Five albums into her career as a singer-songwriter, Allison Moorer wasn’t sure what to do when number six came-a-callin’. The final decision—an attempt at a cover album, one that focused solely on female singer-songwriters. The result is Mockingbird, which is pure magic.
“It started with the fact that I wanted to make another record, and I had written and recorded about five albums in seven years,” Moorer said by phone in Nashville, getting ready for an upcoming tour with her husband, Steve Earle. “And so, I was a little bit spent, and a little bit sick of myself. And I’ve always wanted to do a cover record, I think most artists do. I started to think about the songs, and any old cover record was just too broad, I couldn’t handle it. So I thought I would do just women, because, frankly, I don’t think female singer-songwriters get enough attention. It gave me a criteria and it gave me a way to maybe shine a light on how great these songs are.”
It’s quite a selection of songs; Mockingbird includes selections from Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell, Julie Miller, and Cat Power, to name a few. It also includes the genuine title track, written by Moorer herself, which leads off the album with grace.
Allison Moorer took some time to talk with Glide about Mockingbird, Buddy Miller, Steve Earle, and songwriting.
One thing struck me right away – I didn’t know June Carter Cash wrote “Ring of Fire.”
Most people don’t.
Which is probably your point of covering a song like that…
Yeah, absolutely. You know, it’s been such a ‘Johnny Cash song,’ that I knew most people weren’t aware that June had written it. I think it’s been covered a lot, but I don’t think it’s been covered in a way that brings out the beauty of it. It’s always been a very male song; Dwight Yoakam did a version of it, Social Distortion did a version, and that adds up to a lot of testosterone! (laughs) Not that there is anything wrong with that. I just wanted to bring out the beauty of it, and it is really beautiful, and it’s really economical in its language.
Working with Buddy Miller, how was that?
Well, I came to Buddy with a list of I think 24 (songs). And we narrowed it down from there, pretty much agreeing on what should go and what shouldn’t go. But it was amazing on how much of the same page we were, really.
Had you worked with him before?
Not as a producer. I’ve known Buddy for a really long time, and he actually sang on my first and second record. There’s always been a relationship there, and I’ve always wanted to work with him as a producer, but the plans just never lined up until now.
The sound on the record certainly brings out a nice touch in each of the songs, especially Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” What does that song mean to you?
I think it’s a perfect song. I really do. It pisses me off that she wrote it when she was so young! (laughs) Because it’s so wordly and so smart, and musically, it’s just gorgeous. It would have been ridiculous to try to do this album without a Joni Mitchell tune. She just opened up a whole new arena for girls. Everyone knows the Judy Collins version (of “Both Sides Now”), which is a happy, upbeat thing. But when I got into the lyrics I thought, “This is really fucking sad!” (laughs) It’s so weary. Then Steve, my husband, taught me open G, which I didn’t know previously. And he said, “Well, this is how Joni played it.” Because he came up through that time, and knew all those records. So he taught me that, and I kind of made my own thing as far as how to play it on guitar.
What kind of insight does Steve, your husband, give you on a daily basis?
First of all, he knows a lot. He’s got a really big brain, and he uses it. I can pretty much just ask him about anything and he’ll know something about it. Music-wise, he’s got an encyclopedic knowledge of most things. So whenever I have a question about something, especially that (Joni Mitchell) period, he’ll know.
Is performing with him live always something you’ll look forward to now that you tour together?
Absolutely, it’s a really cool thing. You know, we fell in love singing together. And, I think we fall in love every time we do. On this upcoming tour, I’ll be playing solo, and then I’ll sit in on some of Steve’s songs.
I see a lot of these Mockingbird songs doing really well in a live solo setting.
They need air in them. I approached them all with a guitar in my mind, so it’s ok for them to end that way, too. (laughs)
You picked Gillian Welch’s “Revelator” for the album. Is it hard to cover a really powerful song like that?
I’ve always heard that song as a rock song, and I’ve always heard the bass and drums as implied, even though they weren’t there. It always made me think of Neil Young. You know, I kinda have a Neil fixation anyway, so it was easy. (laughs) The thing about a cover record is that it’s a whole other kind of pressure. You know, when you go into the studio with your own songs, you’re like, “Oh, these are my children, and blah, blah, blah…” There isn’t any of that on this record, because I got to be really objective about the songs I had picked. So, I had to live up to them and do them justice, and not screw up anyone else’s songs! (laughs)
Is it still important to let your fans know that, “Hey, I still can write my own songs!” Maybe that’s the reason why you led the album off with a song that you wrote…
It was important to put one of my own songs on there for that reason. I wrote the song…and then it hit me that it would be a perfect title track. I didn’t write it by design; I didn’t have the record title Mockingbird and then write the song, it was the other way around. So that was a happy accident.
How do you define recognition in this day of age in the music business?
You know, I try not to spend my time thinking about things like that. Because at the end of the day, all I can do is write songs and sing them the best way that I can. And hopefully the people that I’ve trusted to get that work out there will do their best. The deal is, I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I haven’t had to get another job, so I feel pretty good about it! (laughs)
And now you get to play music with your husband, too.
Yeah, and the thing about that is, he says, “That’s not about a marketing decision, that’s about staying married.” (laughs) It can too easily turn out the other way, and we don’t want that! We like to stay in close proximity to each other.
Has your songwriting process changed since living with Steve?
Definitely, it has been great to learn from him, and see the process that he goes through when he writes and makes records. But, you know, I think I was probably formed already, so I’ll probably keep making the same mistakes! He definitely has taught me a lot, and I can go to him and say, ‘What do you think?’ And instead of him saying, ‘That’s not any good,’ he’ll be able to say, ‘Well, here’s how maybe you can make it better.” But he would never re-write my songs, he’d say, ‘Try this and this and this,’ and then just send me back into my room!
