Search - Katy Moffatt :: Up Close & Personal

Moffatt's Most "Up, Close and Personal" Effort to Date

T. Yap | Sydney, NSW, Australia | 10/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prime Cuts: Never Be Alone Again, Dance Me Outside, Walking on the Moon



Sheer beauty needs no embellishments. Strapped with just an acoustic guitar, this sonically scanty CD finds its charm in Moffatt's vocals. With a vocal twin-like resemblance to fellow country artist Janie Fricke, Moffatt has that well-weathered worn timbre in her voice that shimmers with emotions especially on the album's more plaintive moments. This is a fleet only an elite few amongst the genre are capable of. Recorded live in the fall of 2002 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Moffatt here tackles some of her more popular numbers in her repertoire to a few covers from mostly more roots-Americana artists (such as Holly Near, Bonnie Raitt) to more traditional stuff (such as Jimmie Rodgers and Eddy Arnold). Overall, regardless of the genesis of these paeans, Moffatt sings them as if she owns them: breathing life, nurture and care to each note making sure they resonate with a cadence that is limpid as well as personal.



Among the album's highlights is the ode to romance written by Moffatt and Tom Russell: "Dance Me Outside" which was first recorded as a duet with elder brother Hugh, here only features Moffatt alone. Nevertheless, its conversational lyrics and its earnest plea for intimacy are deftly captured by Moffatt. And to prove that simplicity is the key to great music, "Walking on the Moon," an introspective number about a girl trying to articulate her first love to her mother, is given a stunning performance. Even when romance has turned sour, Moffatt sings with a bite on the aggressively upbeat "Ruin This Romance." But perhaps one of the most moving performances come on the autobiographical ballad "Never Be Alone Again." Moffatt's half teary vocals here is breathtaking; this can only come from the stark loneliness of being an itinerant songstress.



However, not everything is introspectively balladry, brother Hugh Moffatt's "Papacita" has a south of the border feel magically created by Moffatt and her guitar alone. And she does get aggressive on Bonnie Raitt's assertive "Love Me Like A Man." Owing a debt to Melissa Etheridge, Moffatt's take of the feministic "Sojourner Truth" has a bluesy-rock snarl. Giving us a slice of life, Holly Near's "My Man's Been Laid Off" deals with unemployment, a much neglected theme in country music. Although "My Man's Been Laid Off" is a relatively new composition, but it sounds so traditional that it could pass muster for one of those Great Depression tunes.



On the other hand, as a "live" CD, Moffatt's interaction with her audience is at best reticent. Besides the repeated "thank yous" after many of the songs, she doesn't seem very prolix. Besides the obligatory clapping after each song, her audience seems bashful and uninvolved. Unlike Wynonna's recent live CDs where she gives "sermonlets" between songs, besides minimal commentaries here and there, Moffatt doesn't provide much information behind the stories of her songs. Other than such a minor quibble, this is a stellar effort from one of the best country-folk artists around. And with a voice like Moffatt, together her guitar, such a combination is top notched copacetic."

Nice intimate performances

E. C Goodstein | Northern CA United States | 10/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A very nice glimpse of Katy in concert-- just her and guitar. And since she has one

of the fine voices in country/folk music, it's a real treat. The intimacy I think works

very well esp. on ballad ones like "Borderline," but also on the smokin' bluesy, "Love Me Like a Man" "Crazy Dangerous & Blue" & others. Not a substitute for her studio albums, or even as good as many of those like "Evangleine Hotel' or "Angel Town," but a fine addition for fans & her voice really hasn't lost the appeal it had in the mid-'70's. Nice variety of pace. Good stuff IMO."