Album Review: Moot Davis – Already Moved On

Brody Vercher | September 20th, 2007 Email Share

Moot Davis - Already Moved On Moot Davis’ self-titled debut created a stir among critics in 2004. Three years later, Already Moved On is the follow-up to that debut and should help anchor his name in the minds of critics and country music aficionados alike.

He comes out of the chutes with all cylinders firing on the driving “Toggle Switch Down”, about the fast, hard living life of a truck driver, before slowing down a little for “Talkin’ ‘Bout Lonely”. If you listen closely you might hear a Hankesque inflection or two in his voice.

One needs only to peruse the subject matter to know that Moot Davis is following in the footsteps of his honky-tonk forefathers. We have a song about a love, loneliness, broken hearts, raising hell, and mama. Those last two are courtesy of the only cover on the album–Johnny Paycheck’s “I’m the Only Hell (My Mama Ever Raised)”. That leaves ten originals with Davis and Anderson sharing writing credits on the majority of the songs. After three years one might expect more material, but that’s a mute detail considering the quality of what is present.

The best music has instrumentation that is aware of its lyrical content, it adapts from song to song to punctuate the subject matter, and that’s exactly what Pete Anderson has achieved with Already Moved On. Whether it’s the break-neck pace of the bass-heavy “Toggle Switch” or the piano-rich “Used To be You” each song has a distinct feeling without wandering too far from the overall feel of the album. It’s as much a celebration of the musical instruments as it is the song writing and vocal delivery.

I still stand by the assertion I made in a previous post, “Moot Davis sings authentic, unadulterated country music with two feet firmly planted in the lineage of honky-tonk legends past. Papa Hank would be proud.” Do yourself a favor and add this one to your collection.

4 Stars

Favorite tracks: “The Man, the Myth”, “Already Moved On”, “Used to Be You”
MySpace: Moot Davis

Leave a Comment


Sponsor

New American Voices Video

Tagged In This Article

//

Current Discussion

  • Rick: Speaking of polite company, King Rat Obama and his fellow democrat vermin in the U.S. House of Representatives (and one ...
  • Steve M.: I don't mind songs with political overtones-after all, Woody Guthrie wrote most of his tunes with a solid political bent, ...
  • Vance: Only a superfan of Carrie would think I'm bitter as her fanbase is unable to take hearing any criticism about ...
  • Dan E.: Vance: You seem a little bitter.
  • Dan E.: Kurt: I bet you'd be surprised at how many people are both fans of Carrie and Taylor. Only a small ...
  • Vance: The lyrics are actually, “boy meets girl, girl leaves boy” Also, I’m loving her fresh music. It's not fresh music, it's cookie ...
  • kurt: I personally don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with a country artist working with someone like Martin or Dioguardi if ...
  • kurt: Thank you! Thank you! Carrie fans seem to think that “remixing” is the only way to make a country song ...
  • Leeann Ward: Michael, That's ridiculous on more than one level.
  • sam (sam): Why should we say, "You either like it or you don't. Just leave it at that?" I don't want to ...

Recently Reviewed Albums

  • carrie-icon
  • Sam Bush - Circles Around Me
  • Dolly Parton - Dolly
  • Drew Kennedy - An Audio Guide to Cross Country Travel
  • Toby Keith - American Ride
  • svicon
  • closer-to-the-bone
  • revolution