Tim Lee

Concrete Dog

Fundamental Records 18 AD


Wow! I knew I was going to love this record when I heard ‘Half-Life’ on Tim’s MySpace page. In fact I put it on my own personal page and it’s still there today. ‘Cos ‘Half-Life’ is one of those great chiming songs with enough of a raucous edge to snatch you by the throat. In that way it’s like a Steve Wynn or a Chris Stamey song, in fact like any number of Tim’s contemporaries from those halcyon 80’s days when his old band the Windbreakers were glorious contemporaries of the Dream Syndicate and the dBs. When the fusing of the guitar sound of Neil and Crazy Horse with that of the Byrds turning out lashings of magic southern power pop.

This is Tim’s third album since he started recording again about five years ago and it’s probably the most full-on. He and his band, comprising wife Susan, Don Coffey, and Greg Horne, have been playing out and they’ve road-tested and honed the sound. The title track kicks off the album, greeting you with a massive guitar sound akin to Rich Hopkins, and from then on feet barely touch the ground. Next comes the ringing intro leading into the more melodic ‘Half-Life’, and then the rhythmic ‘Alone Together’. ‘Get Up. Get Up’ is another standout, sounding like the Redland Palomino Co. playing Southend pub rock. There’s also a couple of Windbreakers-like tunes in ‘Black & White To Me’ and ‘Ever Before’.

Most of the album’s produced by Tim and Greg Horne and recorded between Mississippi and Tennessee. But there’s one track recorded with Craig Schumacher’s assistance down at Wavelab in Tucson. It’s a drifter’s song, ‘Greyhound From Jackson’, with two short but sweet guitar breaks that imbue it with a loneliness yet more desolate than the lyric. A highlight but from a record jammed full of highlights.

Tim Lee's website

(from BoB#70)