Amos Lee Finds A Voice

In 2005 when Amos Lee's first album came out I heard comparisons to Bill Withers, James Taylor and even Norah Jones. Why the latter? Well, Lee's album came out on Jones' label, Blue Note, and it's intimacy was similar. Now his followup, Supply & Demand reveals something different. Lyrically and musically Lee is finding his own voice. Musically this is more R&B than the soul/folk that dominated the debut. There's less Keb Mo here and more of the Withers that will now dominate discussions. Lyrically Lee looks more inward with a gaze at War, but never preachy ("Freedom"). Like Ray Lamontagne, Lee started with word-of-mouth and is now gaining steam. His debut is near gold, and let's hope the same half million jump on board again.