Alison Moyet
Country of origin:
England
Type of music generally:
Rock
Status:
Most recent album, Voice (2005)
See also:
Alison Moyet's siteThe Ectophiles' Guide entry for Yazoo
Comparisons:
None
Covers/own material:
Mostly sings songs she's co-written.
General Comments:
Alison has a big voice and a passionate singing style. She is capable of delivering powerful, emotion-charged performances that have more than a hint of the blues about them. She originally came to prominence as the voice of Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) but has been a solo artist since 1984. None of her studio albums really does justice to her vocal abilities and her voice is perhaps heard to best advantage in some of the standards she's recorded and released on singles (and performs with tremendous gusto live) rather than in the fairly mainstream, synthesiser-led rock music of her albums. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)It's true that her material is often beneath the quality of her ability, but I just love to hear her sing. I really loved her last 2 solo albums. (colford@noble.net)
Comments about live performance:
I finally got to see her live, and she was amazing. (stuart@sph.emory.edu)Her concert was one of the best I've been to. (jjhanson@att.net)
Still, next up was Alison Moyet, and if this audience was now in the mood for a boogie, she was going to let them have it. She certainly has the voice to fill such a big space and she went for it big time, belting out a few old Yazoo classics as well as some newer stuff. Finished with a stunning version of "Ode to Boy". (martin@mandab.co.uk)
Recommended first album:
Singles/Live (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)
Recordings:
- Alf (1984)
- Raindancing (1987)
- Hoodoo (1991)
- Essex (1994)
- Singles/Live (1996)
- Solid Wood (single, 1996)
- Voice (2005)
Alf
Release info:
1984—Columbia—CD 26229
Availability:
Generally available
Ecto priority:
High/Medium
Group members:
Alison Moyet—vocals, backing vocals
Guest artists:
Tim Goldsmith—drums
Tony Swain—keyboards
Steve Jolley—guitar, backing vocals
Produced by:
Tony Swain and Steve Jolley
Comments:
After the demise of Yazoo, Alison's first solo album was eagerly awaited by many. The instrumental sound is synthetic (though not as way-out as Yazoo) and provides an energetic, often danceable, setting for Alison's voice (which is much to the fore throughout). Her singing certainly impresses and the hit singles "All Cried Out" and "Love Resurrection" are pop masterpieces. Taken as a whole, the album now seems rather samey but it remains a significant moment in rock music and is worth a place in most record collections. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)
Raindancing
Release info:
1987—Columbia—450 152 2
Availability:
Generally available
Ecto priority:
Medium/Low
Group members:
Alison Moyet—vocals, backing vocals
Produced by:
Jimmy Iovine, Iovine/Freeman/Hughes, Iovine/Guiot, & Moyet/Bailey
Comments:
Pretty much the mixture as before, with slightly more subdued production this time. Two more monster singles in "Is this Love" and "Weak in the Presence of Beauty". Apart from these, if it weren't for Alison's voice and vocal technique this would not be an album to recommend generally, but for those two reasons alone it is worth checking out. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)
Hoodoo
Release info:
1991—Columbia—468 272 2
Availability:
Generally available
Ecto priority:
High
Group members:
Alison Moyet—vocals, backing vocals, programming, harmonica
Pete Glenister—guitar, programming, backing vocals
Guest artists:
Bob Andrews—keyboards, programming
Ron Aslan—backing vocals
Dyan Birch—backing vocals
Neil Brockbank—programming
Hugh Burns—guitar
Jimmy Chambers—backing vocals
George Chandler—backing vocals
Frank Collins—backing vocals
Neil Conti—drums
Andy Cox—guitar, programming
Steve Cradock—backing vocals
Michelle Cross—backing vocals
Blair Cunningham—drums
Dave Dix—keyboards, programming
Eugene Ellis—backing vocals
Simon Fowler—backing vocals
Mike Gaffey—programming
Jimmy Helms—backing vocals
Graham Henderson—piano
Phil Legg—programming
Deborah Lewis—backing vocals
Kirsty MacColl—elysian chorus
Paddie McHugh—backing vocals
John McKenzie—bass
Rob Rawlinson—bass
Martin Rex—programming
Jeff Scantlebury—percussion
Steve Sidelnik—percussion
David Steele—bass, programming
Danny Thompson—double bass
Fiachra Trench—strings
Marius de Vries—programming
Joanne Wakeling—backing vocals
Ben Watkins—ergasmatron, backing vocals, programming, noises
The Kick Horns—horns
The Mint Juleps—backing vocals
The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra—strings
Produced by:
Pete Glenister, Dave Dix, & Andy Cox/David Steele
Comments:
After a long hiatus (and rumours of a recorded-and-suppressed album of standards) Alison's third album marked a significant change of direction: exchanging the chart-friendly pop/rock of her first two in favour of a much more individual style. Intense and dark in places (the single "It Won't be Long" is hardly typical of the album), this record can be hard to penetrate but repays careful listening. Her voice here is primarily at the service of the lyrics rather than being showcased in its own right. Surely the most honest and personal of Alison's albums. Recommended. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)
