6 Songs+ by Allison Crowe

Allison's parents' music collection was soon joined by her own discoveries ~ albums from Ani DiFranco, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos and Counting Crows ~ making for an eclecticism evident today in her music.

"I grew up surrounded by music. There was a lot of jazz, classical and rock, in both my immediate and my extended families," she says. "Everyone I was surrounded by inspired me in different ways. They inspired me to play better, work harder, enjoy what music and being a musician can be, while at the same time being realistic about all that it can bring. Good and bad. Also, not to let it go to your head at any time, under any circumstances. And that can mean either getting a huge inflated ego, or, being overly hard on yourself."

Allison Crowe's birthplace, Nanaimo, B.C., (known as the "Harbour City"), is found on Vancouver Island, in the naturally beautiful ocean and forest setting of Canada's Pacific Northwest. An historic coal-mining town, music (starting with colliery bands) was planted in the region early on - a cultural counterpoint to the tough working conditions and remoteness from "mainland" civilization. In tune with this unique duality, Allison is earthy and ethereal. Growing up, she'd practice piano daily in her living room, situated on ground not far above a honeycomb of dormant mine shafts, and only minutes from the former site of the Pygmy Ballroom where Louis Armstrong and other greats of the Big Band era made a pilgrimage.

Darkly serious and blithely comic, by age 15, choosing voice and piano as her instruments, Crowe was playing to ever-widening crowds in coffee-houses and bars up and down the island. "I love singing for people," she says. "It's a way to connect and share with others, which is very important for emotional survival. Communication is crucial. Just being able to do what I do, to write and sing and perform, makes me feel not only alive, but incredibly lucky. Knowing at any moment everything could change, I don’t take one second for granted."

Now 24, she calls Nanaimo, B.C. and Corner Brook, Newfoundland, home - the cities spanning the breadth of Canada. The girl once deemed the funniest in her high school is known best for the intensity of her musical expression. Through hundreds of public performances in coffeehouses, clubs, cabarets, theatres, concert halls, on radio and television, from local to national stages and beyond, Allison Crowe is earning her reputation as an one-of-a-kind talent. Risk-taking and fearless. Emotional without being sentimental. Uncompromising and highly entertaining. She's distinguished by an approach to art that is, both, iconoclastic and populist ~ remarkably bridging the "high-low fork in the road" of pop culture.

Allison Crowe has shared a stage with popular jazzer, and fellow Nanaimo-ite, Diana Krall and had her version of a Beatles song placed on a tribute album alongside tracks by punk/DIY legends Sylvain Sylvain (of the New York Dolls) and the late Dee Dee Ramone. A pair of one-hour concert television specials, "Inside Pandora's Box: Allison Crowe" and "Allison Crowe: Tidings", have been broadcast across Canada.

"Beautifully moody or riotously rocking, Allison Crowe creates piano-based music of transcendent quality," is how she was billed as a featured guest artist on the website of recording artist Jewel. "This is no casual background music... be prepared to be amazed," said a recent review. " Thrilling, stunning, spine-tingling, and breath-taking are all words used by critics who've found this "force of nature", this "fiery-haired bundle of contradictions", impossible to pigeonhole. As one journalist has said of Crowe: "Make your own comparisons, then forget them."

"Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make,” she says.

To that end, in late 2003 Allison Crowe launched her own label, Rubenesque Records Ltd., with the release of “Lisa’s Song + 6 Songs” ~ a collection of songs recorded live-off-the-floor over the preceding couple of years. This initial EP garnered positive press and continues to reward listeners.

"Secrets", the singer-songwriter's debut full-length album, (recorded by herself, at home), was released to wide-spread critical and public acclaim in Summer 2004. Collected Sounds named Secrets one of the "Top CDs of 2004", saying: "Allison Crowe is an amazing talent and the music world would be doing itself a huge favor if it paid her the attention she deserves. Get her CDs now, and you can say you knew her 'when'."

"Tidings", a collection of songs for the season of reflection, joy and peace was Rubenesque's next, Winter, release. This album was one of the best-reviewed holiday albums of 2004/05, and received raves in print coast-to-coast from critics who labelled Tidings "sublime", "marvelously thoughtful", "truly transcendent", "a triumph", and "the Yuletide find of the year." Summing up the collective response was this reviewer's declaration: "Following so closely after Secrets, released on Crowe's own label a few months ago, Tidings confirms the arrival of a recording artist who has what it takes to climb to the highest echelons of Canadian, if not international, pop music."

In mid-2005, Allison Crowe released, to further acclaim, a double-album, "Live at Wood Hall". The year wrapped with a special, fan-club-only, DVD of Tidings performances. During 2005/6, she toured Canada continually, visited select U.S. cities for shows, and crossed the Atlantic twice for UK and European concert dates. Her "Rock'n'Rail Revue" was sponsored by VIA Rail and this transcontinental tour rolled from sea to sea across Canada in Spring 2006.

Now, Allison Crowe has released This Little Bird ~ a 12-song collection, recorded from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, Canada.

