Favorite 17 Albums of 2017

For this music connoisseur, 2017 was a banner year for the art form—with new discs dropping from longtime favorite artists and pleasant surprises in the form of newly-discovered ones. I'm so thankful for music and all it brings to my life...always there, always accompanying me like a loyal friend along life's journey. I'm also grateful that as rooted as I am to my past, my eclectic musical ear willingly bends to the present and I'm always open to discovering a new voice or two.

So, without further hesitation, here are my Favorite 17 Albums of 2017...with the two tracks from each album that were standouts for me. Hope you find something in my humble list that might pique your interest.

A Brighton Girl Makes Good in Manhattan

Alison Moyet recently brought her OTHER world tour to New York City—a glorious sold-out gig at Irving Plaza, the venerable rock music venue. The show boasted nearly two dozen songs from the acclaimed songstress’s long and varied music career, hitting almost all her albums (poor RAINDANCING!) but emphasizing, of course, her two most recent forays into sophisticated electronica—this year’s OTHER and 2013’s THE MINUTES.

Her tour started a few nights earlier in Washington DC and included an ambitious 24-song setlist that Moyet apologetically promised on social media to whittle down. The New York crowd missed out on “Is This Love?” from her aforementioned second solo record and “The English U”—my favorite from the brilliant new album. Taking her place onstage after her spoken-word “April 10th” played, Moyet—flanked by musical director and keyboardist John Garden (who, interestingly, co-wrote the score for TALES OF THE CITY: THE MUSICAL, based on the books of the same name by Armistead Maupin) and backing vocalist and synth player/programmer Sean McGhee —announced her arrival with OTHER’s opener, “I Germinate.” By the time she got to the chorus and belted “I’m here, I germinate…” the capacity crowd was hers—clay in her capable hands.

The concert was well-paced and her expansive (and expanding) catalog well-represented with newer material from OTHER and THE MINUTES seamlessly interspersed amongst electronic arrangements of older material, like “All Cried Out” and “Love Resurrection” (from ALF); “Wishing You Were Here” and “This House” (from HOODOO); “Getting Into Something” (from ESSEX); “Ski” (from HOMETIME); “The Man in the Wings” (from THE TURN); and no less than five Yazoo tracks—“Only You”, “Nobody’s Diary”, Bring Your Love Down (Didn’t I)“, “Don’t Go”, and “Situation.”

There were moments of delightful banter with the engaged, adoring crowd—most notably when a well-intentioned heckler (with an obvious death wish) shouted out the title to her first—and biggest—US hit, “Invisible.” Anyone who’s followed the singer’s career knows she doesn’t—and won’t—sing the tune, citing no more connection to the song’s lyrics or the “man-done-me-wrong” genre of songs that appealed to her younger self. And while the heckler was rebuked with the polite good humor that’s characteristic of the decidedly more refined British, no one else in the crowd mistook Moyet’s kindness in that moment as a weakness (even in the presence of beauty).

One of the most endearingly admirable qualities of Alison Moyet, the artist, is her sense of professional responsibility to the audience. She conveys genuine love and the utmost respect for her fans—and when something in her vocal or the accompanying sound is off, she’ll unceremoniously stop and start over. This perfectionism was in evidence during the Irving Plaza gig during three false starts, which she good-humoredly dismissed with an apologetic shrug and a do-over. Humor is her weapon and it’s disarmingly effective.

To pinpoint personal highlights would be akin to naming a favorite child; the entire concert was a highlight in and of itself. But, if pressed, I’d likely cite Moyet’s flawless performances of “Changeling” (from THE MINUTES) and “Beautiful Gun” and “Alive” (from OTHER) as such. But the evening’s best—and most unexpectedly poignant moment—came during the introductory remarks to her gorgeous musical nod to the LGBT community, “The Rarest Birds.” There is a moment during an anecdote she shares that left the audience gobsmacked—so much so that you can actually hear an audible gasp from the crowd. Rather than dilute the expressiveness of the moment, hear for yourself in video footage shot by another concertgoer:

Since she’s embarked upon a world tour to promote the new album, it seems only fitting to say a few words about that while you’re here and held captive by my words. Not to put too fine a point on it, OTHER is nothing short of an artistic masterpiece—musically, vocally, and lyrically. Like all good artists do, Moyet has grown in her musical craftsmanship with each successive album, and she proves herself to be brilliant poet and lyricist on this gorgeous ten-track collection. OTHER—her ninth studio album—is both an intimate and intricate musical experience, managing to capture myriad shades and tones germane to the human experience in a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of words and musical textures.

