Despite the release of her first live album, “Show,” country singer/songwriter Allison Moorer tells Billboard.com her recent parting with Universal South has clouded what should normally be an exciting time for an artist.
“[The live disc] was originally the record company’s idea, and it seemed like a good idea to me at the time, so I said, ‘Okay, I would do it,'” says Moorer. “I’m very happy with the way it turned out, I just wish that things with the record company had turned out differently. But I’m very proud of the record. I think it turned out very well.”
The material for the 16-track “Show” was culled from two separate gigs recorded on the same night in January at Nashville’s 12th & Porter. While the setlist included her more popular material, such as “Send Me Down an Angel,” “Alabama Song” and “Going Down” (her sister, Shelby Lynne, sings backup), as well as a cover of Neil Young’s “Don’t Cry No Tears,” one track, “Picture,” was conspicuously missing.
What first appeared to be good fortune quickly became an albatross for Moorer, who was asked by Kid Rock to re-record Sheryl Crow’s vocals on their duet “Picture,” which appears on his 2001 Lava/Atlantic disc, “Cocky.” Apparently, Crow didn’t want to release the song as a single, but Rock did. After Rock and Moorer debuted the track at Farm Aid 2002 and Moorer’s version of the single was sent to radio shortly thereafter, Crow had a change of heart, leaving the country singer on the outside looking in.
“What is radio going to play?” questions Moorer. “Radio is going to play a star, not me. No hard feelings, but it was a little bit [screwed] up. Yeah, it wasn’t very pleasant.” Nonetheless, the commercial release of Moorer’s version with Rock reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles Sales chart.
For now, Moorer continues to write new material with her husband, Butch Primm, and says there is the possibility of an acoustic tour taking shape this fall but nothing is confirmed. She’s searching for the right label to release her next studio album, which she hopes to have out in 2004.
“I’m certainly not in any position to say anything about that right now but some things are in the works,” says Moorer. “We’ll see what happens. I never count my chickens.”
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