The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[threespires]

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.

Glad you enjoyed it Rob. As always a thorough and well observed review which I would mostly agree with (we'll just have to agree to disagree about about how good a song HYESTR is! It doesn't rock and pulse like something like Born On The Bayou, which is a great song, but I like it as a contrast to that type of sound).

I think your point about the veering into the commercial Nashville sound is undoubtedly true. You know what you are going to get with guitarist/producer Kenny Greenberg, he does indeed put his and other guitars pretty high in the mix and he does it for lots of artists, but in fairness he's a pretty good guitarist!

Part of me suggests having a listen to her most recent full album Blood which is much more striped back, but if I had to guess I would say it's probably too stripped back for you and also the number of songs of a slower tempo might not be your thing. Her first album (which has that track from the playlist) has probably 3 or 4 I think you'd really like. I suspect across her back catalogue you could get a playlist that you really enjoyed even if none of the albums do it 100%.

Re. Mama Let The Wolf In, one of the things I particularly like about Moorer is her versatility with different song types whilst still sounding exactly like herself. As I mentioned previously one of her other albums Miss Fortune has a couple of tracks that are essentially soul songs which she nails without making them out of place on a 'country' album.

 

[RobMCFC]

Glad you enjoyed it Rob. As always a thorough and well observed review which I would mostly agree with (we'll just have to agree to disagree about about how good a song HYESTR is! It doesn't rock and pulse like something like Born On The Bayou, which is a great song, but I like it as a contrast to that type of sound).

I think your point about the veering into the commercial Nashville sound is undoubtedly true. You know what you are going to get with guitarist/producer Kenny Greenberg, he does indeed put his and other guitars pretty high in the mix and he does it for lots of artists, but in fairness he's a pretty good guitarist!

Part of me suggests having a listen to her most recent full album Blood which is much more striped back, but if I had to guess I would say it's probably too stripped back for you and also the number of songs of a slower tempo might not be your thing. Her first album (which has that track from the playlist) has probably 3 or 4 I think you'd really like. I suspect across her back catalogue you could get a playlist that you really enjoyed even if none of the albums do it 100%.

Re. Mama Let The Wolf In, one of the things I particularly like about Moorer is her versatility with different song types whilst still sounding exactly like herself. As I mentioned previously one of her other albums Miss Fortune has a couple of tracks that are essentially soul songs which she nails without making them out of place on a 'country' album.

Yes, it was something I didn't mention in the review, but she does cover a good range of styles.

I will listen to more of her past albums as time allows. You know how it is with an album and a playlist a week!

 

[threespires]

Yes, it was something I didn't mention in the review, but she does cover a good range of styles.

I will listen to more of her past albums as time allows. You know how it is with an album and a playlist a week!

I do, I've currently gone down a Fife and Drum Blues rathole as a result of the playlist !!

 

[mancity111]

Excellent selection of artist for sound , production, mix ( very cohesive ) , chord change and tempo variation both within and between songs.

You won't appreciate the versatility and how she is able to nail the mood required to want more as a songwriter, vocalist and musician unless you listen to her whole catalogue which now spans some 26 years however IMO there is more than enough on this album to set you on a wonderful journey true to the lyrics and her own lifetime experiences reflected in song.

Its somewhat melancholy but always with that sentiment of hope all rolled into one.

The subject matter is simple enough but can easily be construed as somewhat complex on another level at the same time which I love.

Is it country , is it heat , is it folk or is it indie or a combination of all these and more as she has gained some prominence in all with a number of albums this one being no exception.

Does it matter I ask as the songs are breezy, well layered , well thought out with just the right amount of repetition and length to sustain a high level of enjoyment and after all isn't making you feel good to be alive or how lucky you are to have a life which includes being able to listen to good music or want to make you reflect on your own life about all your fears and hopes and what is to come what good music is all about.

The songs individually are well constructed and for me there is no weak link albeit not the usual one or two stand outs that great albums often contain but even though the cover version of CCR's impending break up song reflects the mood of a reoccurring theme in the lyrics I would have preferred the song not to be on the album even though its a great song.

All things considered this gets an 8/10 for me.

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

I must be missing something here. Someone help me out. I have my own thoughts on the lyrics which I’ll convey later, and Allison’s voice is quite lovely but either I don’t know country music well enough to glean subtlety or my ears are betraying me because this music sounds generic to me, even within different tempos and stylistic choices. Not bad, just not groundbreaking. I’m suspicious outstanding production has been mistaken for innovation.

 

[threespires]

I must be missing something here. Someone help me out. I have my own thoughts on the lyrics which I’ll convey later, and Allison’s voice is quite lovely but either I don’t know country music well enough to glean subtlety or my ears are betraying me because this music sounds generic to me, even within different tempos and stylistic choices. Not bad, just not groundbreaking. I’m suspicious outstanding production has been mistaken for innovation.

Not aware anyone's suggested it's innovative have they? Maybe you misread my original review where I said it wasn't innovative but had other qualities?

 

[FogBlueInSanFran]

Not aware anyone's suggested it's innovative have they? Maybe you misread my original review where I said it wasn't innovative but had other qualities?

I must be mistaken, I thought someone had. I’ll go back and read.

 

[RobMCFC]

I must be missing something here. Someone help me out. I have my own thoughts on the lyrics which I’ll convey later, and Allison’s voice is quite lovely but either I don’t know country music well enough to glean subtlety or my ears are betraying me because this music sounds generic to me, even within different tempos and stylistic choices. Not bad, just not groundbreaking. I’m suspicious outstanding production has been mistaken for innovation.

Now you've said that, I feel like what I said in my review was bang on the money!

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 too 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.

That said, I did enjoy the instruments and the mix, I just thought that it would have been even better had it edged back towards the acoustics and roughed up a bit. I don't know whether Coatigan is ready to pounce on my next statement, but dare I say a little more grit in the mix.

 

[threespires]

I must be mistaken, I thought someone had. I’ll go back and read.

Just looking it's probably the end of my original review where I compare it to my original planned pick for this round. It says it has little innovation compared to the other album in question, I guess implying it has some. So I can either...

A - admit that the English is awful

B - try and style it out by pointing out that Kenny Greenbergs preference for double coils and randomly odd pickups does give it an atypical guitar tone to traditional Nashville music something he's a bit of a co-pioneer with. In fact when he's given his own head, he does work hard to give the guitars a distinct sound which isnt always obvious at first listen.

Feel free to choose either of those :-)

 

[Coatigan]

I'm going to have to go with a one of those, not for me but I recognise qualities 5s.

I tried. It is not for me. I recognise song writing and delivery. Particularly in the ballads. The opening song, while I realy disliked it, was brave enough to nail its colours. Hurricane was a much welcome change, and following it made it even better than it maybe is. The rest, a bit of cringe (personal not general), a bit of pleasant.

That's unfortunately all I have to say on it.