this girl is on fire

Thanks to a bit of geo blocking, those of us based in the USA were denied access to the video for "When I Was Your Girl" for nearly a week! Outrageous! Thankfully, we waiting patiently for it. Panic was held at bay.

Of course, the single is the first to be lifted from Alison Moyet's eighth solo longplayer, "The Minutes", even though a previous track, "Changeling", was leaked a couple of weeks ago as a little taster of things to come. Comparing the two tracks, it's easy to believe the album will features a wide variety of sounds.



Alison looks absolutely stunning. Such a gorgeous woman with a stunning voice. To these ears, the feeling, fire, emotion and passion of the song is reminiscent of her Jules Shear cover, "Whispering Your Name".

"The Minutes, which hits the "shops" on May 6, had its knobs twiddled by electronic master, Guy Sigsworth. This bodes well for the album as it puts Alison squarely back in the shoes she wore when she was one half of Yazoo in the early 80s, while still maintaining the singer/songwriter sound she started developing with "Hoodoo" and carried on through "Essex" and "Hometime". This is not a retro retread!

The following are the eleven songs that make up the entirety of "The Minutes".

1. Horizon Flame
2. Changeling
3. When I Was Your Girl
4. Apple Kisses
5. Right As Rain
6. Remind Yourself
7. Love Reign Supreme
8. A Place To Stay
9. Filigree
10. All Signs Of Life
11. Rung By The Tide

Hard to believe next year will mark the 30th anniversary of her solo elpee, "Alf".

get set with the jet set

There are few things more gruelling than the flight from NYC to LA. The long security lines. The surly flight attendants. The tiny seats which make you feel like herded cattle.

However, five hours of timezone hydroplaning allows me the opportunity to catch up on some new(ish) music. There was no better way to spend part of my journey than listening to "Reconnected Live", the audio documentation of Alison Moyet's return to the concert stage as one half of Yazoo. Together with Vince Clark, she circumnavigated the globe bringing joy to those of us that thought any pairing was only ever going to be the stuff of dreams.

The collection even includes an unreleased track from 1983. "Get Set" is the holy grail of Yazoo rarities and it finally sees the light of day. This previously elusive track is a typically bouncy, electro retro number which fits in perfectly with the entirety of Yazoo's recorded output. It was originally recorded as the theme for the UK television show "Get Ready For Summer".

Unfortunately, it's only featured as a bonus track on the iTunes download configuration of the album. Not sure why labels insist on doing this. Surely, their fanbase would prefer its inclusion on the CD.

Alison Moyet has been keeping quite busy lately. This week, she made a guest appearance at The Buggles' show in London. It was their first ever live performance, and they played their debut longplayer, "The Age Of Plastic", from top to tail. Of course, with Trevor Horn's pedigree, they played a few other Horn related nuggets.

Alison, looking slim and sexy, sang a couple of tunes including Yazoo's "Only You" backed by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and their impressive group of musicians. Highlight of the evening had to be Alison stepping in for Grace Jones on "Slave To The Rhythm". No easy task considering Grace's formidable presence, but Alison's powerful pipes certainly compliment the immense production of the song.

This isn't the best visual representation of her take on "Slave To The Rhythm", but it's the only clip of it uploaded to YouTube, so far. I don't think it's possible she could sound more amazing.



As if that wasn't enough, the remastered reissues of Alison's first four solo albums should hit the "shops" shortly. Haven't heard a peep about them since they were announced earlier this year. It would be in Sony's best interest to get them out while her profile is high.

Lastly, Alison is working on a new album with Guy Sigsworth at the helm. Amazeballs in the making!