My next performance with vocalist Alison Harris will be at the Delores Park Cafe in San Francisco, Friday, December 19th starting at 7:30pm. Come check us out!
December 15, 2008
August 04, 2008
Alison Harris CD Review in San Francisco Magazine
Well, I'm just about to embark on vocalist Alison Harris's CD release tour. Here's a brief review of the CD from the current edition of San Francisco magazine. (review on page 2):
ALISON HARRIS: SMOKE RINGS IN THE SKY (Omega)These days, female singer-songwriters tend to be either super-slick Americana idols like the Dixie Chicks or indie-folk weirdos like Joanna Newsom. There’s no middle ground, nobody to take up the mantle of a Lucinda Williams or Beth Orton. But maybe that’s where Sebastopol native Alison Harris fits in. On her debut album, she croons about loneliness and longing with a grace that listeners across the musical spectrum should connect with. Much like Randy Newman, whose “Guilty” she has covered in concert, Harris has the right voice for her songs; her smooth, arid tone provides the perfect distance between her heartbreaking details and her band’s tasteful playing. The twangy “Mockingbird,” in which she tries to coax a loud-singing lothario out of her sycamore tree, and the bluesy waltz “Trainhopper,” during which she spies on a rail-riding tweaker, are plenty feisty. But Harris is at her best when she spins sad yarns, such as the from-the-grave love song “Angelina.” If she keeps this up, she could emulate another Harris —Emmylou — by earning the love of underground and mainstream music fans alike. A- (DAN STRACHOTA)
