Rick Lee: “Look What Thoughts Will Do”
Label: Swift River Music (SRMCD101); 2005; Playing time: 55.38 min
Here is a man with a voice that is warm enough to fry eggs on. This is also a guy who has lived more than a bit, and is now approaching the veteran stage.
Now, I ask you to put these two facts together. And this is what you will get: an immensely pleasurable album that exudes a sort of folksy wisdom. Note I said “folksy wisdom” [good], not “folksy whimsy” [bad].
Above all, I like his eclecticism. Judging from this CD, nearest to his heart seems to be the traditional ballad from the British Isles. But hot on its heels comes a love of country artists like Lefty Frizzell and the Louvin Brothers; relatively recently deceased folk icons like Richard Farińa and Kate Wolf, and ace contemporary songwriter Bill “Country Roads” Danoff (here represented with a fine song of his – co-written with autoharp virtuoso Bryan Bowers).
The Lee voice has a very special DNA. I guess if some boffin could cross the voice of Johnny Cash with Burl Ives, then Rick Lee would be the result. And this great voice is backed by some consummate musicianship.
If I had to pick out one musician then it would have to be Hal Rugg on dobro and pedal steel. His work on the best track on the album (Kate Wolf’s “Sweet Love”) is nothing short of sublime.
An album I intend to keep and play. And not send to the charity shop.
Homepage of the artist: http://ricklee.org, contact to artist: ricklee@pobox.com, contact to label: office@swiftrivermusic.com Dai Woosnam
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From Living Tradition Magazine (September/October, 2005)
Rick Lee
Look What Thoughts Will Do
SRM CD-111
Whether your musical preference is for Country, Contemporary Folk or Traditional Ballads, you are going to enjoy this CD.
Rick Lee can't be pigeonholed. He has a wide ranging repertoire which reflects his insatiable appetite for searching out interesting but little known songs and tunes, and different versions of well know songs. He is also a fine, well respected songwriter, and a good example of his work, Thanksgiving, can be heard on track 13. There's not a weak track on this CD. It is well recorded, the backings consummately tasteful and never intrusive.
From the opening notes of the John Jacob Niles version of The Lady and the Gypsy (which may cause a few academic eyebrows to twitch) to the final track, How High Did You Go?, your attention is held. The common factor is Rick's mellow, articulate voice which always holds your interest in the story he's telling. Add to this the excellent musicianship displayed by Rick on keyboard and banjo, and his choice of superb backing musicians and the result is a very fine CD.
Tom Spiers
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RICK LEE, Look What Thoughts Will Do, (Swift River 111).
This is a varied collection of traditional ballads, classic country songs and some contemporary material in tasteful arrangements centered on Lee's expressive baritone voice and banjo or keyboard playing.
Although these are new recordings, many of these are songs that Rick has been singing for many years and that experience informs the authority of the performances. --MR
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Together with his ex-wife, Lorraine, Rick Lee played an essential role in the Boston/Cambridge folk scene of the 1960s and 70s. As a duo and, later, as part of the ensemble Solomon's Seal, they brought a new sensibility to America's traditional folk music. With his third solo album, /Look What Thoughts Will Do/, Lee uses his five-string banjo, keyboards, and deep baritone vocals to expand on the folk tradition.
Accompanied by a mostly acoustic band that includes producer Andy May (guitars, mandolin, background vocals), Hal Rugg (Dobro, pedal steel), and Katie May (background vocals), he breathes new life into six traditional tunes and songs by Lefty Frizzell, Bryan Bowers, Kate Wolf and the Louvin Brothers.
He shows his songwriting skills with two pieces-- "Emo5", a banjo instrumental inspired by Dock Boggs, and a reprise of "Thanksgiving", an early Lee Composition previously covered by Nic Jones. --CH, Dirty Linen (#119, August/September, 2005)