This is her second collaboration with producer Guy Sigsworth, who has produced for Björk, Alanis Morrissette, Madonna, and Britney Spears, among others. They first joined forces on 2013’s THE MINUTES, which became Moyet’s highest-charting album in the UK since 1987’s RAINDANCING, and—arguably—changed the game for her. Her partnership with Sigsworth has given her creative license to ascend higher as both a vocalist and a songwriter and bridges the gap between the electronic music diva of thirty-plus years ago and the self-assured middle-age artiste of today. Both albums have been creative investments between the two—with both paying handsome dividends.

OTHER finds Moyet set against a similarly sweeping, cinematic electronic landscape that made THE MINUTES such a delightful surprise, an actual return to roots cleverly masquerading as a seeming musical departure. The lyrics are awash in rich word tapestries of luxuriant linguistic textures and syntactical patterns. Even the gutsy inclusion of the spoken-word track “April 10th” works and will leave you hankering for an album of spoken-word poetry. The album is lean at just over 41 minutes of music spread over ten tracks, but it’s quality over quantity here with zero filler and each song relevant and integral to Moyet’s larger thematic framework of otherness.

Anyone who knows me also knows that Moyet is the musical equivalent of my Jamie Lee Curtis fandom and that I worship at the feet of her temple with equal fervor. In other words, I’m obsessed. No, not in that Kathy Bates-meets-Jimmy Caan kind of way—more in the realm of a deep desire to sit down with her for a proper chat over tea, maybe watch a few episodes of DOWNTON ABBEY together. At least that’s how it goes in my head. I’ve chronicled my adoration of her music and previous concert experiences elsewhere, so I’ll leave you with the links embedded herein should you get the itch to see what all the fuss is about.

The last time I crossed paths with the great Moyet, we were both decidedly larger girls; I have a lovely photo to prove it. In the ensuing years, as I lost 105 pounds a few years back, then regained some, and then re-lost just over fifty recently, so too did Moyet shed some serious heft. I’ve long dreamt of a photo do-over, and placing our former glorious selves alongside our smaller, more self-assured selves. Once again, my beloved Alf did not disappoint. Following the conclusion of the Irving Plaza show, while Moyet was being surprised with a visit from Modest Management head Richard Griffiths (who must have been pleased as fucking punch at the thunderous reception his client received that night), a few of us more persistent folk waited outside the stage door. After about an hour, a congenial gentleman named Tim came out and said that Alison would be along shortly, advising us that she was in voice-conservation mode and that she’d only sign one item per person (for those who brought memorabilia along).

I waited, ready with my iPhone open to the photo of us, circa 2008. When the moment came and she arrived to enthusiastic adoration from the twenty or so fans gathered, I patiently waited my turn as she was warmly greeted, signed the items placed in front of her, and cheerily posed for photos. Some artists who’ve achieved a similar level of celebrity phone this part in—they’re there, but they’re on autopilot. Not Moyet. She was engaged with each and every person who thrust himself in front of her, clearly recognizing and acknowledging longtime fans whom she’d obviously met on numerous occasions outside countless theater doors.

Then came my turn. I quickly told her that I wasn’t going to ask her to sign anything and that she didn’t have to speak; I’d happily do all the talking. I’m sure that bit came out like a rambled bit of rushed inarticulateness but Alison smiled warmly, not one to disprove my theory about the infinite superiority of British manners. As I continued to prattle on about how our weight loss journeys converged and how hers informed and inspired mine—at least in part—and I blabbered on about a photo, Moyet uttered the words that nearly stopped my heart: “You’re Vince, right?”

