Produced by Calexico’s Joey Burns, Mission Bell is Lee’s richest and most fully formed recording to date, displaying an array of emotions unified by his eclectic taste and distinctive vocals. With a remarkable set of guests — including Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, Priscilla Ahn, Pieta Brown, and James Gadson — and the musical backing of Calexico, the album marks the arrival of Lee as a mature artist who continues to explore his musical and thematic interests.
Joey Burns and his sun-dazed band have transported the soul-folk singer/songwriter to a more arid and country-tinged musical geography. Though he hails from Philadelphia, Lee is truly at home in the desert. Lee’s voice has always been his greatest asset and he sounds like a grounded Al Green against the elegant rumba of “Hello Again” and the Staples Singers-sounding “Jesus.” I can attest that voice is pure. AL effortlessly belts out spot-on note after note all night long.
Lee writes that his favorite period in music was 1970 to 1975, citing recordings such as John Prine’s first LP, Bill Withers’ “Still Bill”, Neil Young’s “Harvest”, and James Taylor’s “One Man Dog” all made about seven or eight years before Amos Lee was born. That list of albums helps to sum up the influences that go into Lee’s easy-going original songs that run from folksy to soulful, all performed in a tasteful, understated, largely acoustic instrumental setting.

Lee definitely takes his cues from his favorite musical period for his vocal delivery, with a style that is a kind of blend of some of those artists. He does favor the soul side of things, with a relaxed, easy-going style that one can listen to all day, though sometimes he does try very hard to be the soulful singer, when playing the folkie might have been a bit better. But it’s hardly grounds for complaint. The contrast tonight between “El Camino” and “Learned A Lot” is a perfect example of this inner conflict.

Lee is currently on the road for his 2011 U.S. headlining tour in support of Mission Bell, which includes a performance for NPR’s Mountain Stage live music program, broadcast from Charleston, West Virginia, on April 24th. (Please visit http://amoslee.com/shows/ for tour dates). When the tour concludes on April 29th, Lee will travel to Louisiana to perform on the Gentilly Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on April 30th. Please visit http://www.nojazzfest.com for more information.