AMOS LEE > Last Days At the Lodge

Amos Lee isn’t known for sharp edges when it comes to his songwriting, singing or recordings. And none of that has changed with Last Days at the Lodge, his third album. Lee’s social critiques are still fairly gentle and his sound still leans toward mellow. “Truth,” a percolating number about cheating and murder, is probably the fiercest moment on here, and-considering that it’s no more sinister or enraged than a moseying, blues shuffle-that’s not saying a lot.Label: BLUE NOTE
[RATING: 3.5]

Amos Lee isn’t known for sharp edges when it comes to his songwriting, singing or recordings. And none of that has changed with Last Days at the Lodge, his third album. Lee’s social critiques are still fairly gentle and his sound still leans toward mellow. “Truth,” a percolating number about cheating and murder, is probably the fiercest moment on here, and-considering that it’s no more sinister or enraged than a moseying, blues shuffle-that’s not saying a lot.

In fact, by pulling out variously r&b-equipped big guns this time around-like producer Don Was, guitarist Doyle Bramhall, Jr., keyboardist Spooner Oldham, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer James Gadson, the latter of which also appeared on 2005’s Amos Lee-Lee has achieved some of his smoothest moments yet. “Won’t Let Me Go” and “Jails and Bombs”-each with Lee’s falsetto and Palladino’s particularly velvety touch on bass-are cases in point.

That said, there are certain things Lee does very, very well: easy, uncomplicated grooves, country soul (the slow-burning “What’s Been Going On” is a perfect example), sensitivity (romantic and social) and lacing his songs with deeply spiritual elements. Last Days finds Lee worrying both over crumbling love (“What’s Been Going On” and “It Started To Rain”) and lives troubled by violence and war (“Listen,” “Jails and Bombs” and “Better Days”). “Street Corner Preacher” might seem obvious place to look for spiritual images-and, sure enough, they’re there, ground into gritty, urban sidewalks-but Lee also blends biblical references into “It Started To Rain,” “Better Days” and other songs, adding a more solemn weight to his worries.

Three albums are plenty to establish that Lee isn’t an aggressive sort of singer or songwriter. And there’s not a thing wrong with that that, because his songs have a lasting substance and a little something to move them along too.