I Just Want to Be a Part of Your Home

From the first time you hear the voice of Amos Lee you can tell he made the right decision to become a singer. He has the kind of soulful tones that other singers would go down to the crossroads and sell their soul to the devil to have. Of course being from Philly, a city that knows a thing or two about soul, Lee has probably had that mastered since birth. And by virtue of being on Blue Note Records, thanks to be discovered by Norah Jones, a fair amount of the blues seems in too.

On his third album, Last Days at the Lodge, really fleshes out the music that accompanies his voice which most likely can be attributed to bringing in some of best sidemen in the business including Doyle Bramhall, Jr. (Eric Clapton) on guitar, Spooner Oldham (Neil Young) on keys, Pino Palladino (John Mayer Trio) on bass, James Gadson (Bill Withers) on drums with Don Was (Was, Not Was) producing. Now there’s a murders row of a backing band if I ever saw one.

Lee gets it right from the start of the album when he demands you to Listen. A slick bass line that slow burns into a good old southern style rocker when the guitars kick in and the drums go into high gear. The rest of the album sits mostly in the mellow, sometime baby making (seriously, if you want some sweet lovin’, put on Won’t Let Me Go) category with slick back music reminiscent of Mussel Shoals classics. The standout that breaks that mold is Street Corner Preacher where Lee turns into a Bob Dylan style storyteller on a backdrop of a funky foot stomper that deserves to be heard on every street corner.

Song to Download - Street Corner Preacher

Last Days at the Lodge gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.