Customer Reviews

Continuing Confessions of

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I first heard Tim "Love" Lee late one night when "Exit 747" started playing on an acid jazz college radio show. The song started out in the odd way it does, but, by the end, I was hooked. I proceeded to spend about two weeks trying to track down the album, but it was worth it.

It has less dance music than Lee's earlier album, but what it lacks in dancing, it makes up for in being one of the greatest late-night road trip albums in history.

Honestly.

After buying his first album, Confessions of a Selector I was intrigued enough to get the follow up. At first, it didn't seem as upbeat, as fun. But you listen to it a few times, and like many albums, you gravitate toward particular tracks that stand out. In this case, for me at least, Sombre Hombre is quite beautiful. Other tracks certainly deserve mention. Not just as background music, but quality time with the headphones or cranked up in the car.

It's probably one of those CD's you end up listening to so much, you get sick of it... you discard it for a while and then refresh your memory and everything's wonderful again!

When you first hear this cd, the first track will make you wonder just what you're in for. It's very dark and very ominous with sounds of airports and runways behind it.

Then, track two kicks in ("Twilight Reservation") and erases any doubts you may have had--you know that this will be an AWESOME journey. Almost chilling, with the lounge-esqe singer crooning (imagine Buddy Greco or Mel Torme) in the background as vibes soufully strike their way into your mind and heart and a vintage flat-top f-hole guitar strums eloquently.

The remaining songs do not fail to disappoint. Track 5 ("Bed Sheet Shuffle")is so extremely Mancini-esque that you will swear that it's a left-over track from any one of the Peter Sellers "Pink Panther" movies, or perhaps "Charade" starring the incredible Audrey Hepburn along side of Cary Grant. Or for those partial to the other side of things, it is very John Barry-ish and belongs in "Her Majesty's Secret Service."

As the other lone reviewer has described, Track 9 ("Sombre Hombre")is very beautiful. Very, very slow. With mr. sandman type vibes playing along side of sulking strings and a moog.

This is a very good late night cd. Although, I first heard it as I was driving in my car across the golden-gate bridge just as evening was giving way to night and that incredible burnt-orage glow could be seen setting into the pacific. And, this cd was perfect.

Get this one. You'll love it.

JUST CALL ME 'LONE LEE' is a marked improvement over Tim 'Love' Lee's first album, CONFESSIONS OF A SELECTOR. For one, there's much less reliance on samples. Second, he draws on more influences on his tracks, particularly from the country-western genre. "Exit 747" could have been written by Ennio Morricone, while "Twilight Reservation" shuffles at its own morose pace. The "One Night Samba" interlude is the pure essence of what lounge music is, and followed, as it is, by gentle and sensuous "One Night Samba." "The Goodbye Highway" is similarly gentle, boosted by its careful percussion and the musical moments of mystery and grace (not to mention trucker chatter mixed in with a harp!). And the closing track, "Go Down Dixie," has such a lingering sadness with its crackly guitar and plaintive vocal sample that it makes you feel like you've been stranded on the open plain. Strangely powerful.