Allison Moorer - Mockingbird
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Free Music Notes for Mockingbird
Free Music Review: Very Enjoyable
Hit: 4 Stars
I really am enjoying this CD. I was unfamiliar with Moorer prior to receiving it, and her voice is phenomenal. I am a country/folk/storyteller music fan, so I appreciate the choice of songs. Smooth and easy to listen to, this is a great "time to sit back and relax with a glass of wine" type CD. Free Music Review: art and artifice
Hit: 3 Stars
This is music that a very broad audience might find agreeable, a democratic mix of country, blues and folk, slickly produced, a varied song selection featuring Moorer's strong voice and intelligent, tasteful interpretations. It would not be at all out of place playing at a Starbucks, a bookstore or a cafe.
Mockingbird is an apt title for an album that emphasizes a kind of authenticity -- traditional idioms, a raw, acoustic recording full of fingertips sliding on steel strings, a complete lack of irony -- while being apparently engineered for mass appeal. Not that there's anything so wrong with that. The result is a well-crafted work that is hard to dislike.
Among the many cover versions on the album, "Dancing Barefoot" is perhaps the most notable choice. Moorer and her band deliver a tasteful, professional rendition of the Patti Smith song, which cannot help being a simulacra of the original. Through her mask, Moorer simply cannot convey the sense of erotic derangement captured in Smith's version.
Free Music Review: Very high quality unevenness
Hit: 3 Stars
Dang it. When I found out Allison had put out a new disc and saw these song titles, I was thrilled! Several years ago I bought Alabama Song off of the song featured in The Horse Whisperer and was blown away. The power in her voice, the variety of textures there, the choice of instruments backing the vocals... all first rate in a very, very big way. Well, this one didn't live up to the promise of that album. While you can't deny the quality of the singing and playing (please allow a caveat that a Country album should NEVER have strings on it unless it's a fiddle), there's no evidence here of fire in the belly. Maybe it's the sequence of the songs or something like that but there's just no natural flow to the songs as there was on Alabama Song. I'm a person who likes good, quiet contemplative music like Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, so I don't think it's a matter of musical taste in this instance. I find myself wanting to like it more than I do, but I can't find the reason to do it. Dang it.Free Music Review: Heartfelt vocals:
Hit: 4 Stars
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!!!!!Free Music Review: Mockingbird Yeah!
Hit: 4 Stars
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.