Details
Track Listing
1. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight
2. Seen It All Before
3. Arms of a Woman
4. Give It Up
5. Dreamin'
6. Soul Suckers
7. Colors
8. Bottom of the Barrel
9. Black River
10. Love in the Lies
11. All My Friends
Album Notes
Personnel: Amos Lee (vocals, guitar); Adam Levy (guitar, background vocals); Kevin Breit (acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, mandolin); Nate Skiles (mandolin); H.S. Alexandra Leem (viola); Larry Gold (cello); Norah Jones (piano, Wurlitzer piano, background vocals); Devin Greenwood (Wurlitzer piano, Hammond b-3 organ, background vocals); Lee Alexander (bass guitar, drum); Chris Thomas, Jaron Olevsky (bass guitar); James Gadson, Fred Berman (drums, background vocals); Dan Rieser (drums).
Recording information: The Magic Shop, New York, New York (2004); Sear Sound Studio, New York, New York (2004).
There's no denying that Norah Jones's name is thrown around a lot regarding her labelmate Amos Lee's Blue Note debut. Lee gained renown through touring with her, and Jones and her band are heard lending a hand on the album. Other than a tendency to keep things on the quiet side, though, the comparisons pretty much stop there. Where Jones's piano-based music draws heavily from her love of jazz standards, Lee is another story altogether. His combination of low-key folk-rock and old-school R&B positions him as something of a Bill Withers for the 21st century. Indeed, his silky/soulful voice and emotive, acoustic-guitar-based songs reveal a strong Withers influence, something all too rare in contemporary pop music, R&B or otherwise. Tracks such as "Arms of a Woman" reveal Lee to be a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, but "Bottom of the Barrel" and others indicate his ability to step outside of love-song tropes for a well-rounded songwriting approach.
Industry Reviews
3 stars out of 5 - He's got a sly easy-on-the-ear voice that lies somewhere between Seal and James Taylor...
[T]his Philly troubadour crafts concise, soulful songs with a warm palette of acoustic colors... - Grade: B+
3 stars out of 5 - His mix of acoustic guitar and R&B-bred singing is more reminiscent of Bill Withers or Tracy Chapman.
He utilizes his falsetto quivering voice in a very effective manner and will sometimes go into a scat style that has tinges of a jazz singer's delivery.
[S]tout in musicianship yet delicate in tone.
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