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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Mca Nashville
Salesrank: 86076
Released: September 26, 2000 |
| Our Price: $4.95 |
| Used Price: $1.22 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Hardest Part Track Listing:
1. Hardest Part
2. Day You Said Goodbye
3. It's Time I Tried
4. Best That I Can Do
5. Think It Over
6. Bring Me All Your Lovin'
7. Is It Worth It
8. Send Me Down an Angel
9. No Next Time
10. Feeling That Feeling Again
Editorial Review:
Allison Moorer's talent is so obvious, the strength of her conviction so apparent, that you wind up doubting if she's really as good as she sounds. Strangely enough, Moorer's older sister Shelby Lynne moved away from Nashville and emerged with one of the surprise hits of 2000, the Southern soul-drenched I Am Shelby Lynne. Moorer, on the other hand, stayed in Nashville, took control of the artistic reins, and emerged with a sophomore effort on a major country label that is in many ways similar to and nearly as varied as her sister's breakthrough. "It's Time I Tried," for one, is deep Muscle Shoals soul while "Think It Over" could be a Pretenders song. The buried finale is a haunting Southern gothic ballad. Mix in a few bluegrass inflections here, some countrypolitan there, and infuse it all with classic honky-tonk misery, and it's clear that Moorer will not be tied down to any genre designation, Nashville or not. Her sumptuous voice not only packs a punch, but it can also bob and weave to great effect as she sings about love's many entanglements. Consider that she not only coproduced the album but also cowrote each tune, and any doubts about her talents begin to vanish. --Marc Greilsamer
The Hardest Part Reviews:
More Music from Moorer 
2007-07-19 - The Hardest Part is an excellent sophmore album from Alison Moorer. She is a very talented musician [singer and writer] and it's just weird she never made it bigger with the quality of this album and her first, Alabama Song. Alison remains in the country genre on this album. Her later albums migrated to different sounds, but this one definitely belonged on country charts, if radio had given it more respect. Alison has a great voice with a wonderful Southern accent and they're on display to good effect here. The songs contain numerous excellent guitar parts. Great songs:
Hardest Part
Think it Over
Bring Me All YOur Loving
No Next Time - very good slower tune
There is a very powerful and haunting autobiographical "hidden track" at the end. Great album.
Didn't Take Long To Grow On Me
2006-04-11 - Wow. I think this may be my favorite cd right now. My husband and I are trying to fill in the holes in our cd collection, and while he's collecting late 70s/early 80s rock mostly, I'm leaning more towards light rock/pop and country. This is one of the cds I recently purchased. I had Allison's first album, Alabama Song, once upon a time, but ended up getting rid of it when I was going through my "only keeping my favorites" phase. I remember not being a big fan of it, only liking a couple of songs. But I thought I'd go ahead and give her another try. I really really REALLY like this one! Now I'm going to have to get the rest of her albums. If you are not familiar with Allison, she has a very low, sexy twangy voice. If you're not a big fan of country music, this may come off as harsh or even kind of odd at first. But please do not dismiss it right away. I tend to lean a bit more toward contemporary pop-country. So this isn't what I would normally listen to. But in a way, that makes me like it even more. Her songs are very traditional, old country sounding with a bit of swoon to them, if that makes sense. After the first listen, I thought some of the songs were decent and figured it would take a few more listens to grow on me. But about halfway through the second listen I was hooked. The one song I did know already was "Bring Me All Your Lovin'" because of the Trisha Yearwood version (whom I'm a HUGE fan of). And believe it or not, I'd have to say I like Allison's version better. The title track is a favorite too.
Brilliant album of heartbreaking songs
2005-07-05 - Allison and her sister Shelby Lynne have suffered plenty of sadness and heartache in their lives and it shows in their music. On this album, Allison's second, many of the songs are sad but Allison's emotional performances make for a brilliant album very much in the Tammy Wynette tradition, albeit with a nineties feel to the music.
Allison co-wrote all the songs with Doyle Primm (her husband) although a second co-writer, Kenny Greenberg, helped Allison and Doyle write Bring me all your loving. They had allowed Trisha Yearwood to record that song for her album, Where your road leads, two years before this album was released. Allison, Doyle and Kenny co-produced this album. The music is rooted in country although it has a bluesy edge. Most traditional country fans should appreciate this album as it has more of a country feel than much of the music emanating from Nashville around the same time. There is a steel guitar on all but two of the tracks and one of those two (the title track) features banjo, fiddle and mandolin.
The title track opens the album and it is a classic in which Allison challenges old sayings. I remember as a child being told that sticks and stones could hurt my bones but names could never hurt me. I never believed the second part of this saying even as a child. Allison clearly doesn't believe it either, nor does she believe some other sayings \(absence makes the heart grow fonder, out of sight is out of mind). On one level, this is quite an amusing song but really it is a sad song that sets the mood of the album.
Most of the songs find Allison remembering (and missing former partners, or trying to keep a relationship together even when it seems doomed - it seems that she can't live with him but she can't live without him.
The final song, Feeling that feeling again, is perhaps the saddest of all, its impact heightened by the use of a steel guitar. It is about a woman who finally leaves an unfaithful man reluctantly, but goes back to him when they meet again because she missed him so much. This song fades out and, after a brief silence, another (unlisted) song starts, which is even sadder. It is about a man who kills his former partner then kills himself. I would have preferred it to be a separate track, which would have been less confusing and would allow for CD track programming. The booklet contains lyrics for all ten main songs but omits the extra song that makes up the second half of track ten.
If you are looking for music to cheer you up, this isn't it, but if you are looking for quality songs performed by a woman who sings from the heart, this might appeal to you. Don't get too depressed - I hope and believe the experiences that Allison sings about are all behind her and that she is much happier now.
Excellent, haunting...
2004-04-28 - One of the best albums I've ever heard. Why she's not as huge as, say, Toby Keith (ugh!) epitomizes everything that is wrong with the music industry. A voice to die for...a sort of concept album that follows a relationship of a couple to it's demise, which other reviewers have noted may have been inspired by the split between her own parents. Regardless, country/pop crossover at it's best.
First rate
2004-03-24 - This is a really great follow up to Allison Moorer's debut album ALABAMA SONG. THE HARDEST PART, her sophomore CD, was released two years after her debut in September 2000. It builds on the sound presented on her first, and the songs are nothing short of great. My favorite track, though not her own, is her emotional reading of the Rolling Stones' "Bring Me All Your Lovin". She makes this song into her own. "No Next Time" is another favorite, the lyrics are excellent, a great breakup song. The title track is a nice midtempo country number. "Send Down An Angel" is very sad but touching at the same time. Other highlights include "It's Time That I Tried", "Day You Said Goodbye", "Is It Worth It" and "Feeling That Feeling Again". Overall, to me this is her best album. You can't go wrong with any of them but this is an artistic acheivement, and one of her best albums yet.
