Opinions
Chris Lee, Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs, Charivari Hymns & Oriki Blue-Marche
The production has an overt sense of confidence: some tracks are multi-layered, with relaxed horns, vocal harmonies, extra keyboards or guitar; others are strong and simple, just bass, guitar and Lee’s voice. And God, that voice: often compared to Jeff Buckley, Al Green or Nick Drake, Lee’s singing is masterfully sincere, at once longing and grateful, wistful and pained. ROSECRANS BALDWIN reviews.
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originally published in neumu
Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs, Charivari Hymns & Oriki Blue-Marche, which Chris Lee co-produced with Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, shows more maturity and self-assurance than Lee’s self-titled debut of last year (on Misra Records). The production has an overt sense of confidence: some tracks are multi-layered, with relaxed horns, vocal harmonies, extra keyboards or guitar; others are strong and simple, just bass, guitar and Lee’s voice.
And God, that voice: often compared to Jeff Buckley, Al Green or Nick Drake, Lee’s singing is masterfully sincere, at once longing and grateful, wistful and pained. The best way I can describe his voice is that it has no affectation; if it’s possible to sing honestly and richly, in both tone and lyrics, Lee’s found it.
Yet despite his talents in singing and songwriting, it’s not easy to define Lee within a single genre, and I want to. When I’m telling people about the album, I want to say, here, try this, you’ll love it, it sounds exactly like _______. Unfortunately, no one fits the blank. There are suggestions of his history in the independent scene and many nods to his Southern heritage. I could describe him as ‘American,’ but what does that say? Tracing a heritage back to the Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder, his songs are smart and popular: sad, relaxed melodies, hooking choruses, bridges transforming into strange, polished passages.
After people hear this album, I ask them how they’d describe it. The most popular response has been ‘Good ol’-fashioned songwriting.’ Getting past the nostalgic connotation, it’s not a bad term—it means the songs are pleasurable to listen to, they move and involve us emotionally, they surprise us and give us a place to rest. Achieving these ambitions proves Lee is good; doing it his own way is a step toward greatness.
Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs, Charivari Hymns & Oriki Blue-Marche, which Chris Lee co-produced with Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, shows more maturity and self-assurance than Lee’s self-titled debut of last year (on Misra Records). The production has an overt sense of confidence: some tracks are multi-layered, with relaxed horns, vocal harmonies, extra keyboards or guitar; others are strong and simple, just bass, guitar and Lee’s voice.
And God, that voice: often compared to Jeff Buckley, Al Green or Nick Drake, Lee’s singing is masterfully sincere, at once longing and grateful, wistful and pained. The best way I can describe his voice is that it has no affectation; if it’s possible to sing honestly and richly, in both tone and lyrics, Lee’s found it.
Yet despite his talents in singing and songwriting, it’s not easy to define Lee within a single genre, and I want to. When I’m telling people about the album, I want to say, here, try this, you’ll love it, it sounds exactly like _______. Unfortunately, no one fits the blank. There are suggestions of his history in the independent scene and many nods to his Southern heritage. I could describe him as ‘American,’ but what does that say? Tracing a heritage back to the Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder, his songs are smart and popular: sad, relaxed melodies, hooking choruses, bridges transforming into strange, polished passages.
After people hear this album, I ask them how they’d describe it. The most popular response has been ‘Good ol’-fashioned songwriting.’ Getting past the nostalgic connotation, it’s not a bad term—it means the songs are pleasurable to listen to, they move and involve us emotionally, they surprise us and give us a place to rest. Achieving these ambitions proves Lee is good; doing it his own way is a step toward greatness.
—Published September 19, 2001