I literally fought back the tears. Alison-oh-my-God-Moyet, she of the incomparable voice and venerable talent known the world over, recognized me. She either has an exceptional memory (which she seems to negate on her own lovely tour-travel blog) or she pays attention when blubbering former fatty fans like me tweet twaddle at her. Either way, I was thrilled, touched beyond measure. She happily granted me the coveted photo retake and gave me one of the kindest, most genuine hugs I’ve ever gotten. As we embraced, I told her that I loved her, thanked her for an unforgettable show, and gushed about how brilliant the new album was. Then it was over, and this lovely, funny, self-deprecating woman was on to the next gushing fan, exhibiting the same graciousness and genuine appreciation.

And then it struck me, full-barrel in the chest, and I’m reminded of the liner notes from THE MINUTES:

“They were not years. They did not make us laugh always. We were not perpetually safe in love or thankful. Ours were not wads of hours tied up in a playful huddle. Never a summer eternal neither a winter we could skate upon. They were minutes. We have the minutes.”

Alison was right. Life really is all about the brilliant little minutes—not necessarily very dramatic or specific—suspended in years. 

A Musical Baker’s Dozen, Part II: The Top 13 Albums of 2013

We’ve arrived at the end of yet another year and my annual reflection on the music that made up the soundtrack of 2013. The past year in music could easily be summed up in a single word: Electronica. To this music lover’s ears, 2013 will be remembered as the year electronica matured and came fully into its own. It’s the year electronica ripened from an experimental musical medium to a mainstream genre, earning a deserved spot as a bona fide musical category. Some artists whose 2013 albums made my list – like James Blake, Jessie Ware, and the incomparable Alison Moyet – embraced the form completely, while several others used elements of electronica as accoutrement to augment the more traditional pop stylings of their albums. Whether artists used electronica as musical accessory or foundation, the music of 2013 was peppered with a decidedly electronic aesthetic.

Without further rumination, I offer up my list of 2013’s best albums – a baker’s dozen of the musical collections that resonated with me on the greatest levels.

13. Pet Shop Boys / Electric

Here’s what I like about Pet Shop Boys: Despite having been around long enough to easily coast into
a comfortable retirement, the electropop duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have stayed the course over the past three decades, creating albums that have never once lost the signature new wave synthpop sound that defined them. In 2013, they released their 12^th album, ELECTRIC (continuing their long-running tradition of single-word album titles). This dance-floor focused set finds the duo in fine form, with their lyrical wit and undertones of longing once again marvelously married to the requisite synthesizer-generated pulsating beats. Dance music for smart people.

Standout Tracks: “Vocal” / “Love is a Bourgeois Construct” / “Thursday”

12. Cher / Closer to the Truth

Dismiss Cher all you want, but there is something to be said about an artist who releases her first studio album in over a decade only to have it become her highest-charting solo album in the U.S. to date. Yep, for as much as she’s become somewhat of a pop culture caricature, it’s hard to write-off the staying power of this 67-year-old with the distinctive contralto and penchant for Auto-Tune. CLOSER TO THE TRUTH, the iconic singer’s 25^th studio album, finds the seemingly indefatigable songbird not straying too far from the anthemic dance-floor formula of 1998’s juggernaut BELIEVE or its 2001 follow-up, LIVING PROOF. But it’s on the mid-tempo tracks and slower numbers included here – like a stunning cover of Miley Cyrus’ “I Hope You Find It” – that we’re reminded that behind the glitzy Bob Mackie gowns and distracting plastic surgery and outrageously blunt Twitter outbursts that often eclipse Cher, the singer, there is a beautiful, breathtaking voice.

