Thank You Shirl-ee May: A Love Story [Dual Disc]

Shawn Amos | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Dual Disc
• Label: Shout Factory
• ASIN: B000AMWJ1G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,726 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ladies And Gentlemen. . .

2. Thank You Shirl-ee May

3. New York City, 1964 (A Letter Home)

4. Bubble Hill

5. You're Groovy (For Boy Blue)

6. Make It

7. The Bottle Always Brings Me Down (with Garrison Starr)

8. Getting Over

9. (What's) Good Inside

10. Dear Lord (with Garrison Starr)

11. Bad Timing

Editorial Reviews

An album in three acts featuring Garrison Starr, Solomon Burke and more.

Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild has called Shawn Amos an "American singer-songwriter of the first order." With this, his third release, Amos chronicles the career of his mother, a club singer in the 1960s. Shawn discovered his mother’s professional life as Shirl-ee May only after her suicide in July 2003. Featuring veteran heavyweights such as Ray Parker, Jr., Gregg Bissonette and Chuck Findley, Thank You Shirl-ee May contains new songs influenced by various sounds of 1960s American music: from Brill Building pop to old school country to gospel tinged jazz. It also contains a gospel-influenced cover of Joseph Arthur’s "Dear Lord". This is a Dualdisc release w/both CD & DVD content.

(DVD side of the DualDisc features): • Visual Montages To Each Song In 5.1 Surround Sound • Mini Documentary About Making The Album • Live Performance Footage • Photo Gallery

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank You Shawn Amos. September 26, 2005

By Anonymous

Format:Audio CD

With the release of "Thank You Shirlee-May", Shawn Amos has raised the bar for contemporary singer-songwriters everywhere. The poppish title track (at 2:19, it leaves you wanting more, which is the mark of any great songwriter) and the lushly arranged "New York City 1964" are two of the best original songs you'll hear this year. The production is pure warm analog, the sound of a band playing together in a room. Listen to this with the headphones on and you'll know immediately what I'm talking about. This is an intense, confessional heartfelt work...channeling Neil Young, Pete Townshend and Aimmee Mann all at once and yet wholly original, Shawn Amos is one artist to watch this year and the years to come.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars if you buy only one album this year, this one's it! September 26, 2005

By Little Five

Format:Audio CD

i don't write reviews. in fact, this is my first. but i love this album so much that i have to write about it. the story behind the album nearly unbelievable and shawn's lyrics and voice really bring it all to life. it's poppy. jazzy. country. electic as hell and absolutely THE album to buy this year. the movie side of the dual disc is fabulous. in fact, once you buy it, start with that side. i had dinner with friends in CT last week and every single person at my table had this album on their iPod. order it now. i promise you won't be disappointed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Such an inspiration September 26, 2005

By KlewJazz

Format:Audio CD

I think the whole idea behind this album is brilliant. I could only imagine what it must be like finding out all those incredible things about your mom. One of the best ways to express everything is through music and Shawn Amos did an excellent job portraying his mom's life. I highly recommend this album!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unparalleled : Buy This Record! October 6, 2005

By Doug Levitt

Format:Audio CD

Shawn Amos's album "Thank You Shirl-ee May: A Love Story" is a lush, evocative tour of a complex life and time, unparalleled in its honesty and sheer beauty. This is one of those records that hits on every level. The lyrics paint a wisened, sepia-tone portrait of Shir-lee May, the artist, from youthful innocence to despair--and the bright lights along the way.

Take these lines from "The Bottle Always Brings Me Down:" "What makes the women go crazy/what makes the soul of a man/life's like licking bees off of honey/you always get more than you planned."

The music and production offer a sweeping backdrop for a poignant love story between a son and his mother. From the breadth of musical influences to its tale of ambition, reinvention, love, and loss, "Thank You Shir-lee May" is also very much an American story, as universal as it is specific. It takes a brilliant artist to pull off such a transcendent work. Amos is very clearly one of our most brilliant singer-songwriters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The more I listen, the more I love it September 26, 2005

By David A. Rome

Format:Audio CD

I have been a fan of Shawn Amos' for many years and this is his best work to date. Everything about this album is terrific- the music, the lyrics and the story itself.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare gem in a music world of imitations. September 27, 2005

By Bristol Girl

Format:Audio CD

Thank You Shirl-ee May transends time and genre with a blend of classic, comtemporary, and original melodies and lyrics. In this album, there is a song for everyone.