Michael Lee “Face Forward”
I love receiving CDs in the mail from new artists (or at least artists that I have yet to hear of) and then finding out that I do know the artist or band because of unknowingly hearing one of their songs. That was just the situation with the British musician Michael Lee. Not knowing the name, I put on his new CD entitled Face Forward and pressed play. It was at that point that I heard the now-familiar song of “Despite” coming out of my headphones. As I already knew and liked “Despite,” I was ready to hear if the other tracks lived up to that first bit of personal exposure to Michael Lee’s music. I was not disappointed.
The 2009 release from Michael Lee is a strong representation of his talent, as Lee played most of the instrumental parts. The only exception is the drumming provided by Will Gates, keys by Christopher Lever, and background vocals from fellow singer-songwriter Martyn Drabik.
Along with being multi-talented, Lee writes songs that have mass appeal. Face Forward features eleven songs that are varied in style. With the different directions that Lee takes with his music, you can hear rock songs featuring Lee on guitar, piano-driven pop, and even an instrumental track.
The CD begins with “Land of Change” and “Trust”. Both of these tracks could easily find their way onto Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) radio stations. The next two songs, “Despite” and “Tired”, have enough commercial feel to them that they can may end up on Adult Contemporary stations, with “Despite” also being a good AOR contender as well.
Next, “Nature of Life” has a retro, easy-paced sound that may easily belongs back in the seventies and a feel reminiscent of American singer-songwriter Jim Croce. The song gives a nice change of pace to the heavier sounds of the first four tracks.
Staying with the influential sounds, “Youth” has a flavor of another American singer-songwriter, Duncan Sheik. While Sheik is known for having songs that fit on Top 40 radio, a few of his songs would fit better on Hot A/C radio stations. “Youth” contains a harder Adult Contemporary sound, and would fit onto Hot A/C radio.
One of the most interesting songs on the album is “Distant Future”. While the majority of the songs on the album are in the rock vein, it is on this song that Lee decides to take a different approach with an acoustic, folk-flavored song that allows the listener to hear another side to his work.
With the second to last song, Lee changes pace once again, showing off his composing skills with an instrumental piece. The song is a piano-driven tune that also includes Lee playing every instrument on the track. You might even consider the title track of the album to be the song that really showcases Lee’s skills as a musician.
Face Forward closes with the song “That Day”, the music and the lyrics of which bring to mind Nick Heyward’s post-Haircut 100 writing. Having the different styles of music and intensities in the deliveries of the songs on the album, “That Day” seems to be a great way to bring the album to a close.
Having known some of Michael Lee’s music before hearing the entire album, it was a great joy to hear that the rest of the album was just as good as the first song that I had heard from the musician. With the many different styles to the music, Lee keeps the music fresh throughout the release. It is not often you hear an artist take different approaches to his writing, but Face Forward proves that he has the talent.
Review by Matheson Kamin
Recent Comments