Transmissions – Amos Lee
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Transmissions is Amos Lee’s eleventh studio album overall and his fourth in the past two years, following 2022’s Dreamland and My Ideal: A Tribute to Chet Baker Sings, and 2023’s Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams. Lee produced the album which draws inspiration from jazz, folk, pop and soul, and has themes that address such serious topics as death, aging, love and finding your place in the world. Lee has said that one theme of the album is trying to lament, celebrate and honor people we’ve lost, but also trying to connect with the presence of the people we have.
Click on ‘Continue reading’ for:
- More of this review and a review of Best of Bruce Springsteen
- Music News
- Song of the Week Lyrics ~ As For Me and My House – Cochren and Co. and Keith & Kristyn Getty
For Transmissions, Lee returned to an old-school style of recording, working with his longtime band in a studio in rural Marlboro, New York built by drummer Lee Falco and his dad (who passed away the year before) out of reclaimed wood from an old church. Playing live on the floor for long hours in close quarters, Lee and his fellow musicians were able to record the album’s twelve songs in just five days.
Here are brief comments about each of the songs on the album, which is one of my favorites for 2024:
Built To Fall – This song reminds me a lot of Bob Dylan, who Lee opened for the first time I saw him in concert. The song features Lee speaking poetically as a sort of street preacher over keys, strings, backing vocals, using a lot of religious imagery.
vKey lyric:
Walls were built to fall
Our gods and alcohol
I refuse the call
Walls were built to fall
Beautiful Day – Lee sings of a bear in his brain and being lost in the fog. He has sadness in his eyes. The song has a breezy chorus about a beautiful day which seems to conflict with the heaviness of the rest of the lyrics. This song features acoustic guitar, keys, drums, and backing vocals.
Key lyric:
You can cry all night, baby you ain’t gotta explain
But I won’t be the one who will define you by your pain
Carry You On – Lee wrote this beautiful song about a family member of a friend of his who was diagnosed with a terminal condition. She died six months after he met her. He loved her, thought she was really special, beautiful and amazing, and wanted to write a song that she would be remembered by. He wrote this song for her and to express to her twin sister, “I’m here with you”. The song features Mikaela Davis on harp, keys, guitar, bass, banjo, backing vocals, and drums.
Key lyric:
Sister, I will carry you
In the light, I’ll be with you
In every hour you’re forlorn
Through every night and every morn
Hold On Tight – This song has a soul/pop sound and features guitar, keys, drums, bass, and backing vocals.
Key lyric:
All we have is each other
All we have in this dying light
All we have is each other
Hold on tight
Madison – On this song Lee sings in falsetto over piano and light organ. He’s holding out that she may be his one and only love. He can’t live without her. He may be contemplating ending his life. The song takes a loud and angry turn when he sings that he’s been cutting himself again, and then uses some adult language about the feeling and the sin.
Key lyric:
For I can’t live my life without you
Madison
Darkest Places – This song features backing vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin and organ. He’s been holding on by a thread and has been riding out on rough seas and always seeking out a place to dock.
Key lyric:
When I’m sinking down, that’s when I cry out above
Yes, even in the darkest places, we still look for love
Keep On Movin’ – It’s been such a lonely time, with so much worry on his mind. He’s gonna seek out comfort from a friend. The gentle song features guitar, keys, and background vocals.
Key lyric:
But it’s been such a lonely hour
But in the darkness, I will find my power
Night Light – This song is about the shipwreck of a relationship. Who does he turn to now that he is without her. The gentle song features guitar, bass, backing vocals, drums, and strings.
Key lyric:
My friends say that I’m in their prayers
But it don’t change the fact
It all turns to black
Whenever you’re not there
Lucky Ones – This song is about a father singing to his daughter who he is proud of. She is his brightest star. The song features guitar, bass, backing vocals, and keys.
Key lyric:
Yeah, when you shine on me
My greatest gift, my greatest giver
Even with nothing more than our love
We are the lucky ones
When You Go – Lee tells of a friend of the band’s who died named Jesse, who was the husband of the guitar player in the band, Zach. He states “Jesse was a really important person to all of us. There are two songs about Jesse on the record. One is “When You Go”, the other is “Baby Pictures”. His spirit and the resonance of his spirit made me want to go to upstate New York, where he and Zach lived—record there and kind of honor his soul.”
This sad song features Lee singing in an upper register over strings, keys, piano, backing vocals, and bass.
