This Side of the Moon

Elizabeth Cook collaborated with eight producers, including Randy Scruggs (pictured in 2009), on "song experiments" which were later grouped together on This Side of the Moon.

Elizabeth Cook signed a recording contract with Atlantic after receiving positive reviews for The Blue Album, her 2000 self-released debut studio album.[1][2] The recording sessions for her second studio album Hey Y'all began in the spring of 2001, but its release would be delayed to 2002 because of record label issues.[3][4] When AOL-Time Warner – which owned Atlantic – closed its Nashville office, the company transferred Cook's contract to its parent company Warner Bros.[4] Hey Y'all was commercially unsuccessful, and its songs did not receive airplay on country radio.[5][6] In a 2005 Country Standard Time article, Rick Bell attributed this to Cook receiving "little label support".[4] Cook left Warner Bros. voluntarily to look for another record label in 2003.[7]

According to Cook's website, This Side of the Moon was constructed from separate "song experiments".[3] No Depression's Grant Alden described the album as a "collection of demos she scraped together" following her Warner Bros. contract.[8] "Funny Side of Love" was one of the first tracks recorded in this process.[9] Five producers, including Randy Scruggs and Sugar Hill's A&R director Steve Fishell, handled the songs which were recorded at eight recording studios throughout Tennessee.[10] Jeff Gordon was the executive producer for This Side of the Moon; along with producing a majority of the album, he mastered all of its songs.[11] Cook had met Gordon when he was looking for a "traditional girl country singer" to re-record his demos.[12]

This Side of the Moon was inspired by Cook's departure from Warner Bros., which she described as her "divorce from Music Row" and a "period of extreme frustration". In 2005, Cook told the Country Standard Time that she preferred being an independent artist, saying: "This is much more grass-roots, more real to me."[4] Cook has writing credits on the album's thirteen songs;[3] she co-wrote seven of them with songwriter Hardie McGehee,[11] who she worked with because they were signed to the same music publisher (Sis 'N Bro Music).[13][14] Cook and McGehee had collaborated on seven songs for Hey Y'all.[15][16]

Following the release of This Side of the Moon, McGehee moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and Cook shifted to writing music by herself. She believed they had "reached a real good stride" with the album, saying: "And I'm not sure where we would go from there."[12] Cook wrote two songs, “Ruthless" and "Heather Are You With Me Tonight", by herself and worked with her then-husband Tim Carroll on "Where the Blue Begins", which they recorded as a duet.[2][11]

This Side of the Moon had a limited release in August 2004.[4][lower-alpha 1] Media outlets described the release as independent.[26][27] Hog Country Production gave This Side of the Moon a larger release on May 17, 2005 as an audio CD.[4][11]

Before the album's release, Cook had performed its music as part of her live shows.[26] According to a 2005 press release, Cook planned to embark on a summer tour and perform at the Grand Ole Opry to further support This Side of the Moon.[9] Cook also promoted it by performing at international music festivals.[28] The album was later released on streaming services.[29]

In 2005, Cook recorded a music video for "Before I Go That Far" in New Mexico.[12] Entertainment company Thirty Tigers uploaded the video to its YouTube channel on April 10, 2007.[30] According to the company's YouTube channel, This Side of the Moon was later licensed to the Orchard Music on behalf of Hog Country Production.[30]

This Side of the Moon's tracks received little airplay,[6] and following the album's release, Cook worked as a waitress to secure a steady salary.[28] She recounted taking that job because she was not emotionally attached to it, and she felt comfortable quitting to perform at live shows.[28] In a 2007 CMT interview, Cook said she developed a fanbase from "a small handful of cult country music fans" that she thought were frustrated with her lack of commercial success; she also mentioned reaching a sense of peace about her experiences with different record deals.[6]

Critics later believed This Side of the Moon helped Elizabeth Cook (pictured in 2009) with her career.

This Side of the Moon was met with generally positive reviews from critics.[31] Sanneh included it on his list of 2005's best obscurities,[17] and in an August 2005 article, Thompson named it the best country album by a female artist so far that year.[32] Several reviewers commended the album for its traditional country sound,[33] such as Bell who described it as "a brilliant 13-song collection of hard-edged country sung with steely conviction".[2] Cook's songwriting was also highlighted.[3][32] Praising the album's cohesion as well as Cook's vocals and songwriting, Alden identified her as "an artist to whom attention must be paid".[3] Describing This Side of the Moon as an improvement over Hey Y'all, Cristiano appreciated how "disappointment obviously didn't dull her artistry".[21] Bell believed she deserved "a hard-earned, well-deserved second chance" to work with another major record label.[2]

Cristiano said Cook proved herself to be a "thoughtful and deeply affecting balladeer", pointing out "Before I Go That Far" as an example.[21] In 2006, Randall, Carter, and Little also singled out the track when praising Cook for creating "lush harmonies, traditional arrangements, and simple production".[34] While dismissing the notion that Cook was a guilty pleasure, Cooper praised "Here's to You", "Where the Blue Begins", and "Somebody's Gotta Do It" as "music fit for smiling, humming and other admirable pursuits".[35] Alden highlighted "Heather Are You With Me Tonight" as "the first great song" from the Iraq War years,[3] and said it was his favorite song six years after the album's release.[8]

Retrospective reviews of This Side of the Moon remained positive.[18][27] In a 2006 article, a contributor for The Tennessean described it as Cook's best album.[18] Two years later, an NPR writer said Cook had achieved "some commercial and artistic potential" with the album.[27] Critics identified the album as an important part of Cook's career,[36][37] such as Louisville's Brent Owen who believed it gave her further exposure in the music industry.[37] A staff writer for the River Cities' Reader attributed This Side of the Moon and Balls to helping establish Cook as a "soulful country singer and impassioned songwriter".[36]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of This Side of the Moon:[11]

The following credits are adapted from the booklet of This Side of the Moon and AllMusic:[11][38]