Alison
Moyet – Hometime | Voice | The Turn Deluxe Editions (Cooking Vinyl)
LP
/ CD / DL
Out
Now
English
singer/songwriter re-releases three of her best albums.
There
can be little doubt that Alison Moyet is one of the finest voices that Britain
has ever produced. Maybe not since the
1960s has there been a female vocalist that can span the range of Moyet, the
early trademark of her contralto tones making her an instantly recognisable
proposition.
Following
her split from Yazoo with Vince Clarke after their critically acclaimed second
album, You And Me Both (which with hindsight showed a huge influence from her),
it is fair to say that she was given little creative freedom. The solo debut long player, Alf, whilst
spawning three hit singles in the UK saw her slowly become the target of record
company control which finally resulted in her breaks from Sony (and formerly
CBS).
In
2002, she release Hometime (8.5/10). Her
fifth album and the first on her own label Sanctuary. Co-written with her long-time collaborator,
Pete Glenister the Brit-nominated album was produced by Tim Norfolk and Bob
Locke (aka The Insects) who had already worked with Massive Attack and
Madonna. Regarded at the time as her finest
work to date, it is indeed a remarkable album.
The often sparse production created an air of mystique but more
importantly and possibly for the first time, Alison’s voice was able to become
the main focus.
Opener,
Yesterdays Flame showcases her voice and her song writing skills
perfectly. Cleverly featuring herself on
backing vocals in a multi layered presentation, it changes from the sublime to
the ever rising and was as perfect a return after an eight year absence as
anyone could have ever expected.
The
first single from the album, Should I Feel That It’s Over was a medium paced
effort again proudly displaying the voice that we had slowly expected to be
incredible and were subsequently never disappointed by. Perhaps the album highlight comes with More,
where like it or not, Alison gave her one of her most sensual moments in a
track that oozes lust and sexuality.
With a performance nothing short of perfect, it remains stunning to this
day.
The
title track, an experimental pseudo-jazz composition maybe confirmed her
freedom to do whatever she wanted for the first time in her career. A relief to her perhaps, but also an eyebrow
raiser to the music buying public and finally seeing her doing exactly what she
wanted to do.
Sadly,
and surprisingly it only peaked at number 18 in the UK album charts. Maybe the public had started to forget her
after such a long quiet, or maybe they were just not expecting her to be so
less pandering to record company bosses.
Either way, Hometime marked a turning point in her career for the
better.
The
additional tracks feature several b-sides, including Bilan a French version of
More which is nothing short of perfect, a superb remix of Yesterday’s Flame by
The Insects and four demo’s which are released here for the very first time.
With
her 2004 album, the aptly named Voice (8.5/10), Alison drew on influences of
classic, slower cover versions to display her ample talent. The minimal, often orchestral backing (produced
and arranged by Anne Dudley) showed off the sheer class of her voice to the
pleasure of the record buying public. Reaching
number 7 in the album chart it quickly became a favourite collection for her
fans.
Tracks
include her version (and single release) of Windmills Of Your Mind where she
takes the truly awful attempt by Noel Harrison and turns it into something of a
classic, and The Man I Love originally written by Gershwin and Gershwin in 1924
for the show Lady Be Good. Cry Me A
River originally recorded by Julie London is quite simply beautiful and Elvis
Costello’s Almost Blue is heart wrenching stuff.
The
main album contains an ironic bonus track in Alfie which is not only faultless,
but particularly poignant in the wake of the sad death of Cilla Black.
Disc
two features more live performances from her One Blue Voice tour lifted from
the DVD of the same name where she flawlessly zips through much of the album in
front of an audience clearly watching one of the finest live performances they
may ever have witnessed.
We
are also treated to live versions of Alfie, Only You (Yazoo) and That Ole Devil
Called Love which may well bring you to tears or at least send goose pimples down
your spine.
2007s
The Turn (8.5/10) saw Alison return to up-tempo numbers and perhaps saw her at
her creative best. Her third album in
five years featured tracks written for the stage play Smaller in which she
starred alongside Dawn French.
Disappointingly
failing to make the top 20, The Turn boasted an incredible depth of material
where she poured out quite superb performances.
Album opener and single One More Time was one such piece rising and soaring
like the phoenix that she had become. Written
once more with Peter Glenister the tracks were all original and to the standard
that the pair had been accustomed to writing.
Anytime
At All continues the incredible quality and Can’t Say It Like I Mean It puts
the brakes on slightly with a pseudo jazz effort before the near rockabilly
segments of It’s Not The Thing Henry rears its head. Perhaps the striking thing about The Turn is
the diversity of styles on board and how well Alison adapts to each and every
one.
With
live tracks from The Turn tour on disc two and a few b-sides thrown in for good
measure, the vastly underrated album is complete.
Three
re-releases which are not only great albums, but serve to remind us that Alison
Moyet deserves to have reached the legendary status that she has. She is, without doubt an amazing artist and
once who richly deserves to be in the spotlight once more.
Links
Cooking Vinyl
Alison Moyet website
Alison Moyet on Twitter
Alison Moyet on Facebook
Published on Louder Than War 4/10/15 - here
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