The opening bars of Alan Lee's debut CD Going Home sounds like they were pulled right off a George Harrison track - which is good. There's the big 12-string acoustic guitar strumming with snaky lead guitar riffs over the top. The song that follows is a tune about traveling (sic), the lyrical feeling well-matched with the music. Alan Lee is a Beach actor and musician who was an original member of an acoustic trio called Longstreet Crossing. Going Home is his debut solo recording based on two years of jamming and writing. The CD is a 12-Song mix of mostly folk-inspired tunes with spare arrangements. Songs like 'Southwest of Somewhere', the title track, 'Fools Parade', and 'Stable Dawn' are reminiscent of the major folk artists and writers of the 60s and 70s - artists like Arlo Guthrie and Paul Simon with a little Dylan thrown into the mix. The lyrics are full of imagery that challenge you to think past the obvious: "I'm going back on my backroad route into Heaven" or "And you who lend your ears for free/Remain calm if you stumble upon sad Stable Dawn" or "dance with me inside my Fools Parade." For the most part the songs are accompanied by Lee picking his acoustic guitar and blowing the odd harmonica solo here and there. A couple of tunes, 'Stable Dawn' and 'Love Me Slow', are recorded live. Others, like 'These Two', a country song, and 'Nothing But Love' feature a full band backup, the latter feeling like a John Mellencamp (sic) piece in both lyrics and music. 'The Source' incorporates a great sense of parallel lyrics describing "the source of all happiness/You're the source of all my pain." |
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Beach Metro Community News July, 2004