Alison Tucker welcomes us with "Carousel of Colors," the closing track on her debut album "Where You Used to Be," and luxuriate in a slow, provocative spin through life's memories in this folk-tinged ballad that treats her poetic memory-sweep with measured musical gravitas. This introspective closing chapter is a memoir in melody.
"Carousel of Colors" is rooted in folk, bluegrass, and a light touch of rock, with warmth derived from tradition and weight from experience. It's a fitting end to an album that takes a lifetime of watching, loving, raising, and letting go. Note by note, Tucker walks you through a heartfelt meditation on love and the bittersweet ride of time, juxtaposing the rush of a carnival ride with the whirlwind of emotions within life, simultaneously disorienting and lovely.
This piece is anchored by Alison Tucker's enveloping, rich alto voice. It subtly lures you in, like a friend telling you an old secret over coffee. Somehow, a stillness to her delivery holds your attention, but it feels organic like this is the voice of someone who has lived the stories they're telling. This song, and the rest of the album, smacks of someone who has taken her time, 20 years in the corporate world, more than a decade as a stay-at-home mom, and now, at last, this chapter is where she truly finds herself through music. That lived experience gives "Carousel of Colors" its power. It's trying to connect.
With lyrics that paint images as vibrant as the strokes from a painter's brush and a melody driven by the humanity of Americana roots, "Carousel of Colors" is a song that sticks. It's a reminder that even while life accelerates, there's beauty in slowing down and extraordinary courage in speaking one's truth. Alison Tucker's "Carousel of Colors" is a must for all lovers of real folk tales. It's the song of a life fully lived and, at last, sung freely.
Discover Alison Tucker on Instagram