Frankie Lee - American Dreamer

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 5 / 2 / 2016

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Review

If an album bears the Loose Music label then there’s a very big chance that the album is going to be a winner, so ‘American Dreamer’, the debut from Mississippi born Frankie Lee, was off to a good start anyway, but nothing, not even an association with such a respected label as Loose Music, could prepare you for the musical journey that Lee takes you on. Lee has paid his dues, appearing on local stages from the age of fourteen. He spent six years building cabinets for Townes Van Zandt’s son JT before being diagnosed with narcolepsy and the drugs prescribed to counteract its effects led to other problems for Lee, which, thankfully, he has now overcome. Lee’s nomadic lifestyle eventually led to a meeting with Patrick McCarthy (U2, Madonna, REM), who helped Lee get the music he heard in his head out for others to hear. The last three years saw Lee working on a hog farm in Minnesota and on the songs that now form ‘American Dreamer’, his debut album. Lee belongs in that long line of American musical innovators. Traces of Dylan and Springsteen along with all those they have influenced abound. Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, even label mate Israel Nash can all be heard in there somewhere, but ‘American Dreamer’ is laced with enough of Lee’s own experiences and vision to make it stand out from the crowd. Lyrically Lee covers much the same ground as Springsteen and even Neil Young; ‘High And Dry’, the banjo-fuelled sing-a long- opener, encourages his neighbours to grow their own crops because “they’re going to leave us high and dry.” Elsewhere Lee tackles the demise of the American dream and the abandonment of some US towns, always draped in memorable melodies that enhance the lyrical content of his songs. If there’s one complaint it’s that, at times, Lee’s nasal delivery makes his lyrics difficult to decipher immediately. Maybe a lyric sheet comes with the commercial album. ‘East Side Blues’ is one of those songs about the way the heart is being ripped out of towns and cities, and becoming “a stranger in your own damn town.” A slow-burning highlight of the album, it isn’t one that suffers from the lack of readable lyrics. In fact Lee’s sleepy vocals barely disguise his anger and urge the listener to stop and take notice. It’s a breath-taking performance. ‘Black Dog’ could have been pulled off a Neil Young album if it were not for Lee’s more conventional vocal style. The guitar playing on this track, as throughout the album, is first rate although Lee has now been forced to focus more on the piano than the guitar due to a farming accident that crushed three of the fingers on his left hand. ‘Honest Man’ is the most laid-back song on the album, showing that Lee isn’t afraid to expand his vision and is much more than a one-trick pony. Leaving behind the rockier Americana sound he so successfully explores on many of the songs, it’s an unexpected turn and proof again that Lee deserves those Springsteen comparisons. A song like ‘Know By Now’ just has the listener regretting that we lost Roy Orbison so early; even though Lee pulls out all the stops and delivers a remarkable performance you can’t help but imagine what Orbison singing this song would sound like. And imagine the boost that would have given Lee’s career. The closing title track, maybe the last recorded as it features the piano even more, is another social comment song which strangely recalls John Lennon both in the song’s structure and in Lee’s vocal delivery. This is not so much as to suggest that was what Lee was aiming for, but it does show that just when you think you had Lee neatly labelled he throws you off line again. Lee is now in his early 30s so his debut has been some time coming. That’s no bad thing as ‘American Dreamer’ has obviously been inspired by events in his life so he’s had much to take inspiration from. Let’s just hope that he can still return to working on that farm sometime if it inspires him to make music as exciting and fulfilling as this.

Track Listing:-

1 High And Dry
2 Where Do We Belong
3 Queen Of Carolina
4 East Side Blues
5 Black Dog
6 Buffalo
7 Honest Man
8 Know By Now
9 Horses
10 American Dreamer

Band Links:-

http://www.frankieleemusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/frankie.lee.9
https://twitter.com/frankieleemusic

Label Links:-

http://loosemusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/loosemusic
https://twitter.com/looseMusic
http://www.last.fm/user/Loose_Music
https://www.youtube.com/loosemusic
https://instagram.com/loose_music/