Essex
Release info:
1994—Columbia—475 955 2
Availability:
Generally available
Ecto priority:
High
Group members:
Alison Moyet—lead and backing vocals, tambourine
Ian Broudie—guitar
Pete Glennister—guitar
Simon Rogers—programming, guitar, mandoline
Guest artists:
David Ballard—bongos
Steve Craddock—guitar, backing vocals
Pandit Dinesh—percussion
Alan Dubb—accordion
Simon Fowler—backing vocals
Chris Haigh—fiddle
John McKenzie—bass
Christian Marsac—guitar
Phil Overhead—percussion
Dave Ruffey—drums
Alan Taylor—double bass
Electra Strings
Produced by:
Ian Broudie & Pete Glenister
Comments:
Alison seems to have been on auto-pilot for this album. It's as though she had little interest in the material and was just going through the motions in the studio. A shame, because when she is on form she is awesome, and there are enough glimpses of that wonderful voice of hers here to indicate what she can be capable of. But not enough to rescue this album in my view. A dud. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)Definitely her most consistent album to date. (stuart@sph.emory.edu)
Just wanted to enthusiastically recommend Alison Moyet's latest album, Essex. What can I say, I found Hoodoo a bit disappointing, but this one finally elevates Alison to goddesshood in my book. She sounds like she's having more flat-out *fun* than ever before, and there's really not a bad song here, unless you count the cheeseball radio remix of "Whispering Your Name". "Satellite" and "Take of Me," the two ballads on the album, are both simply gorgeous, and the more upbeat numbers had me dancing on my balcony Friday night. :) The lyrics are good too; nobody can dis an inconsiderate ex quite the way Alf can. A terrific album to start off springtime with. (drumz@best.com)
Well worth the wait. Alf's maturing nicely and she's definitely in full control of the production, something that couldn't be said about her early solo albums. The album has a nice musical diversity to it. And her voice is stronger than ever. (pmcohen@voicenet.com)
Singles/Live
Release info:
1996—Columbia—480 663 9
Originally released (without live CD) in 1995
Availability:
Generally available
Ecto priority:
Very high
Group members (live):
Alison Moyet—lead vocals, harmonica
Pete Glenister—MD, guitar, backing vocals
James Hallawell—keyboards, backing vocals
Tony Kiley—drums, percussion
Phil Spalding—bass, backing vocals
Produced by:
Steve Chase
Comments:
If you only buy one Alison Moyet album, do get this! By adding a whole CD of wonderful live performances to the original Singles collection of all her best-known songs, Columbia created the definitive Alison Moyet album. Knockout stuff from start to finish. With this CD and Hoodoo you have all the Alison you need! (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)It's a must for any Alison Moyet fans. It contains 20 songs from both Yaz(oo) and solo days (only 3 from Yaz(oo)). Includes two new tracks, a cover of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and a new Moyet-penned song "Solid Wood". Best of the older inclusions are "That Ole Devil Called Love" and the somewhat hard to find "Love Letters". Great buy for both old and new fans. In fact, if it just had 3 more songs ("Midnight", "Where Hides Sleep" and "Blow, Wind Blow"), I'd say it would really be all that's really required to own of Alison. Yeah, it's a greatest hit collection, and those usually don't make it on any album list, but this one is a real winner. Can listen to this one for days on end. Much stronger than any of her individual solo albums. Highly recommended to those of you who loved Yaz(oo) but have been skeptical of her solo work. After raving about the Singles CD last year—a compilation of both solo Alison Moyet songs and a few Yaz(oo) tracks—I was ecstatic to find an import version of the CD with an 11 track live CD. Though quite expensive, I thought it was definitely worth the price. The live versions of "Love Letters", "Chain of Fools", and "There is Nothing I Could Do" are worth the price of the CD alone. But then I'm prejudiced, I think Alison has the best bluesy-rock voice in the business. And her concert I saw in LA was one of the best I've been to, so hearing live versions of the songs helps rekindle those great memories. Alison Moyet has always had my favorite voice in rock—I just wish she used it on better material. The live, stripped down versions of songs really do her voice justice. (jjhanson@att.net)
Solid Wood [single]
Comments:
I picked up the import CD Single of "Solid Wood", which has a new song, "Blue", that sounds pretty typical of the songs on Essex, and a new version of "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" that is much prettier than the version on Singles. It's much dreamier and relaxed—though I think it's the same vocal track. (jjhanson@att.net)There is also a second import CD single of "Solid Wood" which has "Blue" along with, bizarrely enough, "There are Worse Things I Could Do," a remake of a song from Grease. Alison's version is just her and an acoustic guitar. And, even though the song is really cheesy, I find myself listening to it more than "Blue," which is a more typical Alison song, but not very interesting musically. (stuart@sph.emory.edu)
Further info:
Write: P.O. Box 9345, London N1 1ZA, U.K.
Thanks to Steve Fagg for work on this entry.
