Allison Moorer has a lot to be happy about these days.
If you go
Allison Moorer supporting Jay Farrar of Son Volt
Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Info: $25; ticketmaster.com
Her recent successes include critical and popular acclaim for herself and her husband — musician Steve Earle — two new albums, a tour, and a role in “The People Speak,” a documentary about those who worked for social change. But perhaps nothing makes her happier than her new son John Henry Earle who was born in April. “If he decides to start crying, he might not sound so cute,” said Moorer, whose son cooed into the telephone as his mother spoke. “He’s OK right now.”
The Earle family is now out on the road as Moorer tours behind her critically acclaimed album “Crows.” An acoustic version of six songs on the album — “Crows Acoustic” EP — was released May 25.
“It is my favorite record I ever made,” Moorer said of “Crows,” which was released in February. “I am really pleased that people like it.”
Of course Moorer is known for always seeking to musically satisfy herself before she releases songs. Perfecting the songs on “Crows” to her satisfaction was perhaps the most challenging part of the entire process. Writing these songs was a bit of a challenge Moorer set for herself, composing many on the piano.
“It was a different tone for me,” she said. “It was just where I was artistically at that time. I have always gone with that, now more than ever.”
The result is a 13-track album full of songs that are emotionally raw. Moorer’s soaring vocals on both the ballads and more up-tempo, gritty tunes clearly are some of her best work.
The album was something of a natural output for Moorer who in 2008 released “Mockingbird,” that covered songs by a host of female songwriters from June Carter Cash to her sister, Shelby Lynne. Think of the songs as akin to a music 101 course, and you have an idea why Moorer recorded it.
“That is why I made that record,” Moorer said of “Mockingbird.” “It was a way to send myself back to school in a way. No one is born knowing how to write songs.”
Yet, it’s fascinating to discover. That’s one reasons she released the “Crows Acoustic” EP. Not only does it give listeners a chance to hear purer versions of the songs, but it gives them some insight into how she more fully developed the tunes.
“I always like to give people an opportunity to hear a song in the form it was born in. And sometimes with a twist,” she said. “That’s what this recording is about.”
