Swinging acoustic/electric shuffling blues-driven tunes enter the mix on "Truth" before a washed-out singer/songwriter ballad, "What's Been Going On," displaces the setting. The blues reenter on "Street Corner Preacher" to liven things up a bit. The Callier cum Curtis Mayfield-esque soul returns on "Jails and Bombs," thank the gods, but that's the last taste of what Lee does best. The rest is standard singer/songwriter fare that is forgettable for its lack of originality even if it is pleasant. (Joe Henry already passed through these gates on his way to the dark yet living heart of American music, and he did it far better.) Despite its relaxed vibe, the sense of conflict in this set is everywhere. It reveals Lee to be at a crossroads aesthetically. The forces that drive him to the soul side are the same ones that drive him to the rest. The problem is that he only does one of these things exceptionally well: Lee is a great soul singer when he allows himself to be, and he knows how to write an excellent if quirky song in the genre that touches both Memphis and Chicago. The three tracks here that evoke that style set him apart from everyone else on the scene. It's a wonder that Was or his A&R man at Blue Note didn't push him a bit harder in that direction. Who knows? He will have to choose eventually, because one way or another, he can't get over by simply playing mix-and-match forever -- his albums will become generic rather than iconoclastic. Last Days at the Lodge is, after all, an average and bland singer/songwriter album with three great tracks (which is at least two more than most kids on the block). Thom Jurek.
Disc 1: Listen (3:10) Won't Let Me Go (4:17) Baby I Want You (3:00) Truth (3:23) What's Been Going On (4:15) Street Corner Preacher (3:14) It Started To Rain (3:05) Jails And Bombs (2:53) Kid (3:11) Ease Back (4:32) Better Days (2:50)