The Turn (Alison Moyet album)

After the release and promotion of the 2004 covers album Voice, Moyet began rehearsals to play a leading role in the stage play Smaller, alongside Dawn French. The play, written by Carmel Morgan and directed by Kathy Burke, was toured across the UK for six weeks before opening at West End's Lyric Theatre in April 2006.[5][6] In addition to her role in the play, Moyet wrote three songs for the play; "World Without End", "Home" and "Smaller".[1]

Following Smaller, Moyet began writing new material with her songwriting partner Pete Glenister before returning to the studio to record The Turn, which included the three songs penned for Smaller.[7] The album was released in October 2007 and reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart.[3] Two singles were released from the album; "One More Time" (No. 151 on the UK Singles Chart) and "A Guy Like You".[8]

Speaking to Female First in 2007, Moyet said of the album: "The Turn is an album of crafted song. We started building it from a core of Chansons, the shapes of Roy Orbison that grow from a gentle place to an impassioned climax. It is about melody and intelligent lyrics. We let it fray outwards from there. It is in turn progressive and reflective."[7] She told PopMatters in 2008: "One of the things I wanted to do with The Turn was write a production of songs that could be stripped down to one or two instruments if you chose to do it."[9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
BBC Music	Mixed[1]
Billboard	Favourable[11]
IndieLondon	3/5[12]
Louder Than War	8.5/10[13]
Manchester Evening News	Favourable[14]
musicOMH	[15]
PopMatters	Mixed[16]
Record Collector	[17]
The Times	[18]

Upon release, Chris Long, writing for the BBC Music, commented: "The Turn is no blistering return to form to sit proudly alongside the real gems of her career, but it is satisfying nonetheless, and it's a welcome reminder that Moyet still has one of the most emotive and intoxicating British voices ever."[1] Cheryl Arrighie of 33rpm.com described the album as a "strong collection of songs" and a "marked improvement" over Voice, but was critical of the inclusion of the three songs from Smaller. She added: "You can't help feeling that it's all been done and heard before."[19] IndieLondon felt the album was an "acquired taste", with a diversity that "creates an uneven experience". They concluded: "The Turn's most obvious asset is its voice – but given that it's the first album of new material from Moyet in five years it fails to generate the levels of excitement we'd been anticipating."[12]

John Murphy of musicOMH felt the album "certainly delivers substance", with "several of the tracks deserv[ing] special mention". He concluded: "Quite possibly the red wine album of the year so far."[15] Richie Unterberger of AllMusic felt the material on The Turn "mixes orchestrated pop/rock with a blue-eyed soul sensibility" and considered it "adult contemporary pop that's far above the usual standards for that genre".[10] Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote: "The Turn proffers all sides of the smoky, blues-soaked singer/songwriter's persona."[11] In a review of the 2015 deluxe edition, Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War noted the album's "incredible depth of material" and Moyet's "superb performances".[13]