MP3 Tim Lee - Under The House

A beautifically gorgeous rootsy trail of dusty backrooms, warm summer nights on the porch and distinctively Southern jangle

10 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, ROCK: Americana



Details:
Tim Lee is back! Following a break from the music business, Tim Lee is back with a new record and a new band. "Under the House" is first new solo record in a decade and he has been playing dates - both with his own band and the Windbreakers - across the country.

First, there's silence and then a quietly strummed acoustic guitar. Then, from somewhere, like a long-distance phone call from a long-lost friend, a gravelly voice starts to sing. He's weary, but he's hopeful. It's 1 a.m. wherever he is. It's last call. But he's not even close to ready to leave.

"...Crawlin' from the wreckage ... startin' anew ... after falling off the face of the earth, you got to keep it true ... You got to keep it true." Somewhere in the back of your mind, you remember the voice. It's him. Tim Lee is back. From 1982 to 1991, Lee, a native of Mississippi who now makes his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, was one-half of The Windbreakers, one of the great could-have-beens of the first wave of the American underground. They could-have-been great. They could-have-been REM. They could-have-been ... The road to pop stardom is littered with couldas. The could-have-named themselves after the jacket. Please let them have named themselves after the jacket. For nearly a decade, Lee, along with songwriting foil/friend/drinking pal Bobby Sutliff crafted distinctly American music that combined punk's ragged edge with all of Merseybeat's melodicism. That ragged edge came from Lee, the sturdy heart at the center of The Windbreakers. Where Sutliff preferred classic songs along the McGuinn/Hollies line, Lee always traveled a rougher road, combining equal parts Dylan with Tom Petty's Southern accents. Naturally, they didn't sell. Naturally, the critics and fans loved them. The band reflected "more of an American than English influence with strange melodic turns and a ragged Southern vocal style, " Ira Robbins concluded for their entry in The Trouser Press record guide.

About the Artist
From 1982 to 1991, Lee, a native of Mississippi who now makes his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, was one-half of The Windbreakers, one of the great could-have-beens of the first wave of the American underground. For nearly a decade, Lee, along with songwriting foil/friend/drinking pal Bobby Sutliff crafted distinctly American music that combined punk's ragged edge with all of Merseybeat's melodicism. The ragged edge came from Lee, the sturdy heart at the center of The Windbreakers. Where Sutliff preferred classic songs along the McGuinn/Hollies line, Lee always traveled a rougher road, combining equal parts Dylan with Tom Petty's Southern accents.

Following six Windbreakers LPs and EPs, Tim's first solo album, "What Time Will Tell," was released in 1988 to unanimous critical praise. "What Time Will Tell" was produced by Gene Holder (dB's, Wygals) and featured members of the Bongos, the dBs, Chris Stamey Group, the Wygals and Let's Active. Jon Young's review of the record in Music/Sound Output called it: "... a stunning album, the kind of unexpected triumph that restores your faith in the power of art."

In early 1989, Lee again went into the studio with Holder to record "The New Thrill Parade." Longtime pal and dB's/Steve Earle drummer, Will Rigby joined in as well. This recording was eventually released in 1992 on New Rose records in France. Following the demise of Coyote Records, Tim regrouped with Bobby Sutliff in 1989 and '90 to record again as The Windbreakers. The result was 1989's charming and powerful, "At Home With Bobby & Tim" and the even better "Electric Landlady" in 1990.

Another Tim Lee solo album came out in 1992 on DB records. "Crawdad" found Tim teamed up with producer/guitarist Rob Gal (Coolies, Ottoman Empire). One reviewer said "if Leonard Cohen had grown up in the south ... he would've made an album like Crawdad." In 1997, the Fundamental label released a double CD retrospective of Tim entitled "All That Stuff" which featured selections from across his career, including unreleased tracks and new songs recorded with Neilson Hubbard and members of Blue Mountain and Wilco.