To celebrate the soon-to-be released albums of 3 of my favorite artists the following 3 Tuesdays, I wanted to share my top ten songs by each of them and hopefully better introduce some of the most talented and soulful musicians of our day. This week, we will focus on Amos Lee, whose album, Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song, comes out the soonest on October the 8th. By the way, you should stream it on amazon.com. You only got a few more days to do so. Listen to it 2 or 3 times; it really grows on you. At first, I thought it may be like his 2nd and 3rd albums: good but not great, but after listening to it again (and a 3rd and 4th time), I decided it competes with his 1st and 4th full-length albums, which are nothing short of greatness. Here are my top 10 songs among the first 4 albums from good ol' Ryan Anthony Massaro (aka Amos Lee).
10. Street Corner Preacher, from Last Days at the Lodge - This song has a simple, melodic hook to go along with a story about one of Amos's most complex and best lyrical characters.
9. What's Been Going On, from Last Days at the Lodge - He starts and ends this sad song with a great Amos line, "No one says a word to me. They're concerned with my jealousy. I guess that's how its got to be, from now on."
8. Supply & Demand, from Supply And Demand - Probably the best song from his 2nd album beating out Southern Girl and 2 other good songs about philosophies of life and people, Freedom and Shout Out Loud.
7. Learned a Lot, from Mission Bell - I am sure we all know too well about learning a lot "broken down on our bedroom floor."
6. Truth, from Last Days at the Lodge - It's not often a song by a non-comedic artist makes you laugh for good reasons, but this song still makes me snicker when I hear it. Very clever song-writing and story.
5. Give It Up, from Amos Lee - A fun song to teach a good lesson: some want so-called freedom, but there are some people/things we should "give it up" for such as love, family, God and truth. Plus, is there a cooler sounding way to say, "We live in a world full of confusion."?
4. Violin, from Mission Bell - Until I actually looked at the song's title after a few listens, I thought it was "Vile Land" instead of violin. I still think it might be a play on words; it makes sense with the song. This seems to be one of Lee's most heart-felt, personal, and sincerely written tunes. It's great at the end of any tough day.
3. Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight, from Amos Lee - Maybe the most classic Amos track and definitely one of his early ones that got me hooked.
2. Flower, from Mission Bell - There are so many things I like about "Flower". Content and sound alone and it may be my favorite of his, but it didn't quite have the significance of number one to me.
1. Arms Of A Woman, from Amos Lee - For most people and especially music lovers, usually our all-time favorite songs can take us right back to a particular moment or period of our lives, and this song does that for me more than any other Amos tune. In my opinion, it is the best long-distance love song ever written. My wife and I dated long distance before we got married, and I fell in love with this song then. I can remember going for a run by myself while listening to it early on in our long distance relationship. When I listen to it now, I can go right back to the exact spot (an overpass in Provo) when I realized the applicability of what I was hearing to how I was feeling. It helped me realize how much I liked and missed Angela at the time. And I'd say things worked out pretty well for us; now I can sing "I am at ease in the arms of a woman, and now most of my days are spent with her." Thank you, Amos, for the help.
Well, you should support Amos and purchase some of his music if you've enjoyed anything you've heard today. You won't regret it. If not, thanks for reading and tune in next week as we celebrate The Avett Brothers.
No comments:
Post a Comment