With a dusky soul voice and a knack for literate, thoughtful lyrics, singer/songwriter Amos Lee is a throwback to a more organic-sounding pop time period. Calling to mind a mix of Bill Withers, Arthur Lee, and James Taylor, Lee croons through his mellow eponymous debut with a singular sense of his time and place that adds weight to his already heartfelt songs. Much like Taylor's Sweet Baby James and Withers' Still Bill, Amos Lee is an album about an artist's life and loves in a world that often seems at odds with his desires. On "Arms of a Woman," Lee sings "I am at ease in the arms of a woman/Although now most of my days are spent alone/A thousand miles from the place I was born/But when she wakes she takes me back home." Similarly, the darkly evocative "Black River" has Lee in a gospel mood, drawing comparisons between a swift-moving river, God, and whiskey, while the brisk country-rock-inflected "Love in the Lies" finds him proclaiming that "The world ain't no harder than it's ever been/Lookin' for love in the lies of a lonely friend." For all intents and purposes with Lee, Blue Note has found the male Norah Jones. In fact, Jones guests here and, interestingly, on "Colors," Lee sings about getting "lost in the circus" -- one wonders if Blue Note hopes that Jones' "house of fun" is close by. Joining in are other members of the Blue Note extended family, including Jones' longtime bassist Lee Alexander, guitarist Kevin Breit, and others. The result is an album not dissimilar to Jones' multiple Grammy-winning Come Away With Me, as Wurlitzer and Hammond organs pipe softly next to acoustic guitars, allowing Lee to glide on top of a wave of tasteful coffeehouse soul. While the comparison is mostly positive, it does pose one rub in that even Come Away With Me, while unfailingly intimate and classy, was somewhat calculated to be beautifully crafted, deeply emotional wallpaper, and Amos Lee holds to that template. Which basically means that, despite Lee's stellar melodic abilities, the arrangements are often too low-key for their own good. That said, Lee has a phenomenal voice matched by a journeyman's sense of songcraft that is just too good to go unnoticed.
I arrived to work in my kitchen last week to find a cd next to the coffee urn ... a burned cd of Roy Hargrove .. it had my name on it. Hmmmm..... The next day I came in and there was another one ... Steve Winwood, and again my name- a mystery now:) This is a true story. The next day I come in and there's a small stack of cd's! Sweet! A few Ella and Duke recordings and an Amos Lee. These discs ...
More >
If anyone is looking for a new song or artist to check out, I highly reccomend this song by Amos Lee. I can't get it out of my head. I've been humming at at work and singing it when I'm alone. His music is very mellow, bluesy and simple, and his style of singing is incredibly melodic. I've got another favorite to add to the list. :)"Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight"Well I walked over the bridgeInto...
More >
I hope you like the picture. I was inspired by the call to express my bad-ass self. So I ganked the most Bad-Ass-ed-Ness from my facebook and put the good folks over at www.pxn8.com to work creating the present art. w00t.Here you go. One Mog, one lousy story, two Web 2.0 references, one poor use of nineties slang, and an unsolicited use of leet. Hold on to your pants, this is as good as it gets.
More >
Best song to drink alone too? NO...i am not really THAT depressed....but I love this song and I wanted to share, then that category sprang to mind!! Share em if you got em...
More >
You know when you want to to cry but you don't and you get that pinch right under the bridge of your nose? That's what this song did to my twice on Tuesday.The first time it happened I was watching Sunday's episode of Brothers & Sisters which I had recorded. Near the end all the various characters are having "meaningful moments" and this song is playing in the background. It blended seamless...
More >
If anyone is looking for a new song or artist to check out, I highly reccomend this song by Amos Lee. I can't get it out of my head. I've been humming at at work and singing it when I'm alone. His music is very mellow, bluesy and simple, and his style of singing is incredibly melodic. I've got another favorite to add to the list. :)"Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight"Well I walked over the bridgeInto...
More >
I arrived to work in my kitchen last week to find a cd next to the coffee urn ... a burned cd of Roy Hargrove .. it had my name on it. Hmmmm..... The next day I came in and there was another one ... Steve Winwood, and again my name- a mystery now:) This is a true story. The next day I come in and there's a small stack of cd's! Sweet! A few Ella and Duke recordings and an Amos Lee. These discs ...
More >
I hope you like the picture. I was inspired by the call to express my bad-ass self. So I ganked the most Bad-Ass-ed-Ness from my facebook and put the good folks over at www.pxn8.com to work creating the present art. w00t.Here you go. One Mog, one lousy story, two Web 2.0 references, one poor use of nineties slang, and an unsolicited use of leet. Hold on to your pants, this is as good as it gets.
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight |
|
|
| 2 Seen It All Before |
|
|
| 3 Arms of a Woman |
|
|
| 4 Give It Up |
|
|
| 5 Dreamin' |
|
|
| 6 Soul Suckers |
|
|
| 7 Colors |
|
|
| 8 Bottom of the Barrel |
|
|
| 9 Black River |
|
|
| 10 Love in the Lies |
|
|
| 11 All My Friends |
|
|
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Amos Lee")
