My Amazon Reviews: Iron And Wine "Ghost On Ghost"

Spirits in The Material World
3 Out Of 5 Stars

Sam Beam must be a very restless person. With each album, he presses himself towards new musical idioms, sometimes working, sometimes not. On "Ghost on Ghost," his sixth album, he decides he wants to be in the same jazzy realm as a Van Morrison or Joni Mitchell, infusing the songs with horns, piano and blues. This is one of those times where it doesn't work.

Beam, as Iron and Wine, has one of the most pleasing voices in popular music. He rarely lifted himself above a whisper on classic folk albums like "The Shepherd's Dog" and "Our Endless Numbered Days," so I was surprised the first time I saw him live; he sang with a full throated tenor. He leapt to that level of singing on "Kiss Each Other Clean," an album whose sonic excursions reminded me of Lindsey Buckingham at his weirdest. "Ghost on Ghost" pulls in the reigns on that experimental project and returns to the musical. But where "Kiss" was produced in extremes, "Ghost" is over produced in a poppy-lite fashion.

Beam writes songs that are strong on melody and often strong on message. He can deliver a story-song like few men working in today's music scene. Nowhere is this more evident than "Ghost's" "Winter Prayers." Unencumbered by the dense production of much of the album, it's Beam, guitar and piano with some light percussion. It delivers its message without hindrance from the bulk of the album's near easy listening style. I still love Iron and Wine, however, I never expected Sam Beam to deliver an album so extraordinarily average. "Ghost on Ghost" is a disappointment in an otherwise stellar discography.

      

My Amazon Reviews: Josh Ritter "So Runs the World Away"

The Curse of John Ritter
3 Out Of 5 Stars

There are fans of literary type singer songwriters. Trouble is, they are few and far between, and tend to work a vociferous cult that falls in love with what you;re creating, while the rest of the world sits by in sonic indifference. Josh Ritter is that kind of guy. Rivaling Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen for intricate wordplay and Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes) for slavishly devoted fans, all while giving his soft spoken voice room to trip and trickle around his songs.

His 2010 CD "So Runs The World Away" maintains that superb quality. Be it the travels of the ageless Pharaoh aboard a cruise to America ("The Curse") or the sly humor of the distorted "The Remnant," Ritter juggles folk idioms like few others save for Iron and Wine and Bright Eyes. Nowhere is this more in evidence than "Folk Bloodbath," which pulls Stagger Lee, Louis Collins, Delia and Judge Hanging Billy Lyons into one scenario where, ultimately, the pursuit of Delia brings them together. And, ultimately, "the angels lay them away." For those who wonder why I am okay with a Dylan comparison in Ritter's, case, download "So Runs The World Away" and start there.

   

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: Iron & Wine "Kissing Each Other Clean"

Cleaning up the act  
4 Out of 5 Stars

When I saw Sam Beam (aka Iron and Wine) at the Newport Folk Festival a few years back, I was amazed at just how different his singing was from the stage. Full throated and powerful, not the hushed whispery sound I was used to from his albums. A sound and a voice that surprised me, both by the sound and by how much I liked him. It made me wonder why he hadn't recorded himself that way before.

"Kiss Each Other Clean" is that record. Sam's major label debut (from Sub Pop to Warners), the new disc not only features Sam singing with his full voice, but with a much broader musical pallet. Turns out the guy must have been a serious Lindsey Buckingham buff, as much of this disc recalls the experimentation of Buckingham's "Go Insane" and "Law and Order" solos. While die-hard fans might be in for a shock from the electronics and jazzy horn sections, the songs themselves are still what I expect when I play an Iron and Wine album. Compositions like "Monkeys" and "Your Fake Name Is Good Enough For Me" are bursting with ideas and sounds that "The Shepherds Dog" merely hinted at. Even the Dj scratches and horns on "Big Burned Hand" (in my opinion, the weakest song on "Kiss") will have fans wondering where this Sam Beam has been hiding before letting it all cut loose.

The highlight for me is "Rabbit Will Run," which slides on a slinky groove with an interesting drum pattern before the music drops out entirely, leaving Sam's voice to ride on the open air. Then the song kicks back in with an ethereal new jazzy rhythm and flute solo. It's the kind of song that would have fit in on TSD or even the Ep "Woman King" as an ambitious experiment before this album, yet here it fits into Sam's new color scheme perfectly. Like the bulk of "Kiss Each Other Clean," it's gorgeous and ambitious; Beam is an artist who just keeps stretching into better and better places.