Key lyric:
Once in a lifetime, a love comes along
It tears you to pieces, and it fills you with song
It hands you an arrow, and it destroys your bow
Oh, take me with you when you go, oh
Baby Pictures – Lee performed this song when we saw him in concert on his solo tour last October. It is the second song on the album about Jesse. The song features Lee singing in an upper register, guitar, keys, backing vocals, and bass.
Key lyric:
Same smile that’s in your baby pictures
Boy, that’ll never change
Same love that you always gave us
Will always stay here with us
Transmissions – This is a song about being present as much as you can. He turns around and she’s gone. The song features guitar, backing vocals, synth, and a memorable chorus.
Key lyric:
You get caught up with all these transmissions
You forget to put your keys in the ignition
Click on the radio, there ain’t no song
You turn around, and she’s gone
Favorite songs:
Built to Fall
Beautiful Day
Carry You On
Hold On Tight
Darkest Places
Lucky Ones
Best of Bruce Springsteen – Bruce Springsteen
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I have enjoyed Bruce Springsteen’s music for more than forty-five years, with 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town being the first of his albums that I bought new. I’ve seen him in concert a few times, the most recent being an incredible show at Wrigley Field in Chicago in 2023.
Springsteen has previously released an eighteen song Greatest Hits (1995) and a thirty-seven song The Essential Bruce Springsteen (original edition 2003). The new career spanning album is available as an eighteen song LP or CD version and a thirty-one-song digital deluxe edition.
The album cover is a striking photo from Eric Meola taken during the Born to Run album photo sessions. The songs included on the digital edition range from 1973’s “Growing Up” from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. to “Letter to You” and “Ghosts” from his 2020 album Letter to You. The songs include collaborations with the E Street Band and also Springsteen’s solo projects, from rockers with the E Street Band like “Born to Run”, to the acoustic “Hello Sunshine” from 2019’s Western Stars.
In a career like Springsteen’s there will always be disagreements about which songs make a “Greatest Hits” collection. For Springsteen fans, you can’t go wrong with the thirty-one-song digital deluxe edition, which includes two hours and eighteen minutes of music.
- God of Every Grace. Here is a new version of “God of Every Grace” by Shane and Shane, Bryan Fowler and The Worship Initiative. The song was written by Fowler, Keith Getty, Matt Boswell and Matt Papa.
- Walk On. Watch this performance of “Walk On” by U2 live at Slane Castle in Dublin, 2001.
- Between the Songs: Russ Taff and Steve Taylor. The Between the Songs podcast is relaunched with this interview with Russ Taff and Steve Taylor as they discuss Russ’s new album Cover Story and other topics. Also, check out the interview John Thompson did with Russ Taff, Steve Taylor and John Mark Painter on the True Tunes podcast.
- New Indelible Grace Album Celebrates 50 Years of RUF. Zoe Erler writes “It’s been 24 years since Indelible Grace released its first album. Last month, the group released the first song off its 10th album, “Bright Hope for Tomorrow,” recorded live during a celebration concert at the PCA’s 50th General Assembly.”
- Come Unto Jesus (Acoustic). Enjoy this acoustic version of “Come Unto Jesus” by Laura Story. The song was written by Story, Thomas Moore, Jordan Kauflin, Thomas Hastings, and Matt Merker.
As For Me and My House – Cochren and Co. and Keith & Kristyn Getty
This week’s song of the week is “As For Me And My House by Cochren & Co., and Keith & Krystyn Getty. The song was written by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Michael Cochren, and Bryan Fowler. It is an energetic new hymn of commitment and praise based on Joshua 24:15. Watch the lyric video here.
Oh, choose you this day whom you will serve
The kingdom of heaven or the powers of earth
Has He not spoken? Have you not heard?
There is but one true God
The God of our fathers set us free
His Son paid the price for our covenant peace
Through generations His mercy speaks
We trust in one true God
As for me and my house, we will serve, serve the Lord
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God
This house is the Lord’s and all within
May it be pleasing and holy to Him
Joined by His Spirit His people sing
Great is the one true God
Oh, great is the living God
As for me and my house, we will serve, serve the Lord
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God
We will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord
Oh, praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit now in us
Let every heart and every tongue
Praise the one true God
Oh, praise the Father, praise the Son
Praise the Spirit now in us
Let every heart and every tongue
Praise the one true God
As for me and my house, we will serve, serve the Lord
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God
As for me and my house, we will serve, serve the Lord
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord our God
We will serve
We will serve
We will serve the Lord
