Down to Believing – Allison Moorer
I only know Allison Moorer as being one of Steve Earle’s many ex-wives, but I enjoyed the track that
@threespires recently submitted to one of the playlists so I was looking forward to giving this album a good old listen.
“Like It used to Be” starts with terrific strummed acoustic guitar and mandolin, which continues for the first verse before the electric joins in. It’s a good song, but the addition of electric guitar makes it sound a bit more generic than it could have been if it had continued in the acoustic vein. Still, it’s an enjoyable song and a good opener.
The short but brilliantly atmospheric “Thunderstorm / Hurricane” follows. This is such a good track, the haunting feel matched by the lyrics, and I wish it had gone on for longer.
"I Lost My Crystal Ball" – More mandolins mixed in with the electric guitar. I enjoyed this one as well. I don’t think the title track is up with the strongest songs on the album, but Allison Moorer has a good voice and carries it well. A banjo joins in with the mandolins on the jaunty “Tear Me Apart” and this completes a very strong opening for the album that song-for-song, is the best part of
Down to Believing.
There are a few songs in the middle of the album that, for me, weigh things down a bit. The aforementioned title track, “If I Were Stronger", "Blood" and “Wish I” are not bad songs, but they just breezed by without piquing my interest every time I put the album on (although there was a nice bit of guitar on “Wish I” that I did enjoy).
I was pleased to see that despite the lull in the middle, there were some more tasty tracks to get stuck into later on. Whilst "Mama Let the Wolf In" might not be a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover it’s got a vibe that’s very similar to “Born on the Bayou” (their best song, IMO). As threespires has explained Allison Moorer’s family history on a couple of occasions, it seems fairly obvious what this song is about, and it’s a terrific song, probably the best on the album.
"I'm Doing Fine" – a bit of breezy country/soul crossover with a good vocal performance, and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” is a CCR Cover. I don’t think that this is one of their best but that just goes to show what a prolific songwriter John Fogerty is. Not a bad version. "Gonna Get It Wrong" – Features a lovely bit of resonator – if there’s one instrument I love more than a mandolin and banjo, it’s a National Steel Resonator, and it’s a good song to finish the album.
When reviewing albums on this thread, I do have a tendency to point out how the album would have been better had it done things slightly differently, and this is going to be no exception. There are a lot of good songs and performances here, but I did think that in some cases it was edging into typical commercial Nashville country at times – those electric guitars just riding a little to high in the mix at the expense of the acoustic instruments as if they were only there to signal that this was a country album. But that’s just looking at it purely through the prism of my personal preferences. I don’t think anybody could argue that this is an album that is very well put together, features a good range of instruments and has some terrific songs and vocal performances. A very enjoyable listen and easily an
8/10.
