There's no denying that Norah Jones's name is thrown around a lot regarding her labelmate Amos Lee's Blue Note debut. Lee gained renown through touring with her, and Jones and her band are heard lending a hand on the album. Other than a tendency to keep things on the quiet side, though, the comparisons pretty much stop there. Where Jones's piano-based music draws heavily from her love of jazz standards, Lee is another story altogether. His combination of low-key folk-rock and old-school R&B positions him as something of a Bill Withers for the 21st century. Indeed, his silky/soulful voice and emotive, acoustic-guitar-based songs reveal a strong Withers influence, something all too rare in contemporary pop music, R&B or otherwise. Tracks such as "Arms of a Woman" reveal Lee to be a dyed-in-the-wool romantic, but "Bottom of the Barrel" and others indicate his ability to step outside of love-song tropes for a well-rounded songwriting approach.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 - "His mix of acoustic guitar and R&B-bred singing is more reminiscent of Bill Withers or Tracy Chapman."
Entertainment Weekly (No. 809, p.73) - "[T]his Philly troubadour crafts concise, soulful songs with a warm palette of acoustic colors..." - Grade: B+
Uncut (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 - "He's got a sly easy-on-the-ear voice that lies somewhere between Seal and James Taylor..."
Vibe (p.168) - "[S]tout in musicianship yet delicate in tone."
Dirty Linen (p.61) - "He utilizes his falsetto quivering voice in a very effective manner and will sometimes go into a scat style that has tinges of a jazz singer's delivery."