Standout Tracks: “Take It Like a Man” / “I Hope You Find It” / “Red” / “Favorite Scars”

11. The Neighbourhood / I Love You

Don’t let the decidedly British orthography of this American quintet’s name fool you – they’re about as LA as they come. Falling somewhere on the musical spectrum between Garbage and Foster the People, The Neighbourhood fuses lyrics full of petulant bitterness and angst-ridden melodrama and coats it with a thick, shiny pop-rock candy shell. The result is somewhat teen-leaning and shallow in terms of content, yet decidedly adult in terms of songcraft and production. An impressively mature, eclectic debut from a promising new band. 

Standout Tracks: “Sweater Weather” / “Female Robbery” / “How” / “Alleyways”

10. James Blake / Overgrown

This accessibly abstract exploration of space and sound is – on first listen – challenging to the casual musical ear. Majestically melancholic and moody, the deceptively sparse arrangements on OVERGROWN are layered one on top of the other like a ghostly blueprint, giving the album an undertone of restraint even when Blake’s warbling falsetto and muffled mumbles seem to drown in a cacophonic crescendo of electronic anarchy at times. The disarming minimalism of the songs here is punctuated – sometimes simultaneously – by icy mechanical clatters and lush caresses of the piano. Cold to the touch on first listen, the lyrically confessional tone of the tracks, coupled with Blake’s occasional vocal cracks and an almost unsettling silence between notes at times, imbue OVERGROWN with its ultimately satisfying emotional resonance. Contemplative and dreamlike, OVERGROWN needs to be musically absorbed versus consumed.

Standout Tracks: “Retrograde” / “Overgrown” / “Voyeur”

9. Lorde / Pure Heroine (Expanded)  

You’d had to have been living in a bubble to have missed the meteoric rise of this 17-year-old New Zealand pop prodigy in 2013. And in a year that saw other pop princesses behaving badly, it was refreshing to witness the unflappable self-assurance and mature demeanor of Miss Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O'Connor. Lorde became the first solo artist from New Zealand to top the domestic Billboard music chart, and the youngest artist to hold the number one chart position in the U.S. in more than 25 years with her inescapable breakout hit, “Royals”. With PURE HEROINE, her debut album that followed, Lorde proved she’d be no one-hit wonder. With obvious comparisons in vocal delivery to Lana Del Ray and Adele, Lorde sing-slurs over intoxicatingly stark electro-pop beats and sharp, thought-provoking lyrics that are devoid of sentimentalism and full of biting honesty. Her astute songwriting – coupled with Lorde’s wholly unique voice – gives the impressive collection an overall feeling of one big sarcastic, satirical wink. Treat yourself to the expanded edition of PURE HEROINE, which includes six additional tracks, most of which were culled from a previously released EP, THE LOVE CLUB.

Postscript: Producers of the HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE soundtrack wisely took advantage of Lorde’s widespread visibility and added her icily sublime cover of Tears For Fear’s “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” to their track listing. Well worth the download price and will fit perfectly at the end of your PURE HEROINE playlist.

Standout Tracks: “Tennis Court” / “White Teeth Teens” / “Million Dollar Bills”

8. London Grammar / If You Wait

At the forefront of this strikingly understated, self-possessed debut from UK trio London Grammar is the instantly memorable soprano of lead vocalist, Hannah Reid. Calling to mind Everything But The Girl and Florence + The Machine with a weighty huskiness and ethereal sophistication, she anchors this atmospheric pop-electronica collection with a maturity that belies her youth. Reid’s at times soaring, at times slurred vocals ground the lyrically plaintive songs with an aching earnestness that’s complimented to perfection by the subtle instrumentation provided by bandmates Dot Major and Dan Rothman.

Postscript: Reid was wisely plucked by electronica outfit Disclosure as a featured vocalist on their acclaimed 2013 album SETTLE for the stunning closer, “Help Me Lose My Mind”.

Standout Tracks: “Strong” / “Nightcall” / “Hey Now” / “Sights”

7. Alice Russell / To Dust

With TO DUST, the UK’s Alice Russell delivered the closest thing to a new Adele album listeners were likely to hear last year. Lurking just beyond the breakout successes of other female British soul singers of the last decade, Russell has inexplicably flown under the musical radars of most – and this is a crime. With hints of Dusty Springfield and Adele, Russell’s husky voice effortlessly envelops this collection of contemporary soul, the British soulstress' fifth solo album in a little under a decade. Like recent albums by contemporaries Emeli Sandé and the late Amy Winehouse, Russell’s TO DUST has a decidedly throwback feel that’s firmly embodied in a neo-soul freshness, leaving the songs with a retro vibe that never feels outdated.

