by Amos Lee List Price:$12.00 Our Price:$8.00 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Product Details
Media: Audio CD
Release Date: Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Label: Blue Note Records
Average Customer Review: 4.5 Based on 65 reviews.
Sales Rank: 58
Tracks
1.
Seen It All Before
2.
Soul Suckers
3.
Love In The Lies
4.
Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight
5.
Give It Up
6.
Dreamin'
7.
Colors
8.
Bottom Of The Barrel
9.
Black River
10.
Arms Of A Woman
11.
All My Friends
Editorial Review
Though Amos Lee's music is frequently described as a fusion of folk and soul, such an equation fails to reflect the singular artistry of this impressive debut. Like labelmate Norah Jones (who guests on two cuts), the Philadelphia singer-songwriter recognizes the power of simplicity, distilling an emotional essence that cuts across categories. The opening of his "Seen It All Before" echoes Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"; the stunning "Arms of a Woman" channels Otis Redding's "I've Got Dreams to Remember"; "Give It Up" cuts a classic Bill Withers groove; "Black River" has the sound of an age-old spiritual; and the closing "All My Friends" follows Van Morrison into the mystic. Throughout the song cycle, the bare-bones arrangements behind Lee's vocal flutter reinforce an organic unity that transcends genre. For all of the debts he owes to the music of the 1960s and '70s, the results sound timeless rather than retro. In his cautionary "Soul Suckers," Lee sings that "nothing is more powerful than beauty in a wicked world"--and proceeds to prove it. --Don McLeese
