Keep it loose
Some thoughts I had listening to Amos Lee's eponymous début album while waiting for class to begin:
Amos Lee has two problems. The first has to do with the words, the second, the music. Lyrics. They count. Brian Eno recently told a U.K. paper that working with Paul Simon on an upcoming project (Eno is rumoured to provide musical landscapes for Simon's next batch of songs) revived his interest in lyricism.
Lyrics matter.
Lyrics like "people tell me to keep on dreaming/that's just what I'm gonna do" don't, even if you drag out the last few words so that they're longer than the first. "I am at ease in the arms of a woman" is a great opening line. It's the other 29 that struggle to keep up. Some songwriters aren't worthy of these criticisms - you don't expect poetry from Ringo Starr. But an artist as seemingly clever as Amos Lee flashes enough to create expectations of more. But then you hit lines like "every moral has a story, every hand needs a glove."
I guess the problem with pop music is that so many artists (and executives, and listeners) expect accessible to equal dumb. You don't need a swollen vocabulary and a Ph.D. to make your point, but the words still need to resonate. Songs, after all, are about communication emotions that can't be appreciated when spoken. Emotions that need rhythm and rhyme; but the feeling has got to capture your interest.
Even worse is Lee's great voice. The man has one of the strongest voices out there - his loudness range is huge, from whispery thin to gospelly rapturous. When he ends a set with "A Change Is Gonna Come," you can feel the earth under your feet. Singing about being unable to afford his rent makes you feel the couch imprinting itself on your ass. Which would you prefer?
The second problem - the musical one - has to do with Norah Jones. Specifically, the Norah sound - slow, organic, lush, sleepy. It works for Norah for five minutes on television. It works for Madeleine Peyroux because her band plays jazz. It doesn't work for Amos Lee because it plays against his strengths. Lee is as exciting live - with a crack band - as he is drowy on record. I saw him open two shows for Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard earlier this year in Chicago. Each song had a vitality that I was expecting on Lee's album; I'm still looking for it. The songs he's written are musically interesting enough. What they need are some colourful instrumentation - horns instead of strings, electric guitars matched with acoustic.
Lee will be at La Tulipe in October; I'll be there with high expectations. His guitar will jump, his band will rock and his voice will burst. Here's hoping he'll do "All of Me," the standard he nailed in Chicago. "Keep it loose, keep it tight," Lee sings. Amos - keep it live, already.
posted by Beeg @ 1:55 AM
7 Comments:
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I thought it was ironic that when you criticized Amos Lee's lyrics for ineffectively communicating emotion, you wrote (and I quote):
"Songs, after all, are about communication emotions that can't be appreciated when spoken."
One can't help but notice your own inability to effectively communicate. No offense, but I think Mista Lee is one up on you ;)
The fact that songs are not meant to be spoken (but to be sung) does not preclude them from being well written. (The fact that the word "communication" is not "communicating" should be seen as nothing more than the finest post-modern humour.)
The rhythms of speech are different than those of song; this can be constraining or illuminating. That's how you separate the great songwriters from the mediocre. Paul Simon has talked about developing a style that blends plain language with flourishes of rich syntax. The effect lifts your soul.
Take away the richness and you're left with vanilla ice cream, humming the melodies without remembering the words.
Although I realize it was not your intention, I believe the reference to 'vanillaness' is complimentary of the lyrics' classic and timeless simplicity. A forced richness results in a song that is overcrowded and distracting. Those are the songs that leave one tongue tied, humming melodies mindlessly. IEvidently,we experience his music differently. Have you been to his show yet?
Saw him in Chicago in March opening for Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan; this show is Friday night. I can't wait. Hoping to get my hands on a live recording of an Amos performance, since he's dynamite on stage.
You're right about one thing: songs should not be syntax exercises. Then again, vanilla with a bit of caramel never hurt anyone.
I imagine the smaller, more intimate venue will add a whole new dynamic to his delivery. He's headed my direction next, so I'd love to hear what your thoughts are about the show. I'll check back later this weekend to see if you post anything.
so how was the show?
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