Luminaria

I've been a fan of Ian's since 1996. He remains one of the singular best live performers I've ever seen - to see an Ian Moore show is an experience unlike many others.And, I should say that I am also a fan of the "new" Ian Moore. Much has been said of his transition from a "guitar-slinging hero" to a more introspective singer-songwriter. I find the transition one of growth and inspiration. In fact, Ian's previous studio release "And All The Colors..." is among my most treasured recordings.I sensed that Ian was going for the complete transition on this recording. I've really tried as hard as I could to like it - I've locked myself in a room and listened to it end-to-end a few times now. I can't warm up to it. The songs are too simple, the melodies lack the unexpected twists that make many of the songs on "Colors" great, and the lyrics aren't in my opinion, up to Ian's standard.I can definitely see what he is going for here, and based on the other reviews I can tell I'm in the minority among Ian Moore appreciaters, but I simply don't like this disc.

I've got all IAN MOORE releases and loved everything he has done until this offering. MODERNDAY FOLKLORE and ALL THE COLORS were excellent and intelligent changes in direction, while still maintaining the obvious skills and energy from his BLUES persona. This is like EMO dross.....LEONARD COHEN without the humor. There is not even a tiny bit of energy to be found anywhere on this disc. If IAN still plays the guitar, it sure is not obvious to this listener. Not sure which drug you'd need to take to make this dirge sound good. Crying shame for one so obviously talented as IAN MOORE. I am also still listening to find the INTELLIGENT bit that some reviewers are referring to. PRETENTIOUS - YES - WANKING - YES - FLACID - YES - INTELLIGENT - NO !!!

I was recently introduced to Ian Moore's music and I fell in love with it! I was so excited to find this on Amazon and even more excited when I received it! Anyone who likes folksy blues will LOVE this CD. I am always impressed at the fast way my items are delivered and how friendly the Amazon personnel are and the emails between customer and seller. I will always remain a customer of Amazon and once again, IMPRESSED with Ian Moore...but this CD people! You will love it!

Love, love, love this project.......too many great songs to list. Its one of those albums that will immediately warm your heart and youll take pause at its sincere composition. Ian floats effortlessly in and out of falsetto. He is a special artist worthy of your attention.

Great condition, great price.

I have all of his CD's, and this one is my favorite.

Great

Those who already know Moore may only know him from his previous incarnation as a guitar-slinging Texan. Those who haven't heard his earlier work will have a hard time connecting his earlier blues-rock background to his current folk-rock inflected alt.country sound. His latest betrays few hints of his past, filling out this disc (his sixth) with superb pop melodies and adventurous arrangements that layer harmony and echo on meters that effortlessly flow from pop 4/4 to dreamy waltz-time interludes.Touch-points like Jeff Buckley's introspective folk and Wilco's pop constructs are fleshed out by loping tempos, as well as pedal steel that is more atmosphere than twang. The 7+ minute "Caroline" is a lush Badfinger-like construct that alternates between concise melodic pop and trippy psychedelia. Having recorded this album over many months with a revolving set of musicians in several cities and along the road, the songs explore a wide range of styles, including the shuffling country soul of "April," the jazzy blues of "Abilene," and the otherworldly Theramin-inspired "Ordinary People." It's a heady collection of sophisticated sounds that mixes primary elements with shadings of trip-hop.When Moore cranks up the rock 'n' roll electricity, as he does for "New Day," it's more a wall-of-buzz (with Penny Lane-ish trumpets) than Texas blues. Even the rootsy dobro rant "Bastard" sounds as though it were processed through a bit of Tom Waits' alley-way sensibility. Moore's lyrics are similarly sophisticated, mixing allegory with word play for poetic effect, but without destroying the narratives or characters. His sketch of Antarctic explorer Sir Robert Scott's dramatically portrays the mariner's failed attempt to reach the South Pole before anyone else (he was beaten by Norwegian Roald Amundsen), and his death on the return journey.Perhaps the album's greatest achievement is how effortlessly it combines its breadth of style and depth of experimentation. Rather than sounding constructed, it sounds like an organic whole that tumbled out of Moore's imagination. There's a great deal of craft in the unusual, detailed arrangements, but like the lyrics, singing and playing, it's in service of fashioning a superbly coherent result from often disparate ingredients.

Ich muss gestehen, dass ich diese Art der Musik von ihm nicht kannte; es geht auf seinen anderen Alben doch trotz vielen balladesken Passagen deutlich rockiger zu. Ich möchte aber auch anführen, dass mir das hier sehr gut gefällt. Das oben angesprochene Songwriting und die Gabe Ian' s seine Komposition so eindrucksvoll an den Hörer zu bringen, überzeugen auf der ganzen Linie. Klar geworden ist mir auch, dass ich alle mir fehlenden Alben nachbestellen werde