Not Dark Yet (album)
| Not Dark Yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 18, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | Americana, Country, Folk | |||
| Label | Thirty Tigers, Silver Cross Records | |||
| Producer | Teddy Thompson | |||
| Allison Moorer chronology | ||||
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| Shelby Lynne chronology | ||||
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Not Dark Yet is a duet album between sisters and country/Americana singer-songwriters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer. Produced by British folk artist Teddy Thompson, Not Dark Yet was released on August 18, 2017.[1] It is Moorer's ninth studio album, Lynne's fifteenth and marks the first official studio collaboration between the siblings.[2] The title track is taken from the Bob Dylan song of the same name.
Not Dark Yet features covers of songs from a variety of genres and also includes an original song written by Lynne and Moorer.[3]
On August 10, 2017, the album was available to listen to in its entirety on NPR as part of their "first listen" series.[4]
Critical reception[edit]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| Paste Magazine | 8.8[8] |
| PopMatters |   [9] |
| The Observer | [10] |
| The Irish Times | [11] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[12] |
| Spectrum Culture | [13] |
AllMusic's Thom Jurek says, "Despite singing together since they were old enough to talk, it took a lifetime for sisters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer to record together."[6]
Will Hermes reviewed the album for Rolling Stone and gave it 3½ out of a possible 5 stars. He writes, "the title track is the crown jewel, showing the river-deep musicality of a latter-day Dylan croaker when it’s parsed by immaculate, blood-kin harmony."[7]
Paste Magazine's Jon Young rates this album an 8.8 and says, "Not Dark Yet works beautifully. Featuring nine covers and one devastating original, this lovely longplayer spotlights their tangy harmonies, with Lynne’s saltier vocals and Moorer’s sweeter singing intertwining gracefully, evoking ancient traditions of family music-making."[8]
PopMatters' Richard Driver gives the album 8 out of a possible 10 and writes, "The most surprising element to this enjoyable and thoughtful album is that this is their first duet album. That the songs are covers is ultimately irrelevant to the care, arrangements, and deliberate duet Lynne and Moorer deliver, the songs finding their strength and shared focus to push ahead after loss."[9]
Commercial performance[edit]
The album debuted at No. 8 on both the Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums and Independent Albums charts,[14][15] and No. 39 on Top Country Albums,[16] with 3,700 copies sold in the first week.[17] It has sold 6,400 copies as of September 2017.[18]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original artist/s | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My List" | Brandon Flowers | The Killers | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Every Time You Leave" | C. Louvin, I. Louvin | The Louvin Brothers | 2:24 |
| 3. | "Not Dark Yet" | B. Dylan | Bob Dylan | 4:20 |
| 4. | "I'm Looking For Blue Eyes" | J. Colter | Jessi Colter | 2:58 |
| 5. | "Lungs" | T. Van Zandt | Townes Van Zandt | 2:55 |
| 6. | "The Color of a Cloudy Day" | J. Isbell, A. Shires | Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires | 4:04 |
| 7. | "Silver Wings" | M. Haggard | Merle Haggard | 2:35 |
| 8. | "Into My Arms" | Nick Cave | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | 4:48 |
| 9. | "Lithium" | Kurt Cobain | Nirvana | 5:39 |
| 10. | "Is It Too Much" | Allison Moorer, Shelby Lynne | 4:47 |
Personnel[edit]
Credits adapted from AllMusic.[19]
- Russ Allen – assistant
- Scott Campbell – engineer
- Erik Deutsch – organ, piano
- Sarah Ellison Lewis – photography
- Don Heffington – drums, percussion
- Mark Howard – mixing, special sound
- Michael Jerome – drums, percussion
- Peter Lyman – mastering
- Shelby Lynne – lead vocals, harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
- Val McCallum – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Allison Moorer – lead vocals, harmony vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
- Davey Faragher – bass guitar
- Ben Peeler – electric guitar, pedal steel guitar
- Doug Pettibone – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Taras Prodaniuk – bass
- Benmont Tench – keyboard, organ, piano, wurlitzer
- Teddy Thompson – producer, bass, drums, acoustic guitar, background vocals
Charts[edit]
|
References[edit]
- ^ "Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer to Cover Nirvana on New Album - Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. 24 May 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ "Sisters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer To Release Their First Album Together - Noise11.com". noise11.com. 24 May 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ "Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer's Not Dark Yet Arrives Aug. 18 | CMT". cmt.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
- ^ Hight, Jewly (10 August 2017). "Review: Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer, 'Not Dark Yet'". NPR.
- ^ "Not Dark Yet by Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer". Any Decent Music. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b Jurek, Thom. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b Hermes, Will (18 August 2017). "Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b Young, Jon (16 August 2017). "Review". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ a b Driver, Richard (21 August 2017). "Review". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Spencer, Neil (20 August 2017). "Review". The Observer. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Breen, Joe (15 August 2017). "Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Doole, Kerry (16 August 2017). "Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ Beaudoin, Jedd (21 August 2017). "Review". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
- ^ "Independent Albums". Billboard. September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "Americana/Folk Albums". Billboard. September 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "Country Albums". Billboard. September 9, 2017.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (August 29, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Chart: August 28, 2017". Roughstock.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt (September 19, 2017). "Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: September 18, 2017". Roughstock.
- ^ "Not Dark Yet - Shelby Lynne, Allison Moorer | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
