Notes
'Music for the season... and all time' NB This is the full-length, 12 song, 'Tidings' album. (It is available in CD and digital format. There is a digital-only, six-song, release titled 'Tidings: 6 Songs for the Season' available as well. Check that digital EP listing for song titles.) 'Tidings' brings together traditional carols, and not-so-traditional songs, all interpreted, even redefined, through the vocal and piano artistry of Allison Crowe. It's a much-loved collection tagged 'the Yule-tide find of the year' by one music critic. 'Her voice celebrates the music with a bluesy rock-gospel intensity; her controlled vibrato, silken rasp, and powerful projection rivet your attention. This is no casual background music... be prepared to be amazed,' says another reviewer. Tidings is popular year-round - not just during the Christmas season when it's a natural. The album's songs are recorded, live-off-the-floor, on Winter's eve in Canada by Engineer & Producer Larry Anschell, (Pearl Jam, Sarah McLachlan, k-os), who captures the magic at his Turtle Recording studio by the shore in White Rock, British Columbia. Tidings' track-listing: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (Traditional); River (Joni Mitchell); Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen); Silent Night (Traditional); In the Bleak Midwinter (Traditional); What Child Is This - Greensleeves (Traditional); Let It Be (The Beatles); The First Noel (Traditional); In My Life (The Beatles); O Holy Night (Traditional); Shine a Light (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards); Angel (Sarah McLachlan). Peace on Earth ~ goodwill toward all. Tags: Allison Crowe, singer songwriter, rock, folk, jazz, pop, soul, acoustic, independent, alternative, contemporary, live, piano, guitar, lyrical, vocal, seasonal, holiday, Christmas, Beethoven, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Counting Crows, Pearl Jam, Leonard Cohen, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Chet Baker, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, The Beatles, John Lennon, Elton John, Bob Marley, Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Fiona Apple ***** Here's what reviewers say about Allison Crowe's "Tidings": Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen anacronyms (Canada) December 15, 2007 'Hallelujah, by Leonard Cohen. This song has somehow become Crowe's signature, if a singer who defies description as stubbornly as she does has a signature... Cohen's original version is a spoken poem, all of the meaning contained in the words. Crowe's version is a living thing, a meditation and a celebration and a benediction.' ~~~ Hallelujah! YouTube hits keep indie musicians free Adrian Chamberlain, Times Colonist (Canada) September 22, 2007 Excerpt from feature: 'It's not hard to see why Crowe's Hallelujah -- recorded in a single take -- is popular. It's one of Leonard Cohen's most affecting songs, and the 26-year-old, accompanying herself on piano, makes it her own with raw honesty and formidable vocal power. It's simultaneously heart-breaking and redemptive, and it has captured the imaginations of people around the world. 'The song itself is just so emotionally resonant,' Crowe said modestly this week.' ~~~ River: Allison Crowe Bob Muller, Joni Mitchell Discussion List (USA) 'One of my favorites; there is a pinch of Shawn (Colvin) in Allison's voice, except imo Allison has more punch and emotional bite in her vocals. She makes singing this song seem easy, and anyone who's tried it will tell you it's not.' ~~~ Crowe for Christmas Published: December 15 2006 by Martin Levin, Women's Post (Canada) It is customary among some at this time of year, to begin to issue seasonal greeting by reference to some song. Thus, to readers, I say, have yourself a Merry Little Christmas, or, to paraphrase ecumenically, a Cheery Chanukah or a Kolossal Kwanza. To help you on your way, there is the usual shower of Christmas albums. You might try CDs by Canadian icons Sarah McLachlan (Wintersong) and the Barra MacNeils (The Christmas Album II), or journey to the land of the green Christmas (mostly) for James Taylor's At Christmas, while the most
