Alison Moyet a year ago -- and today!

In October of last year I had one of my life-time dreams fulfilled. Sure, I had already seen her perform with Vince Clarke in July of 2008 for their Yazoo reunion tour, but what I had always dreamed about was seeing the incomparable Alison Moyet live, singing her own amazing songs.

Dream come true: "One More Time" from the show I saw at the Blender Theater on October 8, 2008:

A year later, almost to the date, comes word a Nov. 3 UK release of a new Alison Moyet "Best of" album titled, appropriately, "Best of 25 Years Revisited". It's not the first 'hits' compilation she has released. "Singles" came out in 1995 with a bonus disc of live versions. And now, the deluxe version of the new release, also sees a 2nd disc with 11 newly recorded re-interpretations of old songs, also sung by Ms. Moyet.

What brought this to light was a recent YouTube discovery of a performance of "This House" by Ms. Moyet that took place earlier this month to promote the new release:

I was simply stunned. Not because it is and shall be one of my favorite Moyet songs, mind you. But because it's difficult not to miss Ms. Moyet's weight loss between October of last year and now. While watching her sing last year, I have to confess I wondered about her weight and her health. It must have taken a lot of work and exercise and major changes to her lifestyle. But she certainly seems at ease and happy - and I hope she feels great. The interview that followed her performance on the Paul O'Grady show doesn't address the weight drop, but it certainly offers a few juicy tidbits, including footage of Moyet as a back-up singer in a special appearance on British TV by legendary Dusty Springfield. Enjoy:

Update #1: From a profile of Alison Moyet the October 2nd edition of The Daily Mail:

[Moyet] says that the decision to shed the pounds was nothing to do with vanity but everything to do with preparing for old age. ‘I have lost and put on big batches of weight in my life many, many times,’ she admits. ‘But what concerns me is the idea of being an obese old woman, because I don’t like the idea of being physically incapable in someone else’s hands.
I have smoked and eaten too much rubbish in my time, but the catalyst for me to do something about it was not wanting to be incapacitated. It goes back to my need for privacy.’

Update #2 [January 2nd, 2011]: Excerpt from a statement Alison posted after comments regarding a televised New Year's Eve performance in the UK elicited lots of Twitter comments:

...then there was Twitter trending over my body. Wow thats MENTAL. I forget. I have lived with me in this form for way more than a year and I don't think about how I seem to others. Being fat all my life and still in my head and my whole psychology I am used to people having their say over me, relatives, journalists.. but we live in new times and instead of giggles behind hands, a spiteful byline and the odd shout out, it is now in your face and unashamed. Complimentary or resentful, I don't like it at all..ha ha...my bleedin' body eh? It will be the death of me. As a point of research for those wondering, no I feel no more confident or lush than I did as big me, less maybe, and spending little time gazing at myself in the looking glass and no time on the pull...I feel utterly unchanged. I am certainly not flattered that a few more 'would'. It is utterly irrelevant.

Musica: Alison Moyet chomps up the big juicy apple, spits out the seeds

Above: Alison Moyet performing on Oct. 10th at the Paramount Theater in NJ (photo by rustiallen)

A bit late, perhaps, but I wanted to share just how amazing it was to see Alison Moyet live in New York back on October 7th in her first United States solo tour in fourteen years. Not that it had been that long since I'd seen her singing live. That would have been July 19th at the Beacon Theater when she performed as Vince Clarke's muse in a Yazoo revival but - even back then - I said the following:

"I just hope that the adulation and love [from concert-goers] results in a future Alison Moyet tour; I am amazed that I was finally able to see and hear her live but I really hope to see her perform some of her solo work in the future as well."

Well, it didn't take long! Three months later and there I was at the Blender Theatre (much better acoustics) listening to an amazing array of Moyet's back catalogue (she must have sang over 20 songs).

A taste:


From the couple of videos I posted on YouTube, "Find Me" seems to be the most popular so far (perhaps because my voice doesn't overcrowd the vocal and, really, who goes to an Alison Moyet concert to hear MY voice?).


No such luck with one of my all time favorites "This House" but how could I keep from warbling some lyrics this stunning song? And then the bf calls to ask for directions to the theater. Damn camera mic! Why won't you ignore some registers!


