Louder Than The Music

Nathan Lee - West Tisbury

Artist:

Nathan Lee

Title:

West Tisbury

Type:

Album

Released:

30 May 2009

LTTM Rating:

Your Rating:

Review

We've all heard the old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but if you want a real life example play someone this record. I listened to it for the first time after a morning stuck in an office with no heating in the middle of Winter and it warmed me; it warmed me in the way an old childhood memory can warm you and it painted pictures of an old man (think Willie Nelson) sat behind a piano in an old fashioned pub, simply lit with a captivated audience listening to the vocal tones and lyrics...
Read More We've all heard the old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but if you want a real life example play someone this record. I listened to it for the first time after a morning stuck in an office with no heating in the middle of Winter and it warmed me; it warmed me in the way an old childhood memory can warm you and it painted pictures of an old man (think Willie Nelson) sat behind a piano in an old fashioned pub, simply lit with a captivated audience listening to the vocal tones and lyrics which can only come from life experience.

I'll admit that I only listened to this record as one of the BarlowGirl's tweeted about a friends free music download and I couldn't resist. I'll also admit that it sat on my MP3 player for days before I finally remembered to listen to it. One listen and I was hooked though. Of course, I began hunting for more information on Nathan Lee and that's when the shock came in. He's like 30! Tattooed arms, short dark hair, wouldn't look out of place fronting a rock band and the lesson was learnt.

So onto the album. It's a simply produced offering with little more than vocals and piano for the most part but Lee manages to pull it off effortlessly. There are tinges of folk music through out, but equally tinges of rock. Lyrically, each song is a masterpiece of pains and trials. Vocally it's outstanding; as I said before, the tones sound like they are sharing years of life experience which also capture a million emotions and the passion of each song perfectly.

It's not an album you would put on and rock out to, but equally it's not a song that needs that quiet Sunday morning setting. These songs are a perfect soundtrack to everything in between. In fact, it's been hard to turn my mp3 player to anything else since I finally got round to listening to this. If you want a sneak peek before downloading - check out video 6 on nathanleemusic.com for a really great live performance of El Diablo Y El' Angel with an added bonus of some great Sax and harmony additions to the recorded version.

Review by Suzanne Physick

LTTM Rating 5 out of 5 Stars
Standout Tracks
El Diablo Y El' Angel
High Speed Low Drag
White Dove

Get 'West Tisbury'

Track Listing

Nathan Lee - West Tisbury

Review

Other Nathan Lee Releases

Bar Room Hymns

Risk Everything