Standout Tracks: “Hard and Strong” / “Heartbreaker” / “To Dust”

6. Tegan and Sara / Heartthrob

The indie pop-rock duo of Tegan Quin and Sara Quin – identical twin sisters, both lesbians, hailing from Canada – delivered the bounciest, most radio-friendly album of the year – and their career. HEARTTHROB, the sibling pair’s seventh studio album, is quintessential pop music, full of bright synthesizers and infectious choruses. Tegan and Sara throw down the power pop gauntlet on ten perfectly-crafted tracks ranging from breezy dance-pop anthems to bittersweet power ballads, whose retro 80’s grooves and dramatic walls of synths might just make you wax nostalgic for an old John Hughes flick like SIXTEEN CANDLES or PRETTY IN PINK.  But don’t let the spinning disco ball at the roller rink blind you to all the yearning and lamenting for loves lost and love gone wrong behind the lyrics. This is smart pop music, shrewdly crafted by two gifted singer-songwriters with deft ears for head-bopping melodies and the souls of poets who have loved, lost, and lived to tell about it. 

Standout Tracks: “I Was a Fool” / “Drove Me Wild” / “Closer” / “Shock to Your System”

5. Lady Gaga / ARTPOP

If Lady Gaga would just stop talking and making statements about…well, making statements, she’d likely not have suffered the rather brutal commercial backlash she did this year. ARTPOP will not, alas, be changing the world as we know it, nor was it a statement of epic proportion about much of anything. But it’s a damn fine pop album, filled with strong hooks, stronger beats, and luridly campy, Gaga-esque lyrics like: “Uranus! Don’t you know my ass is famous?” And a prediction: The record label will get smart and release “Gypsy” as a single – and it’ll be a huge hit for Lady G in 2014.

Standout Tracks: “Gypsy” / “MANiCURE” / “Fashion!” / “Do What U Want”

4. Sara Bareilles / The Blessed Unrest

On her fourth album, singer-songwriter Bareilles builds on the individual strengths of previous efforts to put forth her most stylistically serious and mature album to date. That she’s been recognized with some weighty Grammy nominations (including a nod in the prestigious Album of the Year category) is no surprise. From her inspirational battle cry on the booming anthem “Brave” to her more plaintive reflections on songs like “Manhattan” and “December”, Bareilles substitutes some of the trademark cheeriness of past endeavors for a more global sense of seriousness that adds some heft to THE BLESSED UNREST. Her songwriting acumen and keen ear for melody has only sharpened further on this superb collection of smart, humanistic pop.  

Standout Tracks: “Brave” / “I Choose You” / “Chasing the Sun” / “Little Black Dress”

3. Arcade Fire / Reflektor

For the follow-up to the decidedly linear rock approach taken with their Grammy-winning Album of the Year, THE SUBURBS, Arcade Fire did something illogically brilliant: They made an entirely different sounding album. The Canadian outfit’s fourth album is like a night out at the alt-rock discothèque – and if you think those terms incompatible, then you haven’t given REFLEKTOR a proper listen. In this 76-minute behemoth of a set, Arcade Fire lyrically and musically reconfigures the myth of Orpheus within thirteen propulsive, reverb-heavy tracks that are awash in bouncy synthesizers and fuzzy guitar licks in equal measure. The result is a spectacularly overblown masterpiece that eschews all pretense of subtlety for musical merrymaking that sounds positively symphonic at times.

