My Amazon Reviews: Amos Lee "Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song"

Climb Every Mountain
4 Out Of 5 Stars

While Amos Lee has always mixed his blues with a healthy dose of folk music, "Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song" sounds like his folkiest album yet. There's still plenty of blues, like the vocal of "Stranger," but the backing of banjo belies the new folk underground running through this album. Then there's the backward guitar solo. Lee is having his cake and eating it. He approached this a bit on "Mission Bell," singing with the likes of Willie Nelson should have made that point obvious, but now it's more forward.

His brand of roots rocking is a potpourri of styles, and Nashville, where Lee and his band recorded "Mountains of Sorrow," weighs in heaviest this time. His guests magnify the area code as well, with Alison Krauss on "Chill In The Air" and Patty Griffin on the title track adding some high lonesome harmonies. But it's not all - to take from the album title - rivers of sorrow. The Dylan-esque and playful "Tricksters, Hucksters and Scamps" shows a sense of humor. Nor is Lee afraid of the new technology with the keyboard heavy "Loretta," and the horns that funk up "The Man Who Wants You."

I like "Mountains of Sorrow" just a tad less than I enjoyed "Mission Bell" (which I rated 5 stars in a previous review). But with his soulful voice delving still in the blues and folk elements that he's so good with, Amos Lee's "Mountain of Sorrow, Rivers of Song" is a solid album from a man who does Philadelphia (and this time, Nashville), proud.

      

My Amazon Reviews: Gavin DeGraw "Sweeter"

Sweetness Follows
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Gavin DeGraw makes it to his fourth album. pretty much covering the same turf as his first three. He's still milking the same blue-eyed soul turf that has made stars out of Jason Mraz currently and Daryl Hall decades before. What differentiates "Sweeter" from his other CD's is that he decided to allow co-writers on-board for the first time. On of them, Ryan Tedder, has been all but certified as the current Midas Touch-man, ala Mick Ronson. Tedder is also the producer of those two songs, emphasizing the piano and making the title song sound tougher than it really is. Andrew Frampton also produces/cowrites a pair, "Run Every Time" and the closer, "Spell It Out."

What strikes me as most interesting is that, on his own, DeGraw comes off as a piano-man worshiping at the alter of Billy Joel and Elton John (especially on "You Know Where I'm At"). Not a bad well to draw from, and when it turns up songs like "Radiation" or "Soldier," worth the effort. On the more annoying and overworked "Candy," not so much. What I'd love to hear more of, though, is the solo DeDraw that sits behind his piano and lets loose with "Spell It Out," which does away with overproduction and just lets the man sing and play. My guess is DeGraw is too slick a salesman to want to be that exposed too often, but it's the highlight of an otherwise light pop album.

    

My Amazon Reviews: Amos Lee "Mission Bell"

Amos Lee finds his voice
5 Out of 5 Stars

Amos Lee's "Last Days at The Lodge" had me a bit worried. His first album to leave me unsatisfied, it was over-produced by Don Was. Was seemed to be trying to squeeze Amos into some sort of super-slick and commercialized pop-blues, much like Was did for Bonnie Raitt's blockbuster "Nick Of Time." But Lee was never as polished as Raitt, not should he be. On "Mission Bell," Lee's ultimate breaktrhough and first Top Ten album, reclaims the title of young buck singer-songwriter and moves him into such company as Ray LaMontagne and Iron & Wine's Sam Beam.

Intimate and easy but without the cream, "Mission Bell" bristles with staw folk and burning blues. Producer Joey Burns of Calexico (who has also collaborated with Beam) gives the guitar room to roam the prairie. He then pulls in some superb guests to sing, like Lucinda Williams and Willie Nelson, while Lee holds his own with both. In fact, this may be the most natural Lee has sounded on album in his short career. Lee is pulling deep from his soul background, making a gospel wail like "Jesus" or Grateful Dead sound-alike "Cup Of Sorrow" ring with honest feeling. That is not to sat he's been faking it before, but sure sounds more grown up than even the excellent "Supply and Demand" could have.

This is Lee's move into classic turf. With "Mission Bell," he is now at the forefront of new American Singer Songwriters, and this is one of my favorite albums of 2011.

 

My Amazon Reviews: Amos Lee "Supply and Demand"

Demand This  
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The second album from Amos Lee shows a singer-songwriter with some road-time under his belt. His singing is more confident, the arrangements more sophisticated, and the ideas playful. The only thing missing was a bump in the songwriting department, but that would come by the time "Mission Bell" arrived in 2011. "Supply and Demand" give fans of Amos Lee's debut pretty much what you'd expect if you loved the first album; Lee shoots the gap between Blue Eyed Soul and James Taylor's folk confessionals.

Lee may be a strong performer, but he does so without bombast. He offers pop in "Shout Out Loud," hints of gospel in "Skipping Stone" and Jack Johnson charm on the ukelele faced "Sweet Pea." There's never a moment where you feel like you meed to adjust the volume, as Lee keeps it smooth and easy. That alows for the subtleties of his performances to get under your skin (like the political "freedom is seldom found by beating somebody onto the ground" lyric). These touches all make "Supply and Demand" on a par with Amos Lee's debut, and a very satisfying album.

 

My Amazon Reviews: Amos Lee "Amos Lee"

Looking for Something True  
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The scout for Blue Note Records must have flipped out when he found Amos Lee. "Oh my God," he likely squealed in delight. "I've found the male Norah Jones!" Which is pretty much a description of Lee's debut. It follows the blueprint for the ultra-successful Jones, to the point where she even sings on a couple of the songs here. While this is no dig on Lee's admittedly extraordinary talent, that shout serve as signpost to whether or not you'll be interested in listening to Lee's 2005 debut.

Lee is a bluesy singer-songwriter, positioned somewhere between the confessionals of James Taylor and the soulfulness of Al Green. He also possesses an expressive, folkish voice that occasionally soars into a strong falsetto, and (like Jones) is a strong, emotive songwriter. On this debut, he glides on those strengths, which makes the album easy to digest but not needlessly forceful. That kind of music you hear in a Starbucks? Amos Lee delivers it in smokey quotients.

Just don't let the easy listening trappings fool you. Like Norah's "Come Away With Me," "Amos Lee" has a sophisticated underpinning that gets more noticeable on repeat listenings. In the years since, Lee has become a formidable blues singer/player. His 2011 "Mission Bell" has him maturing as a singer and letting some of the tougher aspects of his writing come to the surface. However, as an easy listening debut, "Amos Lee" makes for a solid introduction.