Amos Lee

Amos Lee | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 1, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B00070G6Y2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (166 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,164 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #46 in Music > R&B > Contemporary R&B
  • #52 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters
  • #52 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > General AAS

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Product Description

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 - he's like a mix of Bill Withers, Arthur Lee, and James Taylor. Produced by Norah Jones band member Lee Alexander. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 176 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...a brilliant debut!, March 3, 2005

By 

Christopher B. Prentiss (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Amos Lee (Audio CD)

Most people can remember hearing Norah Jones' Come Away With Me for the first time. It was so fresh and so different from all the other noise filling the airways. Amos Lee's debut is like that. Upon listening to it straight through, you wonder why there is not more music like this and wonder what it will be like to hear him 25 years from now and remember your first listen.

I don't want to be overly reductionistic here, but the Norah Jones connection is certainly worth making, if only because all the NJ fans who read this review might snap up this record too. This cd does indeed have a certain "male Norah Jones" feel to it; and her distinctive up-octave piano playing can even be heard on two of the tracks. However, it should be made clear that Amos is talented enough in his own right to deserve a better classification than this. Nonetheless, if you don't get this impression I would be surprised.

There is not really a weak track on the cd; each is a distinct effort. But the overall work hangs together with a low-key excellence, which partnered with astute production and mixing generates that characteristic Blue Note sound that plays just as well in the background as it does for the savvy audiophile whose "tuned in" to every musical element. The instrumentation never overwhelms his vocals, and his vocals are never out in front so much that the cello, mandolin, and piano feel "filtered."

While I have certainly not exhausted the praise due to the musical crafstmanship of the album, I was also quite impressed with the lyrical depth of a songwriter so young. Each of the songs are penned by him, and while many are fun and peaceful, like the biblical prophet who shares his name, he is quite aware that there is something enormously wrong with this world we live in. Instead of offering trite solutions, he allows the listener to critically explore his perspective on this fallen world, without holding out a happy ending that is too easy to imagine or achieve. On one hand he cries out in biblical imagery for a savior, presumably a personal, knowable one, and then immediately asks for the sweet whiskey to take his cares away. This bit of irony points out that the apathetic certainly don't perceive any need for a savior, for they have no cares. But the one who sees something in himself in need of saving eventually realizes that whiskey only temporarily removes the pain from the brokenness that needs restoration. Perhaps I am reading my own experience into his writing, but hopefully this will demonstrate that there is enough depth in his writing to do what good art should do - invite the listener into a conversation.

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive artist, impressive debut, March 11, 2005

By 

N. Gargano "nokegchris" (Waynesville NC and Bradenton, Fl) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amos Lee (Audio CD)

I have not been this excited about a new artist in so long...maybe norah jones, but maybe not....Mr. Lee has released a wonderful debut cd. I read a review of the cd and thought I would give it a try...so glad I did. I cannot stop listening to it. I tried to explain his sound to someone, kind of Bob Dylan, kind of soul, a little country,a little folk, I'm not sure. He is very unique. And what a wonderful songwriter, I don't know his age, he looks young on the cd, which makes this all the more impressive. I expect to hear more great things from him, I look forward to it.
Buy this cd, you will not be disappointed.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not faux hip; real quality., June 1, 2005

By 

J. Chasin (NYC, NY) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Amos Lee (Audio CD)

You really do sort of want to hate Amos Lee. First, his album peers up at you from under the register of nearly every Starbucks in America; that's him right next to Antigone Rising and the four dollar gum. Then there's the Norah Jones connection; he opened for her, and they're both on Blue Note (which should generally a plus). And she plays on two songs here. And also, he's wearing a hat on the cover, and he sports a healthy dose of stubble. So yeah, the record has that "faux hip" aura all around it that generally makes me want to run for cover.

But the kid has the songs, and that makes up for a lot. The sound byte is, part James Taylor, part Donnie Hathoway; a hybrid of the seventies genres of folk rock and soul. I'm hearing an organic music; his core touring band is a quartet, with himself on guitar and vocals, plus another guitar, bass, and drums. The instrumentation on the album is similarly sparse, although many songs feature a keyboard part prominently. The songs have an easy, first-take quality that probably took endless takes to get exactly right. This is gentle music, both soulful and economical-- which is to say, nothing extra, nothing wasted.

Several songs feature the propulsion of David Greenwood's Wurlitzer or Hammond B3 to good advantage, although sadly he isn't listed on Lee's website as part of the touring band. The songs have beginnings and endings (as opposed to fades), and the album clocks in at a proper 35 minutes. I'm a big fan of albums that know when they're done; many of the classic records of my formative years had 18-minute sides, and better a tight piece of work that leaves you longing for more than an hour-long debut that has you looking at your watch after the 14th song. I've been listening to it as I've been writing, and I can't believe it just flew by. I'm tempted to play it through again.

This record has an unmistakable charm in the simplicity and directness of the songs, that bears up to repeated play. There's a difference between music that is easy to listen to, and "easy listening;" this is the former, and that is a high compliment. For nine bucks, you can't go wrong.