Rarely do artists come along with fully-formed personalities, having boundless talent, their own sound, and a complete vision of who they are, what they want to do, and how to present their talent to their target audience. An artist like Prince comes to mind in this respect, and though there has to be others, his is the obvious name one would recall as embodying this type of artist. While Michael Lee does not have the hard funk sound Prince has long since settled into, Lee does compare to Prince in many ways. For one, Lee seems to have a vision for his sound. Mixing jazz, progressive rock, and pop rock the same way Prince mixes soul and rock, Lee is able to take his influences, add his own sensibilities, and come up with something unique yet still recognizable. While not groundbreaking, Lee’s talents are quite formidable and his mastery of stringed instruments of all types and well as keyboards and percussion show him to be a musical prodigy capable of doing anything he wants in the music world. Also like Prince, Lee has found his own sound, most likely due to being a self-taught musician.

A jazzy-sounding and very liquid drum pattern and a deep popping bass open up the first song, “Land of Change”, before guitar and Lee’s voice join. The guitar playing calls to mind Eric Johnson’s and Lee’s bass work is very up front while the drummer almost plays a constant solo though the time is kept quite nicely. There is almost the same opening for “Trust”, though the guitar plays some great arpeggios and Lee’s vocals add an immediacy to the song that a long introduction doesn’t usually suggest. This song is the opposite of the first, with more rock in the mix, and putting the jazz elements to the backseat.  The middle part of the song almost goes into a Rush-like sequence with the interplay of guitar bass and drums. Vocally, Lee is a little thin but that may be the production as he can more than hold a tune.  Still, he doesn’t seem to have much of a vocal presence, almost sounding like a wan version of John Mayer.

The next song, “Despite”, opens with some great guitar lines and interplay of bass and drums before the vocals come in. A bit of Colin Blunstone is detected in Lee’s breathy vocals, though the song is jazzier than the Zombies ever got. This cut sounds as if the baroque was taken from the Zombies and more jazz were added which makes for an interesting song, probably the most interesting one yet. The keyboards and drums handle the chores on the opening to “Tired”, while Lee’s voice sounds like the title, probably by design. There is more of a ballad feel on this cut, though with the busy drumming and guitar/keyboard interaction the tune sounds “up” even though it is likely about a breakup. Some gently finger picked guitar opens up the next ballad “Mystery of Life”, with Lee picking and singing like a cross between Pierce Pettis and Blunstone. It is on these slower songs where Lee’s vocals shine the most. Suddenly, his voice is up front and the texture perfectly complements the music. A string section may have enhanced this song a little bit, but it is still powerful on its’ own.

A rocker is next, “Youth”, and the guitar enters and growls before evolving into a Satriani-sounding lead part. Great guitar and vocal work from Lee who has his voice mixed just about where it should be for it to be most effective. Lee’s bass work is impressive as well with some great intricate conversation between the bass and the other instruments. “In The Picture” has Lee doing his Blunstone impression again. It’s uncanny how the two sound so alike.  It’s a great vocal sound for ballads though and Lee does well with it, adding a poppy element that makes it a strong candidate for radio play. Acoustic country-style finger picking opens “Distant Future”, and some minor percussion and tasty mandolin carries the song.

“Never Enough Time” starts out with snaky Latin-tinged runs on the electric.  The vocals and sound of the song seem very ’60’s influenced, not with an overt psychedelia, but more so with the phrasing which seems to borrow a little from Robert Plant.  Lee gets a bit Metal with the guitar towards the end, adding some lines of which Metallica would be fond.

The next song, “Face Forward”, is an instrumental that begins with stately piano and African percussion before the drums and bass begin to kick in. The piano seems to be the lead instrument to this song, as opposed to the guitar, which had set the pace previously. As you would expect by now, Lee shows quite a bit of piano talent. The last song, “That Day”, is a pian0-based ballad, though with an added proggy/jazzy oomph taking it through to the finish.

What I take away from this album, besides the songs and the playing, is the emphasis placed on the arrangements. This is something most one-man band type acts give short shrift while being satisfied with just banging out some raggedy blues. Not Lee, who obviously spent much time crafting every note and nuance. While for some it may seem that the careful placement of every note and nuance would take away the lively spontaneity that most music thrives on, it allows Lee to craft perfectly-formed musical jewels that shine with a brightness few artists can achieve. It doesn’t take long to hear that Lee’s talent is quite rare and extraordinary. From one listen, you will be able to tell Lee has his own sound, and a wonderful debut with Face Forward.

Review by Scott Homewood

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