Search - Allison Moorer :: Definitive Collection

A great introduction to Allison's music

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 07/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Allison's roots are in country but, like her equally brilliant sister Shelby Lynne, she likes other types of music too and has followed Shelby's example by recording music that draws on a variety of influences. The result is music that appeals to some country fans (even including traditional country fans) as well as some fans of blues and rock music.



Allison first made her mark with an emotional ballad (A soft place to fall) recorded for a soundtrack (The horse whisperer), It later appeared on her debut album (Alabama song), which confirmed that emotional ballads are Allison's kind of song. The first five tracks on this compilation come from that magnificent debut album, beginning with A soft place to fall. Allison's second album (The hardest part) is, if anything, even more emotional than Alabama song. Three tracks from that album (the title track, Is it worth it, Send me down an angel) are included here.



Perhaps remembering that she got her big break via a soundtrack, Allison contribute further recordings to such albums including I ain't the one (from a Los Straitjackets album - Allison performed the song with them and Lonesome Bob), Moonshiner (from the Songcatcher album, a brilliant but controversial album as not all the music appeared in the film) and Tumbling down (from The Rookie). Of these, Tumbling down appeared on Allison's third album (Miss Fortune) but the other two didn't appear on an Allison Moorer album for the first time here. Besides Tumbling down, three other tracks are included from Miss Fortune, which contains a further selection of mainly melancholy songs, though the sound of this album is slightly different - a little more rock and a little less country but not too dramatic.



Next comes Storms never last, a track that Allison recorded for a Waylon Jennings tribute album (Lonesome on'ry and mean). The collection is completed by the inclusion of four tracks from her live album, chosen to avoid duplicating any of the songs represented here via studio recordings.



As an introduction to Allison's music, this is brilliant, especially as it includes some songs that hadn't previously appeared on Allison's albums. It doesn't include all such songs (for example Light of a clear blue morning, from Just because I'm a woman - a Dolly Parton tribute album) but this is the first compilation of Allison's music to be released."

A Must Own!

Paula Perez | Los Angeles, CA | 06/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a CD to buy more than one copy of. One for you, and one for a friend to get them hooked on Allison Moorer. Her music is one of a kind, barely able to be contained in one genre, (country?rock?alt-country?), and she does one hell of a live show. I saw her at SXSW in Austin, Texas, and she blew me away. This CD is especially good because it includes some some songs that had previously only been available on other people's CD's, like "Storms Never Last". Happy Listening!"

So far

Robert Workman | Saint Paul, MN | 08/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This should be called "The Defnitive Collection...So Far". Allison has created a lot of brilliant, beautiful music and I'm sure there's much more to come. For die hards this is worthy for those songs not included on her proper albums. For beginners it's a good introduction and overview of her work so far. When a complete retrospective is compiled many years from now we'll have an impressive, vital collection of a great, underrated artist."