Standout Tracks: “Reflektor” / “Porno” / “You Already Know” / “It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)”

2. Jessie Ware / Devotion

Why the UK’s Jessie Ware wasn’t a bigger breakout success in 2013 is beyond me. Hailed by ROLLING STONE as the missing link between Sade and Adele, Ware sings with a cool, sultry voice set against a slow-burning hybrid of pop, soul, and adult contemporary held surprisingly cohesive within a hypnotic electronica framework. Ware’s vocals are deceptively restrained on most of this chilled collection, but when her voice stretches from a breathy whisper to a muscular wail, the results are glorious. DEVOTION is an exquisitely sophisticated, understated affair on every level that only hints at Ware’s range and potential.

Standout Tracks: “Running” / “Imagine It Was Us” / “Swan Song” / “Devotion”

1. Alison Moyet / The Minutes

In her first solo album since 2007′s THE TURN, Moyet determinedly goes against market grains, shunning those clamoring for the 80’s nostalgia of her Yazoo days while politely flipping the middle finger to still others who would see her boxed in making covers albums with other female singers of a certain age.  Producer-programmer Guy Sigsworth – famed for his work with Madonna, Björk, Britney Spears, Alanis Morrisette, and Sweden’s Robyn – returns Moyet to the synth-heavy realm of earlier career efforts but never lets her slide into a full-blown nostalgia tour. The result is an album on which Moyet sounds as ageless as ever – yet relevant. Still boasting a singularly powerful voice full of depth and drama that’s complimented by trademark lyrics bursting with lush and poetic imagery, Moyet remains true to her artistic self while stretching her musical legs in a way that never seems forced despite the album’s youthful sonic wizardry. And although Sigsworth – who easily proves himself here to be Moyet’s musical soul mate – opts to surround the singer with jarring, jangling synthesizers, her voice is never lost within the – at times – bombastic electronic landscape. On “Horizon Flame”, the set’s opening track, she sings, “Suddenly the landscape has changed…” letting listeners know from the outset that THE MINUTES is both a welcome departure and return-of-sorts for the UK chanteuse.

Standout Tracks: “Changeling” / “Apple Kisses” / “Right As Rain” / “Remind Yourself”

Check out my list of favorite songs from 2013 here.

The Return of Alf

So I told you all a few weeks ago that I was going to see one of my favorite singers, the incomparable Alison Moyet, live for the first time in 17 years. Well, the occasion was last evening and the experience met and exceeded every expectation. Anyone with an ear for good music sung by an exceptional vocal stylist should run to the nearest box office and secure tickets for one of the remaining shows on the tour. Immediately. Now. I strongly encourage – no, implore – you.

I’ve long carried a torch for exceptional female vocalists, and most of my favorites have come out of the UK. True songstresses like Moyet and Annie Lennox and Lisa Stansfield and Julia Fordham and the lovely new Adele who know how to wrap disciplined pipes around each musical note, stylists who understand the nuance of a song. Moyet is perhaps the epitome of such vocal ability, with a lush voice that at times seems to erupt from the singer’s throat like a choral volcano. Even when her voice takes on a softer verse or a more delicate refrain, there is an underlying power – like the hum of an electric current – that reverberates in the ears and resonates in the soul. Alternately bluesy, brassy, smoky, and velvety, Moyet’s voice is an instrument of precision and restraint, even when she’s letting it off the leash a bit to grit and growl. Adding to the charm are her distinctive vocal inflections and decidedly British pronunciations of certain words that add an almost literary texture to her songs, like the musical equivalent of a Merchant Ivory period film.

The venue – the Capital One Bank Theater in Westbury here on Long Island – was (sadly and inexplicably) only half sold (and this was with the concert being held in the half-round). When Alison came out she made a few well-received humorous remarks about how if there were just a few more people it'd be almost enough for a concert. Lots of laughter from the audience. Small audience size notwithstanding, the eager crowd more than compensated for the empty seats with its unbridled enthusiasm. Seems that we all learned our lesson from message board reports from previous stops on the tour and there were no shouts for Invisible, Moyet’s highest charting US hit. I did risk shouting out during a quiet moment "Steal Me Blind, Alison!” which was promptly followed by two cries from the audience behind me — one for Ode to Boy, the other for Honey for the Bees. Alison looked over and playfully said "You want me to steal you blind? Reach inside your pocket!" She then mentioned that the tour had been put together in a few mere weeks and that the band couldn't possibly have been expected to learn her entire catalog. After her next song, she returned to the topic and said, laughing, something to the effect of having been apologetically thinking throughout the song about how she'd just reprimanded us. Lots of audience laughter. At another point in the show when someone again shouted out a song request, she asked us if we thought this was karaoke night. More laughter. Quite the easy rapport she has with an audience.

