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Allison Moorer
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Getting Somewhere
Sugar Hill Records
Release: 6/13/2006
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Rated:
Review by:
Gisele Grignon
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If you're into Christian or country, but don't appreciate being
hammered over the head with either, or worse, both, Allison
Moorer's your gal. If you're also a Karen Carpenter fan and are old
enough to know her more for her music than for her fatal weight
problems, Allison's also worth a listen.
Don't be put off by this album's first few cuts, complete with
country music's signature dropped g's (as in lettin', havin', comin')
and extra syllables (as in go-ne): the lyrics are fresh, if a bit
kumbaya-ish as in the unapologetic "Hallelujah" cut.
Just when you think you've heard all the sunshine and rainy days
analogies you can handle in one CD, (not that there's anything
wrong per se with lyrics that sound like they've been plucked from
the Weather Channel's ticker-tape writer's draft pile), Moorer pulls
out all the stops in "Getting Somewhere". Complete with motherless
babies and husbandless brides, this track borders perilously close
to cliche. Somehow, it works - thanks in no small part to Moorer's
ability to translate hokey into genuine sincerity.
Besides who but a self-appointed curmudgeon and puppy hater
could pick on someone with enough good ol' fashioned gumption
to include such gems as: "I'm bendin' like a flower in a
hurricane/Pretendin' it's a shower wash away my pain/Rainbow on
my shoulder in the sweet sunshine…" all in one song, no less?
Which isn't to say Moorer's shielded herself (and therefore her
audience) from topics that wouldn't make the cut in the typical
soft-filtered, life's perky, coffee commercial.
Lyrically and musically, Moorer shines when tackling the rarely
lyrical topics of abuse in "New Year's Day" and "How She Does It."
Both are raw and gentle and, yes, inspirational. Ditto the intro cut
"Work To Do." Praise producer Steve Earle for his restraint and
passing on the sugarcoated condiments, and blessed be the
singer-songwriter with the angelic subtleties. Amen. |
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