Studio B: Unreleased Recordings ~ radio/tv broadcasts, rare sessions, live bootlegs+ 

(*Releases on CD are in Studio A; enjoy also Rock videos and Tidings videos along with Web 2.0 Vids #1 + Web 2.0 Vids #2 + Web 2.0 Vids #3; Sheet Music ; + ALL songs are in the ABC List)

Throw Your Arms Around Me

Love, indeed, makes the world go 'round. In celebration, Allison Crowe recorded this tune, by Antipodean band Hunters and Collectors, as a wedding song for Marsha & Sam who united in holy matrimony. The song's special release ~ on May 8, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. EST ~  coincided with the commencement of their wedding ceremony in Ottawa, our Canuck nation's capital ( :  

"All things pass away; love and music last forever"

TYAAM is one of the most-loved popular songs of all time "Down Under" - composed by John Archer, Geoffrey Crosby, Douglas Falconer, John Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour, and Michael Waters. Allison's performed it solo, and, most recently, recorded it with bandmates for her newest album/CD, Spiral. (This marks a transition from unreleased to released, though we'll keep the notes here in tribute to Marsha, Sam + Hunters & Collectors.)

Throw Your Arms Around Me lyrics as performed by Allison Crowe 

Imagine 

In January 2004, in concert, Allison Crowe led the assembled musicians in a group-closer ~ John Lennon's song, "Imagine". In April 2004, she headined a concert to cap Earth Week activities in Victoria, the capital city of her home province of British Columbia, Canada. The "Goolden Gala" (in a gorgeous, old, converted 800-seat church) was to "Celebrate Peace Earth and Justice". Also to that end, Allison made this recording. (Another live version of Imagine was later to be released on her "Live at Wood Hall" double-album.)

Imagine lyrics as performed by Allison Crowe 

The UNESCO-endorsed New Songs for Peace project gathers together "songs which promote peace, cultural acceptance and understanding for those who work towards peace throughout the world". It is a growing initiative endorsed by organizations including the Centre for Political Song and the Woody Guthrie Archives, and such individual advocates as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and artists Pete Seeger, Philip Glass, and Abbey Lincoln.

Allison Crowe is represented in the NSFP project by a pair of live-off-the-floor recordings. Her original song for peace, "Whether I'm Wrong", was recorded live in CBC Radio Studio 2 in Vancouver in Fall 2003. 

And, her interpretation of, Sarah McLachlan-penned, "Angel", was recorded live at Turtle Studios in White Rock, B.C. one winter's evening (in December 2003).

NXNW Session on CBC Radio

On September 10, 2003, Allison made a visit to CBC Studio 2 in Vancouver, B.C. for a performance/interview session with Sheryl MacKay, Host of CBC Radio's North by Northwest program. (The CBC is Canada's national public broadcaster - akin to the BBC in the U.K. and NPR in the U.S. It's a wonderful, uniting, presence in Canada. Bless the CBC!) Gary Heald engineered the pair of songs recorded live-off-the floor: a stately, slower, version of  Whether I'm Wrong, one of Allison's newest songs, which has become part of the UNESCO-endorsed New Songs for Peace project; and Montreal, a song inspired by Allison's visit to that Canadian city on her national Crying in a Rainstorm Tour.

Track	Title	Length	Music/Lyrics
1	Whether I'm Wrong (A. Crowe ~ Sambuca Music) Whether I'm Wrong - live video	4:45
2	Montreal (A. Crowe ~ Sambuca Music)	5:14

 

Covering the song-front: There is no physical album or CD that includes the songs gathered under the title “Crowe Covers: Live + Rare”. It’s a digital-only collection of Allison Crowe. The Canadian singer-songwriter enjoys the art of interpretation - performing songs by those who’ve inspired her through life from all over the musical spectrum.

Gathered here is a collection of rare, and, often, live, covers and recordings of rock, folk/roots, and pop captured over the years 2001 - 2009. Hear Allison Crowe on piano and guitar, singing and playing favourite tunes of Tori Amos, Leonard Cohen, Pearl Jam, Ani DiFranco, Counting Crows and other artists represented in recordings from home and stage. Plus, a rare recording of the original song "These Words".

NB here, also, is a dedicated Allison Crowe Covers Tori Amos link/page (Thanks to Sarah Wheeler who hosted the Strange Little Covers site for years, and to The Dent, a fab Tori fansite, for first posting a link to Allison's live version of "Playboy Mommy" - one of the earliest recordings made by Condor, a great fan and friend of music.)

Midnight ~ the Video

In May 2002, Allison Crowe, her band, and a dedicated cast and crew assembled by Director Alex Postowoi, created a video for the song, "Midnight". This music video marked the directorial debut of Postowoi, a veteran television and major motion picture lensman (who's shot videos for Jann Arden, Bif Naked, Joan Armatrading+). You can view the Midnight Video on the Steadiman Productions site. And, yes, the grand piano survived the rain-storm ( :

Early Sessions

By her mid-teens, Allison Crowe was performing regularly on stage up and down Vancouver Island, Canada. Band performances were often at the Queen's rock club, and solo shows were frequent at Katz lounge, two venues in her hometown of Nanaimo. In 1997, (pictured above), Allison topped 17 other vocalists and was named Island Songbird at the Vancouver Island Exhibition (VIEX). A couple of early songs from this period were recorded for a 'band album' never completed. The song "Dark Blue" is heard in a different version on the various "6 Songs" CD/EPs. "Shadows" is not available on any CD. For these sessions, Allison is accompanied by Dave Baird (bass) and Kevin Clevette (drums) along with Larry Anschell (guitar), Ed Johnson (percussion), and Darryl Havers (Hammond A1).

Here, then, is a listen to a pair of Allison's early song recordings:

Track	Title	Length	Music/Lyrics
1	Dark Blue (Allison Crowe ~ Sambuca Music)	4:50
2	Shadows (Allison Crowe ~ Sambuca Music)	2:49

Allison Crowe's music in digital + physical formats ~ click here

 

Studio A (released tracks)     ~      Studio B (rarities, boots+)

Rock videos     ~     Tidings videos 

Web 2.0 Vids #1  ~   Web 2.0 Vids #2   ~   Web 2.0 Vids #3

Sheet Music     ~     ABC List