All of Allison's music is available here @ CD Baby.

rock - gospel, jazz - grunge, classical - blues, folk - soul; a voice that unites genres and generations

*****

Here's what reviewers say about Allison Crowe's "6 Songs+" EP:

Allison Crowe - 6 Songs.

Katrina Sark, The Martlet

October 10, 2001

Strong voice. A skillful hand running over the piano keys. Jazzy bass. Drum beat that makes your body want to move. 6 Songs is a glimpse of a rosy dawn over the ocean when driving along Dallas Road (one of scenic Victoria, B.C's most beautiful areas). It is the turquoise water mingling the pebbles. It is also the dark blue water clear by midnight. This is the image you get at first sight. At second glance you see two worlds - the dreamy world of oceans, skies, hope and fantasy - and the other world, resembling reality, filled with thoughts, feelings, expectations, even anger.

Somewhere a broken heart, sometime a star falling, somehow finding a path. It's a glimpse worth taking if you are one of those people who get moved by sunsets, the sound of the waves, and ocean breeze. So plunge in. Allison Crowe is performing in Victoria on October 13 at the Victoria Conservatory of Music (907 Pandora Avenue) at 8 p.m. (Drive along Dallas just before the show and take a glimpse - you will see what I mean.)

~~~

Nanaimo's Allison Crowe Releases A CD

Terry Denomme, The Harbour City Star

Saturday, October 27, 2001

Many comparisons will be made concerning Nanaimo's Allison Crowe. Some will say her voice has a dreamy quality reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan or Beth Orton. When she really wails you might be tempted to think about Janis Joplin. Make your own comparisons, then forget them.

There is a reason why this diminutive singer/songwriter with the big, big voice sold out her show Friday night at the Bailey Theatre and will be performing again tonight. She can flat out sing, as her first disc, 6 Songs, will attest. She also plays piano, wrote and composed all the songs and designed the cover art. She opens the disc with the soulful Fade Away and ends with the jumping Philosophy. Not long ago you could see her play for free at The Queens. Those days are over. A passionate, polished disc.

~~~

Voice could take Allison Crowe to the next level

Duncan Clark, Associate Editor, Kamloops Daily News

July 2002

Allison Crowe, if she were signed to a major label, would fit in well with a music trend of the moment - she's young, has a great voice and writes her own songs.

Crowe, like it girls Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton, writes about love heartbreak, and her songs give her every opportunity to show off that soulful voice.

But B.C. artist Crowe, who performed recently in Kamloops, is not signed to a major label, and admirably goes it alone on her independently released EP 6 Songs.

Crowe is more Carlton than Lavigne on 6 Songs, but the B.C. artist really sounds like a cross between Fiona Apple and Jewel.

6 Songs rarely goes up-tempo, so this is definitely a CD for a certain melancholy, low-key, mood. This is a fault - Crowe's voice, with plenty of range, rarely gets a chance to sound like it's having fun like it should.

Still, Crowe shows plenty of promise. Her piano compositions fit perfectly with her melodies and singing, and her backup performers provide great accompaniment - they know they're not the stars, Crowe is.

It can be a long way from B.C. to the big time, but if Crowe wants to get there, one gets a feeling the concept is anything but out of the question.

~~~

Tidings, 6 Songs+

Derrick Marr, Great White Noise (Canada)

Monday, February 9, 2004

6 Songs + is as good an introduction to an artist as you are ever going to get. Allison Crowe (vocals/piano), together with Dave Baird (electric and acoustic bass) and Kevin Clevette (drums and percussions) have recorded a CD rich with lyrical content in which Allison has managed to merge writing skills with vocals that cover every note on the scale, and probably some that aren't. Musically, the trio is as tight as any I have heard, each rendering a flawless performance.

There will be the obvious comparisons to the songs styles of Sarah McLachlan, and, in truth, there are similarities, but that in no way should be taken as meaning there is any intentional formula following.

It is simply the case of two women with beautiful voices sharing a passion for a somewhat laid back, jazz based style of pop rock.

Born in Nanaimo B.C., also coincidently the hometown of Diana Krall, Allison was exposed to music from a very young age. She quickly developed a love of jazz music and by the age of 15 found herself playing to audiences up and down Vancouver Island.

Tidings is a similar listening experience, this time wrapped pleasantly in the guise of a Christmas CD. The songs selected and recorded for this disc, however, ensure that it is far more than simply something listened to once or twice a year. Combining traditional Christmas classics such as Silent Night and O Holy Night, with lesser known or thought of works such as Hallellujah, In The Bleak Midwinter and Shine A Light, and even a version of the non-Christmas, yet inspirational Sarah McLachlan hit Angel, Allison has released a CD that is a pleasure to listen to both during the Yule season and any other time of the year.

True "vocalists" are seldom stumbled across in this age of nu-metal, hip-hop, rap, or any of the other multitude of genre fragments. Sometimes it seems like the art of writing a good song is lost. In the rush to get the next all-elusive hit, many talents have fallen by the wayside and have perhaps forgotten what started them on this path in the first place. To date it seems like Allison has held true to her origins. Only time will tell if this remains the case, but personally I'm thinking there are going to be many, many more insightful and beautiful songs emerging from within the young lady from Nanaimo.

Average Customer Review: 3