In the meantime, Moyet was clearly having a heck of a time with a packed theater and all those adoring gays eating up everything she did. If there seems to be a running joke between her and the audience throughout this "Is This Love" clip, it's because she had already started to sing this song and got thrown off key by the audience singing along with her. Before she began, she asked audience members to please hold on til the 2nd verse (here is the FULL banter from another angle, including the aborted take). I have a feeling part of it is pure stage theatrics but it was GREAT.


The Schemer has a clip of the amazing "Whispering Her Name," which I didn't capture with my cam. The upshot? You don't get to hear me trying to hit those high notes.


From The Schemer, here is "Wishing You Were Here" (and, finally, there is no video footage but check out the STUNNING version of Melanie Safka's "Momma Momma" and her own "Can't Say It Like I Mean It").

Yes, she did do a few Yaz songs but, at least to me, they paled in comparison with her own stuff just as I loved the Yaz show back in July but felt some of it hadn't aged well.

Some of the funniest stuff was her banter with the audience and her response to an annoying audience member who kept screaming "Invisible!" and her response to why she would not sing it that night.

The saddest thing is that while there were a few other shows planned during this tour (and she did play dates in New Jersey and DC), slow ticket sales, poor promotion from US promoters and the US economic crisis meant that it was unsustainable to continue the tour with a full band and all other shows had to be scrapped. Sadly, in a personal note, Moyet says this might have been her last tour in the US.

Related:

• For all things Alison please hit www.alisonmoyet.com
• To purchase albums go to Amazon.com

Previously:

• Goddess (July 20, 2008)
• Yazoo reboots and tours the US (May 15, 2008)
• Alison Moyet's Turn (August 19, 2007)
• Alison Moyet, terrorist? (October 10, 2005)
• Rare Alison Moyet appearance in NYC this Monday (September 30, 2005)

Goddess

The chilly tones emanating from Vince Clarke's synth-pad last night at the Beacon Theater should have been more than enough to break the heatwave that has taken over the city. Then again it was Yazoo (a/k/a Yaz) performing in NYC for the first time since 1983 which also meant Alison Moyet singing her pipes off which almost set the stage on fire.

And so, last night, one of my all time dreams came true as I definitely was in the presence of beauty. The acoustics weren't great and some of Yazoo's old songs didn't carry that well into the new millennium but when it all gelled together chills definitely ran up my spine. What was amazing was watching Ms. Moyet wholly take charge of the 25 year old material and not only make it fresh but also (gulp!) seem to enjoy it.

Halfway through the concert she took issue with a New York Times review of one of two previous sold out shows last week that implied that concert goers weren't familiar with a few of the songs and chatted through the slower numbers.

Actually, it was on the slower numbers such as "Midnight," "Ode to Boy," "In My Room," "Winter Kills," and "Nobody's Diary" that her voice shined. I taped some of them wit my camera but the sound did not come out that great.

The audience, though, seemed ecstatic and the band seemed to appreciate the love. I just hope that the adulation and love results in a future Alison Moyet tour. I am amazed that I was finally able to see and hear her live but I really hope to see her perform some of her solo work in the future as well.

Related:

• Alison Moyet, Vince Clarke reunite Yaz at Beacon (Newsday)
• Alison Moyet comes to New York in Yaz Reunion (Newsday)
• Yaz seeks old magic as duo reunites for first time in 25 years (New York Daily News)
• And I find - I'm knocking for a good time (Gravity and Fusion)
  
• Pink hearts and bad connections (Soccer Mom in Denial)

Video: Too Pieces

Video: Ode to Boy

Someone else's video: Winter Kills (from the Terminal 5 performance on Thursday)

More videos: Click here

Musica: Outdoor (and indoor) summer lovin'

By now the greatness that is Alison Moyet should be walking among the mere mortals here in New York. Along with Vince Clarke (as Yaz) she will be performing at two shows at Terminal 5 tomorrow and Thursday and then on Saturday at the more intimate Beacon Theater (and I got good seats! Hmmm... Bacon!).

