Tree bursts in snow
Admiral Fallow
Keywords
Reviews (3)
The guardian
d. 28. June 2012
By
By
Robin Denselow
d. 28. June 2012
"Sam Lee is doing all he can to ensure that the British folk revival doesn't fail by becoming predictable. He's an avid song collector, a folk entrepreneur and a singer who sets out to revive lesser-known traditional material in an often startlingly unexpected style. He has a distinctive, unforced voice and his quietly compelling, at times crooned, no-nonsense approach is matched against constantly surprising backing. There are no guitars on his debut album (he apparently feels that guitar folk has little new to offer), but he makes use of almost anything else to bring out the eerie mystery or emotion in many of the songs ... An impressively brave and original set".
BBC music
d. 3. July 2012
By
By
Jeanette Leech
d. 3. July 2012
"Studying under the great balladeer and traveller Stanley Robertson, Lee gathered scores of traditional songs, and Ground of Its Own is Lee's interpretation of eight of them ... His delivery is intimate, and he inhabits the stories totally, letting the songs breathe into him rather than imposing his own personality onto them. However, many listeners simply won't take to these vocals. His modern London twang is more akin to Damon Albarn than to a ballad singer. Yet, persevere: because, with repeated listens, Lee's voice makes increased sense ... Lee knows these songs are wind-whipped survivors and he meets their fearless spirit with plenty of innovation and the greatest of respect. His interpretations can stand proudly within these songs' long histories".
fRoots
2012 July
By
By
David Kidman
2012 July
"Sam's a self-styled agent-provocateur-cum-mover-and-shaker (he also runs London's Magpie's Nest folk club) who with unbridled energy and enthusiasm brings an uncompromisingly original vision to traditional song ... Sam also happens to be a very fine singer, driven by an insatiable capacity for exhaustive research ... Although [Sam's debut CD] has its eccentricities for sure, it comes across as a seriously considered collection of unusual repertoire sensitively handled with passion and conviction and a refreshing lack of pompous self-importance".