Alison was in top form — even with a slight cold that had her sipping chamomile tea (and a convenient drop of brandy from time to time) onstage. She's simply amazing and even better than I remember her from the ’91 quasi-concert I told you about. Her set list included a smattering of tunes from her new album and back catalog, with the popular Ordinary Girl from Raindancing added after fans coaxed a few bars out of the singer at the NYC show a few nights earlier (and perhaps at the expense of her cover of Billie Holiday’s That ‘Ole Devil Called Love which was MIA for this show). Standouts for me were the jazzy version of All Cried Out, hearing an older hit or two for the first time live like Love Resurrection and a beautifully re-arranged Is This Love?, This House and One More Time, both of which are guaranteed to raise gooseflesh (if they don't, check your pulse because you're dead, honey!), Almost Blue and Find Me, both of which were just lovely, the insinuating groves of Footsteps and Hoodoo (she wails on the latter and sways those marvelous hips on both!), three Yazz tracks (Don't Go, Only You, and Situation), which brought back nostalgic fun for those not lucky enough to catch her tour with former Yazoo bandmate Vince Clarke this past summer, a passionate cover of Melanie Safka’s Momma Momma that threatened to bring the roof down, and a rousing encore of Whispering Your Name. Surprisingly, my favorite performance of the entire night came from a reworked version of a song that I'd never before characterized as one of my "favorites," per se: Ski. Sheer brilliance in the way she sang that. There are a few others scattered in there – songs like Wishing You Were Here, Dorothy, Can't Say It Like I Mean It, Fire, and You Don’t Have to Go – and my lack of comment is in no way a snub on either the songs’ inclusion in the set list or a slight against Alison’s flawless delivery. (It’s just that I know my loyal readers — and I’m moments away from eye rolls that the fanboy’s at it again!)

Speaking of the fanboys, I had the pleasure of meeting several other diehard Moyet fans outside the theater after the 1½ hour show. Folks like Meredith and her lovely mother (also fellow Julia Fordham fans) and Dennis (a fine gent who we discovered was also there that long-ago night at the Mulcahy’s show) and the utterly delightful "other Allison," with whom Alison proper was quite taken. (Their rapport is like that of two old school chums. There was a whole story that involved a wheelchair and front row seats that had us – and Alison – in stitches!) Our meager crowd waited for Alison outside the artist entrance of the venue. True to form, she appeared and spent a solid half hour or more signing everything (and I do mean everything) that was placed in front of her, posing for pictures, giving endless hugs, and chatting up a storm. At one point, it almost seemed like it would have been more polite of us to have invited her out for coffee instead of having her stand around in the chill. Alison was so lovely and gracious, and seemed genuinely appreciative that we had come to the show. Having met and interviewed numerous celebs over the years, I can honestly say that Moyet is the quintessence of fan friendliness. And, yes, in addition to getting my CD covers of Voice, Raindancing, Hoodoo, Hometime, and Alf signed, and my program signed (lovely tour books, BTW), and a poster from the Alf days that I've kept meticulously rolled in a tube and in pristine condition for the last 24 years until I could get her to sign it, I got what I came really hoping for:

They say that all good things are worth the wait. Alison Moyet made her US fans wait 14 years to hear the gift of her amazing voice live, and the payoff was considerable. A virtuoso performance, a fantastic trip down memory lane with some of the material from a back catalog that most of us have never had the opportunity to hear her sing live, and a glimpse into the genuine, offstage Alison and her pure radiance of spirit and affection for her fans after the show — magical elements whose combination made for one spectacular evening I’m not soon to forget. 