In the meantime there's even more summer lovin' coming our way so - if you allow me to highlight a couple of the music events that I consider as unmissable - here we go:

This Sunday: Santogold, Diplo, A-Track, Kid Cudi, Blaqstarr & Mz Streamz - Central Park's SummerStage starting at 3PM (Free): OMG, trust me. It'll be hot, humid, drippy and packed! Get there early.

Sunday, August 3, 2008: Jamie Lidell, Janelle Monae, Little Jackie, Jose James & Gilles Peterson (jazzmatazz-funk courtesy of Giant Step) - Central Park's SummerStage starting at 3PM (Free): Spazzmatazz alert!

Thursday, August 14, 2008: Omar (OMG! OMAR! In NYC!!! OMG!!! Yes! OMG!!!) - SOB's starting at 7PM (Show starts at 9PM) One of the most under-appreciated singers ever in the history of amazing singers makes his way to New York City (video above). He's sung with Mary J. Blige and Stevie Wonder, amongst others.

Friday, August 15, 2008: Bajofondo (hm, ok) and Osunlade & The Yorubasoul Orchestra (OMG! Aural orgasm!!) - Central Park's SummerStage starting at 7PM (Free): I swear to you! Orgazm! Orgasm, I say!

Musica: Yazoo reboots and tours the US!

In the UK they were known as Yazoo, in the US as Yaz, but for a young guy growing up in Syracuse enamored with all things New Romantic, Dave Clarke and Alison Moyet were just about the best out there (Dave Clarke who used to be in Depeche Mode now records as Erasure with Andy Bell and Alison Moyet continues to record as herself).

Call it cashing it in or not, but Yazoo is back with a re-mastered reissue of their two albums: Upstairs at Eric's from 1982 and You and Me Both from 1983 in a single package that is currently listed at (gulp!) $71.99 at Amazon.com (Ideal Copy has it for $64.99)

They also are touring the UK and, later, the United States on the following dates:

• Sun 06 July - Las Vegas, NV Pearl Concert Theatre
  
• Mon 07 July: Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre, [Ticketmaster]
• Tues 08 July - Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
• Thu 10 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre, [Ticketmaster]
• Fri 11 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre, [Ticketmaster]
• Mon 14 July: Chicago, IL Chicago Theater, [Ticketmaster]
• Wed 16 July: New York, NY Terminal 5, [Ticketmaster]
• Thu 17 July: New York, NY Terminal 5, [Ticketmaster]
• Sat 19 July - New York, NY Beacon Theatre
• Sun 20 July - Washington, DC 9.30 Club
• Tues 22 July - Dallas, TX, Lakewood Theatre

Just got me some choice tickets for one of the New York shows!

At least Alison seems to have resolved those visa problems that kept her from touring the US back in 2005. If only she would do a solo tour sometime in the future!

If interested, for more info, go to Yazoo info, the Alison Moyet Forum or Erasure's official site.

Musica: Choice cuts from 2007

I certainly didn't intend to go on hiatus but that seems to have been what's happened to the blog in the past few weeks. Not sure it will be up and running soon after the beginning of the new year but I'll leave you with a very subjective end of the year list of some of the best music that came my way this year.

This is the year that I saw the last of the local store outlets for actual CD-singles (with Virgin records folding it's in-store singles aisles and keeping just a fraction of the releases), another casualty to the rush to digital downloads, legal or not. Which means online stores like Hollywood's Perfect Beat can prove to be indispensable.

No top ten list here, just a sampling of stuff. Check details at the bottom on how you can win a CD-selection of some of these songs as compiled by yours truly!

Notable music of 2007:

Women Power: Three women that dominated the soundtrack of my youth released new albums this year which speaks to their longevity despite the volatility in the pop universe.

Siouxsie Sioux released "Mantaray," Annie Lennox released "Songs of Mass Destruction," and Alison Moyet released "The Turn" (not yet in the US but you can pick it up from this Canadian store).

I have yet to give a proper listen to Mantaray but the standout track is "Sea of Tranquility" - a gorgeous track with a nice burbling underpining rhythm and Siouxsie's immediately recognizable voice soaring over it. Alas, no video to show you.

