Search - Alison Moyet :: Essex

Stamp of approval for this Essex girl

T. Kavanagh | Ireland | 07/07/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Clearly, Alison Moyet has never found laurels to be a comfortable resting place. Rather than xerox the formula that yielded the critically acclaimed "Hoodoo" - with its Grammy-nominated `It Won't Be Long' - Moyet moved on to a sound that was infinitely more British. Tedious arguments with a label that tried to force her into a latter-day Streisand niche ensued, resulted in the re-recoding of this album. Having washed her hands of calculated commercialism (to Sony's dismay), Moyet stuck firmly to her artistic guns. There would be no boyband fodder or over-wrought Celine Dionesque balladry. Some gritty guitar-based arrangements on "And I Know," "Ode To Boy," "Another Living Day" and "Boys Own" toughened up her trademark melodic pop sensibilities. Elsewhere, touches of sexy funk warmed "Getting Into Something", playful rhythms drove the hugely catchy "So Am I" and swooning strings added drama to a beautiful and poetic "Satellite." Lyrically, Alison was on top form, shredding a treacherous ex in "And I Know" before working her way towards "Boys Own,"a smart j'accuse in the direction of a sexist, image-fixated music industry. But it wasn't all twisted bitterness. Alison Moyet has a wicked sense of humour and while "So Am I" might upbraid a spineless lover, it does so with a wicked cackle ready to erupt. Overhauling Jules Shear's "Whispering Your Name," Alison enters fun central (and the UK top 20) with panache and a hint of levity. Then you have "Dorothy," a gorgeous acoustic eulogy for a beloved grandmother that neatly sidesteps the mawkishness typical of such songs by lesser artists. Alison Moyet is not an artist for luddites or the impatient. She doesn't repeat herself and she doesn't pander to the imperious whims of labels or style snobs. Over the course of only five albums to date, she has produced a canon of work with remarkable scope. "Essex" marks a very definite point in her artistic trajectory. That it would take eight years for the next album - the glorious "Hometime" - to see the light of day is, on the one hand, a damning indictment of the music industry but, on the other, a statement of the clear-minded determination of an important artist."

What CD did the rest of you listen to?!?!

Philip J. Tatoris | Albuquerque, New Mexico United States | 07/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is excellent. First off, you have the Jules Shear song WHISPERING YOUR NAME, great tune, great voice. I do agree that ODE TO BOY is out of place here, let it stay in the 80's where it belongs. The rest of this CD of original Alison material is all great, each song seems to build on the last, the material is all top rate written, sung and produced, not one bad song on this CD. FALLING, DOROTHY, GETTING INTO SOMETHING, ETC... You can't go wrong with this Alison CD, please ignore poor reviews, this CD is a gem."