Allison Moorer
The Duel
(Sugar Hill)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2004, Volume 11, #9
Written by John Metzger
Allison Moorer took a different tact in recording The Duel, her first
album for the Sugar Hill label. Leaving behind the glossier aspects of
Nashville, she assembled a new backing band and went into the studio only to
emerge less than two weeks later with a completed project. Not surprisingly,
there’s a greater sense of urgency to the material, and from the crunchy, Crazy
Horse-style rock of I Ain’t Giving Up on You to the ominous chug of
All Aboard, Moorer turns her previous country-soul sound upside-down. On the
title track, she hauntedly relays the tale of a loss of faith following a loved
one’s death, and she imbues an alcoholic’s desperation for a drink in One on
the House. Elsewhere, she conjures the spirit of Laura Nyro on Once upon
a Time She Said — if only Nyro had swapped her piano for a guitar — and in
envisioning her own deathbed, she pleads for a final lullaby on Sing Me to
Sleep. Though there’s nothing on The Duel that hasn’t been done a
thousand times before, Moorer’s grand voice and raw, emotional performance make
it all worthwhile. 
The Duel is available from
Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box