PHIL LEE
You Should Have Known Me Then (Shanachie)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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It took Phil Lee 49 years to come up with his debut album, last year's The Mighty King Of Love, but happily #2 has come along a lot sooner. You Should Have Known Me Then, like its predecessor, shows that though good things might take some time to come along, when they finally come they can come in bunches. It's taken Phil Lee a half a century of high hopes, heartbreak and hell-raisin' to come up with two albums worth of songs so far, but there's a bunch of joy in store for anyone who takes the time to listen.

Lee gets billed as "country music with a rock and roll heart," and while that's true enough at times, it barely scratches the surface of his musical menu. Shuffling country blues, coffeehouse folk, Dylanesque folk rock with a side order of rockabilly are also on the bill of fare. Two albums in, and I'm left to wonder if there's anything the guy can't do.

That he does it all very well is proven in part by the roster of folks lined up to do it with him. Guests on this album include Jay Bennett, John Stirrat and Ken Coomer of Wilco, Gillian Welch and her partner in artistry David Rawlings, Allison Moorer and Billy Joe Royal.

It's the songs, though, that really make the album, and the twisted path Lee took on his way to Nashville and the songwriter's life has provided enough material to fill an encyclopedia. It's a good thing for us he's slowed down a bit, so he can last long enough to tell us some more of his sometimes hilarious, sometimes harrowing tales. Meanwhile, you should get to know You Should Have Known Me Then.

Track List:

Good For Me * Babylon * Just Some Girl * Carl's Got Louise * 2 For The Price Of 1 * Jemima James * Daddy's Jail * 3 Faces In The Window * Nobody's Gotta Know * Any Harder Than It Is * It's Crying * You Should Have Known Me Then

© 2001 - Shaun Dale