Fortune Street: Reviews

Bob Harris, BBC Radio (UK):
“What a wonderful album...”

Sing Out!:
“With each of his five albums, this Boston-based singer-songwriter has honed his signature ability to write songs that sound joyfully homespun and irreverent while also being painstakingly poetic and intricate... There are no simple songs on Fortune Street; each grapples with hard times, deep feelings, or dramatic moments in history.”
Read full article

The Boston Globe:
“On a new album, Fortune Street, Moock sings about urban isolation, a land of plenty rotting on the vine, and love's many moods with insight, defiant idealism, and a survivor's hard humor. If Woody Guthrie grew up in 21st-century Boston, he'd sound a lot like Moock.”

Rock 'n Reel (UK): Five Stars
“If you yearn for the Americana of The Band and The Grateful Dead or believe that Time Out Of Mind is Dylan's finest album then run, do not walk to Fortune Street, the fifth album by Boston's Alastair Moock. ”

Nomashona:
“While Alastair Moock has always had a mature view of the world and a voice that swings from childlike wonder to gruff wisdom, his latest album, Fortune Street, reveals new levels of maturity. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, between his last recording and this, Moock became the father of twins (a monumental event chronicled lovingly in the closing track "Fishing Tales"), but it seems to be more a natural progression for this talented artist who is able to maintain his ties to the great Folk tradition while dealing with very contemporary issues.”

Hi-Fi:
“The country blues/Americana/folk road is one well travelled and littered with casualties. Moock may be just another troubadour plying his trade but what makes Fortune Street stand out from the pack is its authenticity. It could have been recorded at any time in the last 50 years but it sounds fresh and vibrant and right now, and that's talent.”

FolkWax:
“There's a song on Alastair Moock's new CD, Fortune Street, called "Woody's Lament," in which the famed rambler and rover talks of his family and his regrets. It's a clearly imagined, emotional without being sentimental, song, all the more effective because Moock sings in a voice that sounds a bit like a more melodic Woody Guthrie... If you like Guthrie or Mark Erelli or Jeff Talmadge or early day Bob Dylan, give Moock's work a listen.”

Maverick Country Music Magazine (UK):
“[Moock] continues to establish a name for himself as a creative force that is both relevant and edgy... While the title track has been the most popular choice in terms of UK radio exposure, the other which has picked up a lot of interest is 'God saw Fit to Make Tears,' so soulful it is one of those songs which Sam Cooke might have been proud to call his own.”

Worcester Telegram and Gazette:
“Fortune Street is Moock's fifth album and finds the Boston troubadour at the top of his game. Moock crafted and performed songs that seemingly suspend time in such a way as to make even his newest songs sound like they come from a well-weathered collection of traditional folk tunes, while likewise making the ancient folk song "Delia" sound like a story from today's newspaper. Into that sonic environment, Moock brought a variety of tales, some harrowing, others whimsical, all of them provocative...”

Iowa City Press-Citizen:
“Fortune Street's ten tracks — nine stellar originals plus a splendid rendition of the much-traveled trad song, "Delia" — underscore the artist's solid chops, agreeably creaky-yet-intimate vocal rasp, storytelling gift, and deft turns of phrase (cf. the gorgeous, Dylanesque "God Saw Fot to Make Tears"). Featuring a rock-solid band and well-crafted arrangements, the pleasures herein are powerful and plentiful, including (but hardly limited to) a worthy tribute to Guthrie ("Woody's Lament"), the muscular, infectious "Swing That Axe" and the aching eloquence of the title track... Once again for Moock, it's all killer, no filler.”

John Weingart, Music You Can't Hear On The Radio:
“Like Bill Morrissey and Chuck Brodsky, Alastair Moock stands out from the pack of singer-songwriters with a wonderful writing and singing voice that is rooted deeply in folk traditions but still uniquely his own... I particularly love "Woody's Lament" and "Cloudsplitter" both of which add information, understanding and fresh perspective to subjects I would have thought were exhausted.”

back