Amos Lee
Amos Lee is musician that I have recently been introduced to by a wonderful friend of mine. While I have only known the music of Amos for a few short weeks all I can say is wow. The musical talents of the man goes so far beyond just being to perform the music though. He is the singer, but the songs he sings are almost all words that he himself has written. To the best of my knowledge he has three albums out, all in the last fives years or so. I am really only familiar with the last two, Supply and Demand and Last Days at the Lodge, which was released this summer – but I have mostly been focused on the 2006 Supply and Demand for most of my listening so I stick with that.
First though, a bit about the musical and writing style of Amos. He is obviously a song writer’s writer if you will. His lyrics are just full of deep thoughts and wonderful vision. And to be someone who is only 30 years old or so, he has obviously lived a lot in that time. I suspected based on the depth of some songs that he had to have lived a lot of the experiences to get it the way he did and be able to put it on paper and eventually to music. I have had that confirmed in some interviews he gave in a podcast form with the album that he did indeed have experiences that relate to or inspired the song writing process. It makes sense and it is I am sure why the likes of Nora Jones, John Prine and Bob Dylan have all had him tour with them at some point in the past. His music seems to stay mostly in a folk style with a heavy influx of jazz and soul on certain tracks.
Some of the tracks are so folk in style, when listening to them I wonder if it is not someone like John Prine actually doing the music. Some examples of those from the CD would be Southern Girl. This particular song is one of my favorites and really talks about there is something about a southern girl and yet even so the singer is feeling bad about how he has treated her and is leaving. Another is the title track itself, Supply and Demand. This song gets a bit more soul and jazz in it, but still is mostly folk-ish in nature in my opinion. It is also a very liberating song if you get it. I know that the friend who introduced me had this song as a theme song to her life for a bit. I however, have a hard time letting go enough to fully embrace the lyrics – which I am sure my friend knows and probably laughs about inwardly (for more about this thought see an upcoming post named You, Me, & Amos Lee).
Three more tracks, Sympathize, Long Line of Pain, and The Wind are full of just deep soulful and haunting lyrics. The music itself is just one step away from occasionally making your want to tear up and feel for Amos and everyone he is singing to and about. And yet, there is the occasional line in the songs that really pulls you right back from the edge and gives you a bit of hope. Not all of them give hope though, The Wind could be done by some lonesome cowboy type like Chris Ledeoux (is that spelled right?), and with slightly different musical arrangement would be the perfect miserable loner down and out cowboy country song.
I have to mention Night Train. The song itself is one of the lighter numbers on the CD but even it has a that which is trying be grasped and we think the person is likely going to make, especially at the end when there is no beginning and no ending and we hear everyone is on time. But catch the next line and tell me what we are going to the end of the line means? Anyway, I love this one because with a lyric like “Working on the Night Train, drinking coffee, taking cocaine” it could fit right into a Grateful Dead CD and no one would question it belonging there.
One last song I will mention and the rest you are just going to have to find and listen to them on your own, which you really should do for the whole album mind you. Careless is song that had to be something Amos had happen. A close friend obviously had an affair with a love of his – it ended the friendship and neither ended up with the lover in the end. Tragic in a way and the lyrics ring so true. It reminds me of that Jim Croce song with the lyrics, “My sometimes best old ex-friend Ray…” I always tried to put myself in that song of Jim’s as I have had similar happen once upon a time, but it took Amos to make me realize that I have probably been guilty of the ex-best friend who had to have… well you get the idea.
One quick other note: Amos Lee will be doing a concert in Covington Kentucky on November 5th. I am definitely planning on going. I hear that he is just awesome live and I suspect that is the truth. A date looked forward to with much anticipation.
Ray! I absolutely LOVE Amos Lee! I can't wait for his concert in Covington! I have a great friend of mine who like to sing his stuff and his raspy voice covers his music like nothing I have heard before... Night Train is actually one of my personal Fav's!
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