In the meantime, I've seen a few online pans of Annie Lennox's latest which surprises me quite a bit because the album has some of her strongest material in ages and a couple of tracks that really stand out: "Smitheereens" and "Fingernail Moon."

The gist of the pans, from what I've gathered, is that this is the umpteenth album from Lennox with a confessional bent and that some of the tracks here, such as the anti-AIDS song "Sing," are more didactic than entertaining.

Here's a YouTuber lip-synching to "Smitheereens" a-la Chris Cocker.


Most noteworthy, to me at least, was Alison Moyet's return. The new album doesn't quite match the brilliance that was 2002's "Hometime" but sees Moyet as self-assured as ever and in better control of the songs she has chosen to sing (at least according to the liner notes). If you have time, you could check her cheeky - if infrequently updated - blog which includes this entry on her memories of a gay friend who died of AIDS in observance of World AIDS Day earlier this month.

Here she performs the first single from "The Turn" - "One More Time" - live.


Up-and-comers: Yes, I spent the year listening to the one-two British punch of Amy "Back to Rehab" Winehouse and Lilly "Knock'em Out"Allen, finding Allen's "Alright, Still" to be the better of the two. Part of it is just how funny her lyrics can actually be which is refreshing in an industry that seems to thrive on drug-abuse scandals and sexed-up tarts.

Here's Lilly Allen's "LDN" (love the record shop intro bit):


Thing is, both these albums are actually material released well over a year in the UK so I'm not that sure that they could be considered newcomers anymore.

Jump in New Young Pony Club with "Fantastic Playroom." You probably know them if you've watched some television as "Icecream" was the soundtrack to some I-pod or cell phone commercial, I believe:


The album is full of punky electro ditties such as this, my fave being "F.A.N."

Favorite song of last year: I also picked up Just Jack's "Overtones" this year with material also released in the UK in previous years and was captivated by the pop perfection that is "I Talk Too Much" featuring Kylie Minogue. Best Kylie duet since "Kids" with Robbie Williams and maybe even better. No video but the full song's stream is available at YouTube. Have a listen:


Favorite song of this year: No big surprise for those of you who know I adore this woman: From Róisín Murphy's great new album, "Overpowered," it's "Let Me Know":


The full album is probably in my top five of the year with an amazing title track as well and an array of songs that could easily be chosen as singles including "You Know Me Better," "Primitive," "Dear Miami," and "Scarlett Ribbons."

Top albums of the year: If you'd asked me at the beginning of the year which albums would probably make my year's end top list I'd probably have said 4hero, Underworld, Gus Gus and Róisín Murphy. That Róisín's made it but not the others doesn't mean that the work that the other bands released this year wasn't noteworthy or good but personally I thought that 4hero and Underworld turned in spotty albums with some brilliant tracks (4hero's "Give In" and "Morning Child" and Underworld's "Crocodile/Beautiful Burnout") while, if it wasn't for the remixes, the Gus Gus CD did actually disappoint despite "Need in Me".


I'd be shocked, actually, if you had told me that come year's end I'd still be loving Calvin Harris' "I Created Disco" which I previewed back in July. The tale of a MySpace music geek getting a record contract and then becoming one of the UK's biggest selling albums of the year certainly seems a bit last year considering that this year the new thing is offering a pay what you want download of your album.

Here's the "official" video for his new single, "Colors."

Speaking of pay what you want though, I paid $0 for Radiohead's "In Rainbows" and still loved it! You can buy the CD pressing of the album here.

So yes! Sue me! I have a thing for British pop and dance songs! But I am still loving Philadelphia's very own Jill Scott and her under-appreciated "The Real Thing: Words and Sounds, Vol. 3." This woman's work is just amazing and she's just getting started. Here, for you, "My Love" (even if my fave track on the album is "Only You"):


Best album of 2007: So, what gives? Which is the album of the year? Actually, the year that saw all the major studios seek out producer (and former Missy Elliot and current Justin Timberlake co-hort ) Timbaland to put a gloss on albums ranging from Nelly Furtado to Duran Duran to - gulp! - Ashlee Simpson, the fate of my album of the year almost fell in the same trap.

