Allison Crowe

A confident, powerful voice, infused with passion, propels the 11 tracks on this debut. Allison Crowe crows with limitless range that surprises one with its breadth from one song to the next. "Raining in Baltimore” is a spirited, yet subdued, reworking of the Counting Crows’ piano ballad, while she also tackles Leonard Cohen’s "Joan of Arc” with haunting beauty. The ivories and Crowe’s powerful voice are the driving forces behind the music here, with backing instruments taking a back seat. On "What About You,” the Uilleann pipes add another layer of sound, but still it’s only a whisper when paired with Crowe’s spellbinding piano prowess. With the soul of Janis Joplin and the tenderness of fellow Canuck Sarah McLachlan, Crowe rocks with her own unique brand of roots charm.