Customer Reviews

Mighty King of Love

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good vibe, a bit of a homemade musical quality, and A+ lyrics...makes you remember how good a good country rockin song can be...highly recommended

Phil Lee's voice sounds like he spent 20 years smoking in the cab of a rig running from Nashville to Gainsville. Oh, wait, he did. That is one of the best aspects of this album. Phil Lee has done what we all wish we could do, quit our day job and take our particular vision, put it to music, and play it for people.

Phil's lyrics are more than clever, they are a downright panic and his melodies are catchy, if a little clumsy. While originality is not Phil Lee's strong suit, he plays real country music. Solid, driving rhythms with lyrics about stealing girls, partying hard and paying the price.

I saw him live in Nashville about 3 months ago and he blew me away. Not only is he a talented musician, but he's a stand up comedian. If you have the chance to see him live, take it. Either live or in the studio, Phil Lee will not disappoint.

Phil Lee looks like he could be Greg Allman's doppleganger and been on the fringes of the roots music forever. He played drums in 1971 in a band with aspiring actress Beverly D'Angelo; drove a truck for Neil Young; did sountrack work with Jack Neitzche; and played in a resurected edition of the Flying Burrito Brothers. At age 49, the East Nashville renegade has finally released an album that will send roots music posuers like Ryan Adams running for cover. Phil and guitarist Keith Taylor trade blazing guitar salvos that invite comparisons to the Rolling Stones but reaches further back to rockabilly pickers like Carl Perkins. The songwritting on "Mighty King of Love" sounds like it could be outtakes from Dylan's "Blood On the Tracks" or Hiatt's "Slow Turning." "Mighty King of Love" made my best of 2000 list and his equally stong "You Should Have Known Me Then" made my best of 2001 list. If you are a collector of roots music, your collection is not complete without both these fine CDs.

I've seen Phil live many times. He's a great showman and that has come through on this cd. The clever lines, full of fun and often irony always make me smile. Les Debris Ils Son Blanc slays me the most, The trash it is white, too funny. I'm Still Missing You breaks my heart. The line in Last Year " you're still a queen, i'm still a salt sucking dog", I mean doesn't that tell ya about love gone awry. The line there too of "now you regard me through narrowed eyelids" describes how we look at all past loves. Phil says it, sings it, brings it home...sometimes funny sometimes heartbreakingly so. Been a fan for years, can't wait for the next cd. By the way Phil, I still Like Women too.(I Like Women's one of Phil's songs, maybe we'll see it on a cd one day, otherwise go to a show)

This CD keeps getting better and better on repeated listenings.Nobody But You would be the best Rolling Stones song since Tumbling Dice and Mighty King of Love would fit well among Bob Dylan's early catalog.The guy mines tons of influences but is a true original.Funny lyrics and great production-Richard Bennett.The best debut in many years!

This was my favorite CD of 2000. I have to disagree with another reviewer that originality is not Phil Lee's strong suit - yes, the elements are familiar, but the way it comes out is absolutely fresh - from the sharp, sometimes hilarious lyrics, his wonderfully idosyncratic singing, to the amazing band (Richard Bennett!) - NOTHING else sounds exactly like this. I never get tired of this CD and it LIVES in my truck.

I'm lucky to have been familiar with Phil Lee's music for some time. But these songs are so real, so well crafted, so un-contrived that they never fail to floor me. You will read in reviews about Phil having been a truck-driver, this is like saying Hemmingway was an arm-wrestler. You will hear in these songs a complex, powerful, earthy beauty (often couched in absolutely infectious grooves) far beyond the images evoked by the "country truck driver" references. Phil is a treasure. One of the few, rare artists who survive tragic and hilarious circumstances with the need and the ability to distill and share the experience with us. If lyrics mean anything to you...buy this CD.

Phil Lee is a gifted writer and a tremendous entertainer...should be seen in person if you ever get a chance