Following up on the success of Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam's first album, "Arular" (2005), rumor was that her new album "Kala" was supposed to prominently feature Timbaland as a producer and, while Timbaland might have produced some of the best and most innovative tracks of the last ten years (Missy Elliot's "Get Your Freak On" and "Work It" come to mind), I'm not sure the last thing we needed was another Nelly Furtado/Justinn Timberlake sound hybrid on "Kala."

And yet, due to restrictive US immigration policies, Arulpragasam found herself with visa problems (according to WikiPedia) and spent the last couple of years taping tracks for "Kala" during segments of her world tour in countries such as India, Trinidad, Liberia, Jamaica, Australia and Japan.

Amazingly it's all reflected in the album's sound and so much the better for it. One wonders what Timbaland would have done with this masterpiece and while it's not always an easy listen, it certainly sounds like the music of the future. The newest single, "Paper Airplanes" by the woman better known as M.I.A.:


Bits and pieces: What follows are the rest of the best songs of the year in no particular order.

"Can't Do Without" - Peven Everett
"Jus' Dance" - Mr. V
"Beautiful (Fred Everything Mix)" - Tim Fuller
"Let's Be Young (Paulo Mojo Remix)" - Quentin Harris
"It's All True (Martin Buttrich Remix)" - Tracey Thorn
"Dust (Induceve Remix)" - Recloose feat. Joe Dukie
"Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" - Groove Armada feat. Mutya
"Soñando Contigo" - Kiko Navarro
"The Sun Can't Compare" - Larry Heard feat. Mr. White
"Us vs. Them" - LCD Soundsystem
"Neighborhoods" - Matthew Dear
"All Woman (Sandy Rivera's Blackwz Remix)" - Skwerl
"Make Me Want You" - Mondee Oliver
"Love Song" - Sarah Bareilles

You can also do no wrong by supporting a worthwhile cause end getting a copy of "Stomp Out Cancer: Indie Artists Fight Ewing's Sarcoma" which was released in honor of my friend Steven Mackin earlier in the year.

And the best for last: If you've made it past aaaaalllll that and you want a nifty compilation of some of the music mentioned here (plus and minus a few tracks), be the among the first five people within the United States to send me an e-mail at blabbeando @ gmail . com requesting one and you will get one sometime after the new year. Happy holidays!

Musica: Alison Moyet's Turn

Rejoice! The voice is back! Even if she could not make it to New York City the one time I hoped to meet her thanks to Homeland Security, Alison Moyet is set to release her new album "The Turn" in October on w14 Music, a division of Universal Music Group.

As a preview, snippets of four of the album's tracks have been uploaded on Alison's MySpace page. First single "One More Time" seems to be a show-stopper and a showcase for the singer's glorious voice, themes about longing, relationships and desire resurface; "Fire" is plaintive and heartfelt, an indication that the album is a stripped affair without some of the electronic flourishes of the past, just a voice and a guitar; "World Without End" almost sounds like a chamber piece; while "It's Not the Thing, Henry" seems to belong in one of her past albums, namely "Hometime," with it's multiple instrumentation and synth stabs.

All in all great news from the UK.

• Alison Moyet's MySpace page here
• Alison Moyet's official website here
• Alison Moyet's blog here
• w14 Music webiste here (oh my! They also seem to be getting ready to release a new album by Siouxsie Sioux!)
  

Music: Zero 7, Basement Jaxx, Goldfrapp invade NYC

As long as we're turning our attention to music (and now that the 2006 summer concert season is winding down in New York City), it comes as a bit of a shock that all of a sudden the gates seem to be opening up to finally allow some of the best bands from the other side of the pond to tour in the United States (last year we wrote of our disappointment that the Department of Homeland Security did not give chanteuse Alison Moyet a visa to the United States in time to promote her latest all-covers album, Voice, and to date we don't know that she ever made it here). So, without further ado, a primer:

