Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

July 2, 2008

Amos Lee

Last Days At The Lodge

Blue Note Records

It’s been many years since

Hall & Oates brought the

sweet sound of blue-eyed

Philly soul to the attention of

the world. Now Amos Lee is

here with his third album to

demonstrate that the genre

is alive and well.

It’s a simple recipe. You start

with one young troubadour with

a soulful voice and a collection

of strong tunes. Then you add

stalwart R&B legends like

Doyle Bramhall, Jr., Pino

Palladino, Spooner Oldham,

and James Gadson (Bill

Withers).To mix it all together

you get uber-producer Don

Was and you have all the

ingredients you’ll ever need.

Since his first album, Lee

has toured with Bob Dylan,

Merle Haggard, Paul Simon,

and Van Morrison, among

others. Clearly he has been

paying attention to the

masters. “Won’t Let Me Go”

is a near-perfect take on the

great Donny Hathaway, while

“Street Corner Preacher” will

bring to mind Bill Withers.

“Jails And Bombs”

successfully updates Marvin

Gaye’s message with a nod

in the direction of Curtis

Mayfield.

Despite absorbing some

very powerful influences, Lee

never loses his identity. He’s

clearly a musician who knows

who he is, and what he does

best. His talent is on full

display here.

In A Word: Charismatic

Grade: B+

–by Ken Shane