, Red Dirt Girl - Emmylou Harris, The Red Shoe - Kate Bush, The Way We Were - Barbra Sreisand, Superman - Barbra Streisand, Hometime -Alison Moyet. Do yourself a favour pair this album with her DVD One Blue Voice its a knock out.

Dark and moody album that actually sounds better with each listening, "The Turn" finds Alison Moyet in excellent voice - as ever - and stretching into different directions music-wise if not lyrically (she sings about relationships and though lyrics are grown-up,interesting and introspective,one wishes pop singers would find different subject from time to time).
Closing of the album has several songs with slightly theatrical feeling and they are all like jewels,hopefully hinting at future musical work.
Personal favorite - "The Man in the wings" that sounds like theme for David Lynch movie.
Come to think of it,Moyet should collaborate with Angelo Badamenti.

Moyet, the 46-year-old singer who blazed to fame in the 1980s as the mighty alto voice of synth-soul duo Yazoo , has aged satisfying into the melodramatic balladeer she always promised to be.
"The Turn", Moyet's first collection of original recordings in five years, is a work of surprising variety and exceptional depth - drawn together by that voice and is destined to take her career to even greater heights.
It may showcase her extraordinary way with a lyric and a phrase, her innate understanding of restraint as a device every bit as powerful as an open-throated bellow.
Never before has Alison Moyet seemed as assured and at ease with her talents as on this CD.
This surely marks a new chapter in the career of an artist who has captivated us for 25 years, selling in excess of 20 million records and winning fervent support.
It is an album of songs (co-written with her guitarist Pete Glenister) which, for the first time since she fled Yazoo in 1983, are worthy of her fabulously expressive voice.
As soon as that familiar bluesy voice joins the solitary guitar in the opening bars of "One More Time", the listener knows that they are hearing something unique. And indeed there is an epic quality to this beautifully crafted album that comes in at just under 40 minutes. It's a journey from the soaring orchestration of "One More Time" all the way to the quiet heartbreaking simplicity of "Smaller".
Many of the songs here, like "Fire" with its oboes, ponderous guitars and even more ponderous chorus, have "importance" written across them in foot-high capital letters. It takes huge authority to carry such material off, but that's just what Moyet packs.
The fact that this is an artist who has sold more than 25 million albums and been consistently hailed as one of the greatest voices of her generation makes her very normal self-exasperation all the more likeable.
And, with her engaging rant about musical theatre and its naff Americanisms done, Moyet gets down to tell what the album is really about: melody, crafted song and the "voyeuristic analysis of adult emotion, not felt any less keenly but with the realisation that things won't defeat you".
She describes the songs on "The Turn" about friends, family and herself as "voyeuristic".
They deconstruct the hopes and disappointments of long-term relationships against melodies that reflect her eclectic influences - her French father's love of Jacques Brel, her mother's affection for classical music and torch songs, her brother's fondness for hippy singers, her own punk leanings.
Violins slink across semi-tones, oboes yearn in mature resignation, jerky acoustic guitars take a stance, and, above it all, Moyet's distinctive voice demands attention.
Three of the songs come from the stage show "Smaller", in which Moyet appeared with Dawn French. The rest of the album merely seems like it comes from a show, the first three songs in particular putting the listener through the emotional wringer.
You get the tumultuous torch song "One More Time", followed by the wonderfully-orchestrated Dusty Springfield-like anthem "Anytime At All" and, perhaps best of all, the theatrical "The Man In The Wings".

The Turn is an excellent piece of work from the talented Alison Moyet. Although quite different than her earlier work (Hoodoo, Essex, etc.), The Turn shows Alison's blusey voice and unique instrumentation. Can't Say It Like I Mean It is an amazing track and definitely a highlight of the album. The Sharpest Corner (Hallow) is another track that is often on repeat in the car. It starts off dramatic and builds from there. I hope folks enjoy the album as much as I do.

I've been waiting for Ms. Moyet to return (or at least revisit) her techno roots (see Yaz in America) - and this record at least revisits it. She continues to grow into a stylist, but now with all of her own material, and touches many genres with this disc. Pure enjoyment!

The wide range of revues on this CD has stalked Alison Moyet her entire career. If the song isn't thumping on the dance floor it must be awful. This release has Alison going down that emotional roller coaster that her original works are. She doesn't lack for bravura or intensity. Each CD Alison Moyet releases evolves stylistically. She has gone from disco diva, to standards torch singer and everywhere in between. This time she takes that alto down the shine of bluesy pop with great success. "It's not the matter Henry" is a particular standout that reminds me of the Hoodoo disc. There isn't a bum track to be had. If Alison Moyet had stuck to dance tracks, we and the world would have lost interest a long time ago.