*** ZERO 7 ($30/$27 adv. plus transaction fees, Webster Hall, Sept. 15 & 16): Sometimes a band appears out of nowhere with a unique sound and wows just about everyone. This is the case with Zero 7 who released the chilled-out world-wide smash "Simple Things" back in 2001. Somehow they still never have quite seemed to live up to their fans' expectations with their two subsequent releases, "When It Falls" (2004) and this year's "The Garden." OK, I'll give it to the fans, while "When it Fails" had some stunners ("Warm Sounds,""Home," "Morning Song") it sounded a bit like a band seeking some direction. But with this year's "The Garden" they have definitely found it: I'd say it's their best album and easily one of the top five CD's of the year. Should be a memorable couple of sets. YouTube high-lights: "Destiny," "I Have Seen," "Distractions," "In the Waiting Line," "Somersault," "Left Behind," "Waiting to Die," "Home," "You're My Flame."

*** BASEMENT JAXX ($35/$30 adv. plus transaction fees, Webster Hall, Oct. 10 & 11th): What can you say about the Jaxx? Here in the States people are probably most familiar with the video of their hit "Where's Your Head At?" with human-headed monkeys running amok in a scientist's lab. Or perhaps it's the joyous "Do Your Thing" which was used for a plethora of commercials. Or maybe for their remix of Missy Elliot's "4 My People." But, simply, there are just no words to describe just how fantastic they are. Last we saw them, they were performing at Central Park's summer stage with a full bevvy of buxom and feathered Brazilian dancers and just blowing the place up. Raucous, infectious, insane and groundbreaking, it's an unmissable event. Better yet, the New York appearance is to back the slated Sept. 12 release of a brand new CD, Crazy Itch Radio which features "Hush Boy!" (hilarious video here) and the hyper-active double-step horn parade shout out "Hey You" (which you can preview on their MySpace page).

*** GOLDFRAPP ($30 plus transaction fees, Roseland Ballroom, Oct. 18): See picture above? Checked out their MySpace? Number 1? Oh, La La? Enough said, be there, or be square.

Alison Moyet, terrorist?

As I posted earlier, tonight was supposed to be the night that Alison Moyet did a rare performance in the United States at the beginning of a 3-city promotional mini-tour for her new album, Voice. A fan since her days with Yaz, I was looking forward to meeting her even if she was set to sing a few songs and the performance was set for the accoustically challenged Virgin Megastore in Union Square.

When I didn't hear any of Alison Moyet's songs as I entered the store or see any signs announcing her performance I thought I might have gotten the wrong information. But a chat with a store floor manager confirmed that it was the right date. Only thing was that the United States Department of Homeland Security had yet to apporve a visa. What do they think? That Moyet is a threat to national security?

According to this site, "Artists who want to work in the U.S. must apply for non-immigrant visas and prove they possess exceptional ability or cultural uniqueness." Yet, the time it takes for applications to be evaluated and approved is getting increasingly longer and guidelines, after 9/11, have gotten even more confusing and contradictory (the site also describes how these changes have affected all sorts of musicians from Cuba, the UK and elsewhere).

The floor manager said that Virgin was making every effort to re-schedule Alison Moyet's performances and that they hoped to have her perform in a month or so.

[UPDATE: Some additional information here]

Rare Alison Moyet appearance in NYC this Monday

Well, kiddies, today's chuck-full'o'music news. I nearly missed this one but according to her blog (?), Ms. Alison Moyet (hail to the Queen!) will be making the rarest of New York City appearances this Monday, October 3rd at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square. The occasion is the domestic release of her new CD, Voice, which features old standards as sung by the extraordinary Moyet and produced by one-time Art of Noise'r Anne Dudley.

Moyet's incomparable voice first came to prominence when she performed as a duet with Erasure's Vince Clarke as Yazoo (Yaz in the US) on hits such as "Situation" and "Don't Go." Her criminally underappreciated and incredible catalogue includes US/UK and UK-only releases that are worth every domestic or import penny (particularly Alf, her first solo album, and Hometime, the CD previous to Voice.

Stand-outs in Voice are her interpretations of "The Man I Love," that old-Dusty Springfield chestnut "The Windmills of My Mind" and "Bye Bye Blackbird." My favorite Moyet songs ever? "Weak in the Presence of Beauty" from Raindancing and "Say It" from Hometime.

Wish she was doing a regular performance but I guess her Virgin Megastores appearance will have to do.