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Elly Roberts reviews
Blue Note (EMI)
- March 2007
- Rating: 8/10
Driven by echoes of Soul, Gospel, Blues (and a hint of Country here and there), Amos Lee follows-up his debut with an understated gem.
Commercially this may falter, but critics seem unanimous in praising it. Itsa bit of slow-burner though as theres nothing instantly slapping you acrossthe face, except maybe Sweet Pea.
In an industry that has varying degrees of real vocal talent, Amos Leecomes shining through.
Philadelphian Lee is coming across like a latter day Bill Withers, but lackinga killer pop single to highlight his magnificent voice, which is always amain feature and a delight to hear. Not so much a pop offering, this is the kindof album (or songs) Elvis Presley would have loved to tackle away from hishits.
This wont make Lee a household name, nevertheless, its well worth checkingout just to hear his angelic vocal (gymnastic) musings if the songs dontgrab you, then his voice certainly will.
Musically, hes labelled as the male counterpart (and labelmate) of NorahJones, which, with certain aspects of his pace and weight, parallelscan be drawn.
His singing is more fluid and rounded than Jones will ever be. Even on openerShout Out Loud, hes measured and very disciplined. On Sympathizehe drops into an easy stroll (Jones pace etc) as he wistfully does it nice andeasy, which is Lees preferred modus operandi, though this track featuresarguably his finest vocal moments.
This is followed by equally sublime Careless which includes somemagnificent harmonies and melodies. Stepping up a gear, just a tad, therambling title track is a neat drifter you might just tap a foot here andthere.
Sweet Pea is his most out and out attempt at a radio-friendly type ofsingle, which, if released, unfortunately wont hit much commercial success.Mixing soul and gospel influences, Southern Girl is a little gem.Bluesy-country closer Long Line Of Pain gently brings the collectionto a easy ending, with Lee effortlessly leaving his inimitable calling card.
Though Lee chooses not to leave his comfort zone at any time, he is atalented and spellbinding vocalist. Its an easy listening album which is areal grower – all he needs now is a hit single, which isnt here.
Weblinks:myspace.com/amosleeofficial /amoslee.com /bluenote.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Shout Out Loud
2. Sympathize
3. Freedom
4. Careless
5. Skipping Stone
6. Supply And Demand
7. Sweet Pea
8. Night Train
9. Southern Girl
10. The Wind
11. Long Line Of Pain
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.