Amos Lee – Mission Bell – (Blue Note)

It’s been almost  three years since singer/songwriter Amos Lee has released any new material, but he is now back with his fourth studio album entitled Mission Bell.

This time around, the Philadelphia native Lee was drawn to Tucson, Arizona to work with producer/musician Joey Burns of the band Calexico.  The acclaimed songwriter not only takes a subtle step in a new direction, but takes a commanding step forward in his artistry.  The heart and soul of Mission Bell is uniquely Lee, yet texturally the presence of Burns, his Calexico bandmates and an all-star cast of guests pays instant dividends.

Fittingly, Mission Bell opens with a song about leaving and starting anew.  In many ways, the opener “El Camino” is the central piece of the new album and perhaps its most self-reflective moment.  Lee’s soulful vocals are still as impactful as we remember, yet the canvas for his songs is a bit more refined.  This is where working with Joey Burns really shows its results.  On a song like “Hello Again” Lee’s seductive delivery meets its perfect match with the delicate western-styling’s of Calexico.

Fans of Amos Lee have not been hard to find since his debut in 2005, but a few notables step up to offer their talents on Mission Bell.  Indie-folk favorite Sam Beam of Iron & Wine puts the vocal drapes on the ethereal “Violin”.  Alt-country singer/songwriter Lucinda Williams duets with Amos on heartbreaking love song “Clear Blue Sky”.  And even Willie Nelson lends his trademark voice and guitar to the album finale “Behind Me Now/El Camino Reprise”.

It’s the fusion of these elements that makes Mission Bell a rarity these days, a cohesive album rather than a collection of singles.

In the interest of full disclosure, we should note here that Amos is way to young to have played at the original Main Point while it was in operation… But he did cut his ‘performing teeth’ at The Point which was just a couple of doors down from 874 Lancaster Ave. in Bryn Mawr.