The Listening Booth: Alison Moyet

This installment of The Listening Booth coincides with the subject's announcement of her first US tour in 14 years - and the procurement of my own 2nd row seats to see her live on October 10th. I'm talking about, of course, the incomparable Alison Moyet.

If you grew up in the early 80's, you doubt heard this incredible UK songbird's pipes, first, as one half of the synth-pop duo Yazoo with Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode and Erasure fame, and then as a brilliant, award-winning solo artist. Her 1984 debut album, Alf, spawned several hit singles in the UK, including "Invisible", "Love Resurrection", and "All Cried Out". After her follow-up, 1987's Raindancing, which featured the pop gems "Is This Love?" and "Weak in the Presence of Beauty", she stepped back and began the long struggle to regain artistic control of her career. But while 1991's Hoodoo and 1994's Essex were the start to that creative independence, an unsupportive Sony Music and subsequent protracted legal battle brought an eight-year hiatus to Moyet's career.

She eventually won, signed with Sanctuary Records, and re-emerged in 2002 with Hometime. That was followed up the sublime The Voice, a flawless collection of covers including "Windmills of Your Mind", "Cry Me River", and "Alfie". In late 2006, she signed with W14 Music, a new Universal Music Group imprint, and released The Turn in August of 2007.

Sadly, Moyet isn't as well known here in the States outside of her Yazoo affiliation as she is in England and other parts of the world. In the summer of 2008, she reunited with Clarke for a series of well-received, sold-out reunion dates. And, now, she's coming right back to the US with her first solo tour in over a decade, promising to perform songs from most of her catalog (the inclusion of the pop-slick Raindancing material is still in question).

I was only fortunate to see Moyet live once. It was back in the early 90's right after the release of Hoodoo. She performed out here on Long Island on a Tuesday night (September 24th, to be exact), as part of WDRE’s Modern Rock Fest ‘91 at a little sports bar called Mulcahy’s. Although sharing the bill with The Innocence Mission, The Judybats, and Richard X. Heyman, it was altogether clear just who the audience was out to see as shouts of the British songbird’s name permeated the air throughout the night. After a rousing set by The Judybats (which was capped off by a raucous tribute to New York women called "All I Wanna Do Is Fuck Your Hair"), it was announced that there would be a change in the evening’s line-up; Moyet was reportedly feeling “under the weather” but would still be performing. Sandle-footed and garbed in head-to-toe black, Moyet took to the stage ahead of The Innocence Mission to perform an acoustic, five-song set.

Opening with the autobiographical "Ordinary Girl" (from Raindancing), Moyet thrilled her fans with selections from Hoodoo, including "Wishing You Were Here", "Rise", and "It Won’t Be Long". The unexpected high point of the set came as Moyet treated the audience to a mesmerizing cover of Jacques Brel’s "Ne Me Quitte Pas". Moyet is truly a seasoned live performer (in her heyday she sang to sold-out audiences at Wembley Arena) who knows how to captivate a crowd. It is a confident performer who dares to push their voice, stripped down to the most basic acoustic accompaniment, to the forefront, and only a remarkable voice could withstand such raw scrutiny. Alison Moyet met this challenge with seeming ease and gave a flawless, albeit much too short, performance.

But one thought always remained following that abbreviated performance one rainy night in September back in '91: if that was how Alison Moyet sounded live while feeling under the weather, I could only wait with baited breath and hope that it wouldn't be long until she’d be back on stage with a full-length show and feeling 100%. Well, I've waited 17 years for that opportunity and will find out on October 10th when she brings her tour to the old Westbury Music Fair (now called North Fork Bank Theater or something equally as commercial and bland).

So, here's a little taste of this luscious vocal powerhouse, whose marvelously deep and husky voice rattles your emotions and makes every hair on your arm stand up!

Her mesmerizing rendition of "Windmills of Your Mind" from The Voice:

Also from The Voice, "Cry Me a River":

From her debut solo album Alf, the smash "All Cried Out":