Amos Lee: Supply and Demand - A Review
Recently I responded to an e-mail asking for people to listen to music & review the same. I put my name forward & received a CD by Amos Lee entitled, Supply and Demand. I was led to believe that the music in question was jazz. Not so! It turns out that it classified as jazz but truly is not. It is a combination or blues & neo-folk, mellow, interesting & very pleasant to the ear as well as the mind. Topical subject matter helps make this an excellent listening experience. Then title song is a great piece that truly is a fun listening as well as a song with message.
There are several songs that rouse the soul as well as the mind to pay attention to the words along with the tune. "shout Out Loud" is one such song form the album that simply involves the listener in the message of the song. Amos Lee has done himself proud with this album but I would rather see it classified as a blues album of a neo-folk album not jazz which it certainly is not.
Frenetic, noisy discordant are not terms one would use to describe this music. Mellow, laid back, easy to listen to are what I call it. It is a change to understand the words, perceive the meaning of the messages in the music & enjoy the album as a fine example of what music is all about.
Amos Lee & company have worked to put forth a very well made album that is a departure form most of the so-called music being promulgated to the listening public today. They deserve a salute for their ability to make you feel good with their music, feel mellow & to want to face life as it comes at you not with antagonism but hope. Positive is the mindset created by this music.
As I stated previously the album was put forth as a jazz album. Once I began listening to the album I began to wonder where the jazz was? It is not on this album! What is on this album is reminiscent of some Bob Dylan, some blues & even some Simon & Garfunkel but not jazz. The cut, " Long Line of Pain" is definitely is a piece with a Guthriesque sense to it. The entire album brings back memories of previous decades' music that everyone liked and need to be remind of by this album.
Evoking emotions, memories & moods is what music is all about, at least to me. Pieces like "A Southern Girl" is just one of the cuts on the album that does that job in toto to superlative degree. There is a well defined clarity to the music that is smooth but crisp at the same time. Listeners can identify with the songs from several different perspectives as well as from various moods or attitudes as the listen.
On a scale of 0 – 5 stars, I rate this a 5-***** album due to the easy listening quality, the messages coming through & the fine musicianship of the artists who back Amos Lee up on this fine album produced by Barry McGuire.
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