I still remember seeing Aaron Lee for the first time in curtain club in his band paperface and in that brief introduction what stuck out the most was the passion he puts into the music in how he tells the story. The vocals pulled you in, the story kept you around, and the good times you’ll remember in that special place we hold where all good music goes to be remembered over the years.
Fortunately there are times moments carry on into days and those days carry on into years and you continue to hear such a person continue to create music and while new, it’s still just as good as the first time you heard it, but you get the story a lot more now.
These days Aaron Lee is the frontman for OKC band Aaron Lee and the Gambling Souls and their first release came up for download the other day so I snagged it. To be honest, I snagged the hell out of it. My main worry is that I remembered things wrong, or that it wouldn’t be the same, or maybe I’ve changed.
I worry too much.
The melodies are spot on, hooks pull you in where they should, and overall you can still see his passion in every song coming through in every note. As you listen to song after song, over and over again, it becomes even more impressive that all songs are written, performed and recorded by Aaron Lee showing versatility across the board in going from idea to completed product that would do any writer or artist proud.
Some of the songs that stand out include their namesake Gambling Souls, Fly, and if you want to drift back to the 50s you even successfully go there in I Wanna Know. However, to me, before it’s all said and done Version 2.0 steals the show.
Growing up is never easy and adapting, changing, reinventing yourself seems to be a constant need at times. Version 2.0 is all about reinventing yourself and growing into the person who at times may scare you but certainly not unreachable.
Version 2.0 – upgrade now I know. There’s a beat in my mechanical heart.
From beginning to chorus to bridge and back again, Aaron Lee got everything right in this song (featuring Neil Swanson) as it is likely to become the personal favorite of everyone who hears it as we all share this need to grow and reinvent ourselves.
Wrapping up with a cover of Tina Turners What’s Love Got to do With It you can’t go wrong on this download. Your only investment is time and you’ll be spending it a lot with the Gambling Souls.
- iceberg
