Alison Moyet - Key

[VoR]

I'm a little bit wary of old Alf these days, she's never quite committed to the dark side, but on Twitter she always seems like she's one glass of wine too many away from outing herself as a full TERF.

Nevertheless, her last couple of solo albums were very good indeed. This new one is actually a retrospective, re-recording a rather random selection of tracks from across her solo career, plus two new songs, the first of which came out last week. It's not particularly thrilling me on first impression, but nice enough.

Alison Moyet is set to release her eagerly-awaited, tenth solo studio album, Key, on 4 October 2024.

Marking Alison’s 40-year anniversary as a solo artist, Key is an 18-track collection, showcasing the breadth and depth of her artistic creativity and song writing over these four decades to the present and beyond.

With producer Sean McGhee, she has reworked 16 tracks from across her solo career – including singles, fan favourites and some deep cuts. “I wanted to take the opportunity to look at the trajectory of the past four decades” Alison explains, “and explore songs that, in their original form, were never fully realised or have had their relevance to me altered by time.”

No mere retrospective, Alison has penned two brand-new tracks for Key, including the epic Such Small Ale which is released today, embracing her continuing journey as a songwriter.

Album Tracklist:

1. Where Hides Sleep
2. All Cried Out
3. Such Small Ale
4. All Signs of Life
5. Can’t Say It Like I Mean It
6. Fire
7. Filigree
8. The Impervious Me
9. More
10. Is This Love?
11. Tongue Tied
12. My Right Arm
13. So Am I
14. My Best Day
15. World Without End
16. This House
17. Love Resurrection
18. You Don’t Have To Go

There's also a tour.

2025 UK and IRELAND
16 Feb – Dublin, 3Olympia
17 Feb – Belfast, Waterfront Hall
20 Feb – York, Barbican
21 Feb – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
22 Feb – Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
24 Feb – Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
25 Feb – Stoke-on-Trent, Victoria Hall
27 Feb – Birmingham, Symphony Hall
28 Feb – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
1 Mar – Ipswich, Regent Theatre
3 Mar – Sheffield, City Hall
4 Mar – Stockton, Globe
6 Mar – Gateshead, The Glasshouse
7 Mar – Buxton, Opera House
8 Mar – Reading, Hexagon
10 Mar – Brighton, Dome
11 Mar – London, Palladium
13 Mar – Bournemouth, Pavilion Theatre
14 Mar – Swansea, Arena
15 Mar – Bath, Forum
17 Mar – Southend, Cliffs Pavilion
18 Mar – Aylesbury, Waterside Theatre
20 Mar – Edinburgh, Usher Hall
21 Mar – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
22 Mar – Aberdeen, Music Hall

2025 EUROPE
31 Mar – Oslo, Norway: Sentrum Scene
1 Apr – Stockholm, Sweden: Göta Lejon
3 Apr – Hamburg, Germany: Grosse Freiheit 36
5 Apr – Antwerp, Belgium: De Roma
7 Apr – Amsterdam, Netherlands: Paradiso
8 Apr – Groningen, Netherlands: De Oosterpoort
9 Apr – Eindhoven, Netherlands: Muziekgebouw Frits Philips
11 Apr – Cologne, Germany: Carlswerk Victoria
13 Apr – Frankfurt Germany: Batschkapp
14 Apr – Berlin, Germany: Huxleys Neue Welt
15 Apr – Copenhagen, Denmark: DR Koncerthuset

 

[lolly]

I got tickets for Bath this morning.

I'm not massively grabbed by Such Small Ale, either. I do like the Key version of All Cried Out she has released, though.



Not massively different to the original. I wouldn't be hugely surprised if quite a few tracks have a more marked reworking, though.

 

[lolly]

'The Minutes' and 'Other' are both great albums, two of my most played of the 2010s. I think that's in no small part due to the cowriting and production by Guy Sigsworth, so I wonder if that's what is missing from Such Small Ale. That 'prog pop' or however she described it sound isn't there this time around.

Sean McGhee has worked with her extensively on tour and as her mixer or producer, I think. And I do find her hugely compelling as a live performer.

 

[funky]

I would go to the Liverpool date but ONLY IF SHE PERFORMED INVISIBLE

Which she won't so I won't.

 

[lolly]

There's also this podcast which started last week, a 40 part podcast series, episodes dropping twice weekly, so I assume will finish around album release time.



The first three episodes vary between about 10 and 20 minutes. Nothing revelatory so far, but I do enjoy listening her talk about her career. She's very forthright.

 

[FetchFugly]

Such Small Ale has grown on me somewhat but it is very low-key and not the most thrilling return. I'll give the album a listen but I am not rushing to order.

 

[FetchFugly]

There's also this podcast which started last week, a 40 part podcast series, episodes dropping twice weekly, so I assume will finish around album release time.



The first three episodes vary between about 10 and 20 minutes. Nothing revelatory so far, but I do enjoy listening her talk about her career. She's very forthright.

I was just about to post asking if anyone had listened to this.

I haven't found her a particularly warm interviewee in the past but I am not surprised that she speaks frankly. I will give it a listen, the short episodes will be handy.

 

[lolly]

I was just about to post asking if anyone had listened to this.

I haven't found her a particularly warm interviewee in the past but I am not surprised that she speaks frankly. I will give it a listen, the short episodes will be handy.

She isn't particularly warm (yet), but I think that's part of her personality (and part of Vince's) which she does refer to in the first couple of episodes. The guy hosting I think he said at the start runs her website and described her as a friend, so hopefully she'll be quite open as presumably the topics are set.

I have often enjoyed her prickliness in the past, though

 

[lolly]

Radio 2 Piano Room today, where she played All Cried Out, Such Small Ale and Absolute Beginners. Such Small Ale definitely kicked up a notch or two in that setting.

