It’s been a good week for Amos Lee. His fourth album, “Mission Bell” debuted at number one on I-Tunes. I heard his single, “Windows Rolled Down,” on the radio, which I chose not to do, being that it’s the middle of winter.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, working with a record label more known for jazz and collaborating with country musicians like Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams, Lee is an interesting musical mix. He has a firm grasp of the foundations that have built the American musical experience, easily slipping between rock, country, blues and soul. He also infuses his latest with a healthy amount of gospel, whether directly on, “I want to drink from your cup of sorrow” or subtly, “When I look in your clear blue eyes, I could cry, I could cry.”
Many of the songs on “Mission Bell” are of a man searching, even appealing to the savior in “Jesus”, a blues-filled cry for redemption. “Learned A Lot” is a little more laid back and soulful, which may be closer to Lee as a person walking the earth. But that’s one song. Each of the twelve tracks is a particular snapshot of a particular person, whether a bitter lover, a wounded soldier or a neglected child.
Lee hits his stride with “El Camino” as he reflects on the transient nature of a musician, asking how one can hold on to a moment or person when constantly moving down the road.
My favorite is “Violin,” Lee’s weary look at his bleak urban landscape, wishing, as written in the liner notes, “for my life to be rich and full,” as he dissipates the song into an ethereal mist.
Dave
