Little Light is the newest singer-songwriter collection from Allison Crowe. It opens with a rustically shimmering version of "
Northern Lights" - a song Allison performed 'specially for the
John Lennon Northern Lights Festival in Durness, Scotland. "
Angels" is recorded live at St. Andrew's United Church, Christmas-time, in Allison's birthplace, Nanaimo, Canada. She's backed here by bassist Dave Baird and percussionist Laurent Boucher. "Disease", a song of social commentary, has, through years of live performance, become epic - channeling Beethoven, grunge and more. Here 't'is captured in its raging glory by Larry Anschell (on
International Women's Day 2008, the same night celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Anschell's
Turtle Recording Studios. Larry "Turtle" Anschell, Engineer and Producer, with Brad Graham Co-Engineer). Title track "
Little Light" is among a set of guitar songs that reveal a different sort of Allison Crowe's writerly reflections in music. "
Happy People", like such earlier songs as Ray Davies' Kinky "
Dedicated Follower of Fashion", and Crowe's own, "
Skeletons and Spirits", a bright melody coats more acid observations. Strong and gentle poetics of "
Hold Back" warm us by a fire kindled in the '70s by Joni Mitchell. "
Choose to Be" bridges the piano sound of Allison's "
This Little Bird" songs with her new tunes. Bob Dylan's ramblin' shoes lead to a less restless farewell, as the album closes with "Wedding Song" - Crowe's sweetest, rootsiest, love song to date.
The interpretations on this collection are: "Time After Time" - originally a hit for that most unusual girl, Cyndi Lauper - Allison, a child of the '80s gives her impassioned take, live (Scott LittleJohn recording this, the same night as "Angels"); "Running for Home", is a cover of the Matthew Good Band, and one of the songs Allison has performed since her teens; and, by way of the Righteous Babe, Ani DiFranco, comes Allison's vocal-guitar nod to the great peace-loving bard, Phil Ochs - "When I'm Gone". "Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone, so I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here."
You will find those cover songs and more on Allison's webpages @ http://www.allisoncrowe.com/LittleLight.html
Enjoy! Peace.
▼
