Amos Lee’s soul-folk sound blossoms on ‘Supply and Demand.’
September 19, 2007, 12:00 a.m. EST
by Matt Wake
The refined yet human quality on Amos Lee’s “Supply and Demand” is the result of epic pre-production.
Most young singer/songwriters would spontaneously combust if given the chance to tour with Bob Dylan. Or at least go on a bender involving copious amounts of starlets and narcotics. When Rolling Stone magazine asked Amos Lee about the gig, the Philadelphia native said, “It’s nice to have work.”
That kind of poise is reflected in Lee’s music, which is sparse and warm. Lee has been compared to ’70s folk-soul deity Bill Withers, and it’s a logical conclusion. “Shout Out Loud — the lead single from Lee’s latest record “Supply and Demand” — begins with dusky strumming and a modest meditation. Over the course of the tune, the sound smoothly unfolds. Gospel chicks beef up the chorus. The band percolates. Lee belts out lyrics that paint a collage of strangers and the lives and losses they each inhabit.
The refined yet human quality on “Supply and Demand” is the result of epic pre-production.
“The band and I would spend anywhere between 12 to 20 hours a day either working on parts coming up with arrangements, or just talking about music we felt might relate to what we were trying to do,” Lee said in a press release for the album.
(Somewhat strangely, Lee’s label, Blue Note, couldn’t arrange an interview for this piece. The fact that Elvis Costello isn’t doing press for his solo tour is understandable — the man is a reference point. And, of course, Bob Dylan only grants interviews to God, “60 Minutes” and Jann Wenner. Dylan is at the Mount Olympus of modern artists, whatever the medium, and would get asked millions of stupid, stupid questions, so it’s no wonder he avoids the media. But Amos, Blue Note, come on….)
Lee is understandably thankful for his group’s work ethic. The touring ensemble includes drummer Fred Berman, bassist Jaron Olevsky and guitarist Nate Skiles. Session musicians helped fill out crucial tracks on “Supply and Demand.” The most notable contribution from an outside player is Chris Joyner’s sanctified organ licks on “Skipping Stone.”
Although mainstream success has thus far eluded Lee, who is 29, he’s received plenty from the elder statesmen of his form. Besides opening for Dylan, Lee has also toured with Paul Simon, Merle Haggard and John Prine.
“When guys like that are sitting at the table, you sometimes don’t want to touch your fork,” Lee said in the “Supply and Demand” press release. “But we showed up every night and stood behind the songs the best we could, and for the most part had a good time doing it.”
Producer Barrie Maguire, who helmed Lee’s first recordings in 2002, was back behind the board for “Supply and Demand.” The disc was cut in Lee’s old stomping grounds, the City of Brotherly Love.
Although Lee tours with icons and has his LPs released by a prestige label (Blue Note is home to work by John Coltrane, Miles Davis and many other jazz giants), the singer arrived at vocation late. A basketball fiend during high school, Lee didn’t fall hard for music until he attended the University of South Carolina. While in Columbia, Lee worked at a record store specializing in jazz. An English major, Lee soon added the likes of Thelonious Monk to his literary mainstays, like Yeats and Keats.
“I would listen to eight hours of music every day,” Lee told Rolling Stone. “Amazing music — the masters, all day. That was sort of a crushing blow to my ego, but it was an amazing inspiration.”
Amos Lee opens for Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello at Littlejohn Coliseum on Sept. 23.