BBC Radio 2 - Radio 2's Piano Room, Alison Moyet

Alison Moyet performs live at Maida Vale with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Christian]

There's also this podcast which started last week, a 40 part podcast series, episodes dropping twice weekly, so I assume will finish around album release time.

The first three episodes vary between about 10 and 20 minutes. Nothing revelatory so far, but I do enjoy listening her talk about her career. She's very forthright.

I've listened to the first 3 episodes so far and have been really enjoying it. Most of it is new to me, and her spiky take on things is fun to listen to.

I assume she's going to rip apart the entire Raindancing era which is a bit of a shame as I love it.

 

[lolly]

I've listened to the first 3 episodes so far and have been really enjoying it. Most of it is new to me, and her spiky take on things is fun to listen to.

I assume she's going to rip apart the entire Raindancing era which is a bit of a shame as I love it.

Raindancing is my favourite album of hers prior to The Minutes and Other, and yes, it almost hurts that she seems to have viewed it with disdain in the past. She certainly seems to dislike Weak In The Presence Of Beauty (I seem to recall her saying she only recorded it as she knew it would be a hit, rather than having any feeling for the song), but I hope the rest of the album is viewed more favourably. She's certainly been a lot more favourable about Is This Love? in recent years, and I do love the ballad version of it she's performed live (and that I'd be happy to see on Key), which really casts a different light on it lyrically.

 

[BoysForSeles]

Listening to the podcast now, had NO idea there was basically no personal relationship between her and Vince in Yazoo.

 

[lolly]

She's certainly been a lot more favourable about Is This Love? in recent years, and I do love the ballad version of it she's performed live (and that I'd be happy to see on Key), which really casts a different light on it lyrically.

 

[lolly]

Actually, just listening to the audio track by track for the '25 Years Revisited' compilation and she says it's largely the production of 'Raindancing' she specifically has an issue with.

I personally like the production of it rather a lot, but perhaps her unhappiness means she'll be keen to revisit it for Key, and record them in a way she's happy with. I'd love to hear new takes on 'Glorious Love' or 'Without You'.

 

[Christian]

Actually, just listening to the audio track by track for the '25 Years Revisited' compilation and she says it's largely the production of 'Raindancing' she specifically has an issue with.

I personally like the production of it rather a lot, but perhaps her unhappiness means she'll be keen to revisit it for Key, and record them in a way she's happy with. I'd love to hear new takes on 'Glorious Love' or 'Without You'.

Agreed, I think it sounds fantastic. It's a really strong set of songs in the first place, but the production really is first rate on top of that.

Hopefully that makes them ripe for reinvention, though it could go either way.

 

[FetchFugly]

There is quite a lot of post-2000 on the Key tracklisting though, and only Is This Love? from Raindancing. I think reinventions of older material would have probably been more interesting.

 

[lolly]

There is quite a lot of post-2000 on the Key tracklisting though, and only Is This Love? from Raindancing. I think reinventions of older material would have probably been more interesting.

I haven't seen the full tracklisting - is it already out there?

 

[lolly]

Oh, it's above

 

[lolly]

I love both All Signs Of Life and (particularly) Filigree, but how curious to rerecord them so soon. I wonder what she feels wasn't right about them originally, or what she wants to explore with them.

Thrilled that My Best Day is there.

 

[lolly]

Although it is too early to know a detailed setlist at this point, KEY | ALISON MOYET | LIVE will be centred around the Key album (details here) with perhaps a smattering of some Yazoo tracks.

From Alison herself: “The Piano Room was a dream, but heads up. I work with a small, electronica-based line-up. I do a good few hits but not all of them. No dancers. One outfit. Maybe a hair band. Swears sometimes x“

 

[FetchFugly]

The will she, won't she hair band drama.

 

[BoysForSeles]

I remember when she toured ‘Hometime’ loads of people in our section walked out halfway through grumbling she wasn’t playing any hits. She did quite a few later on but she’s always been transparent that she’s a working artist promoting her current work rather than doing some retro show. Chrissie Hynde has the same approach.

 

[lolly]

Not bad for first day on general sale.

 

[lolly]

I'm seeing Kim Wilde the day before, so it will be quite the middle aged/old gay weekend where we bump into the same old middle aged/old gays

 

[lolly]

@funky

 

[BoysForSeles]

Went to buy tickets just now for her gig here and it was sold out already dammit, good for her I guess. I’ll still have Cyndi and Kim that month so I’ll still fill my middle aged gay quota.

 

[funky]

Very interesting. I'd always wondered whether it was because of the lyrics or whether it was because the song clearly was an American R&B song, and so I can understand her point that it doesn't tick either box of what she needs to perform a song live. However this idea that it wouldn't feel right because she needs to enjoy it on stage is a little earnest no mention that she goes on tour for the COLD HARD CASH! To be fair she doesn't seem like one of those artists who 'only plays the new album' or goes off on an experimental tangent when on stage, but she almost refused to reference the point of live gigging there...

 

[funky]

I also liked her correcting the host who said "It only reached #31 in America" - reaching #31 in America in the 80s really was so much more important than reaching it today.

 

[lolly]

To be fair she doesn't seem like one of those artists who 'only plays the new album'

But she almost is - as @BoysForSeles says above, she makes no bones about being an artist promoting her current work, and as her quote above says, 'a good few hits but not all of them'. When I saw her once (I think the tour for The Minutes), she stated something like she didn't play all her hits because she's not interested in becoming her own tribute act.

So it's all more than a little earnest, I'd say. But I do respect her for being so open about it. I also doubt that many of the people going to see her on tour now this deep into her career are new fans and don't know what they are in for.