Mr. Steve, the Music Man
I have been a longtime fan of Steve Lee, the Nashville-by-way-of-Arkansas musician -- his 2006 album What Did You Today, Stephen Scott Lee? was an out-of-left-field day-in-the-life slice of occasional pop perfection whose shiny brilliance blinded me and completely overwhelmed whatever resistance I usually have to songs that have messages.
It's been a looooong time for the follow-up, but Steve Lee, who in the kids music world now bills himself as Mr. Steve, the Music Man, is ready. This Friday sees the official release of Earth Party!, the brand-new album from Lee, and I, for one, am very happy about that. I reviewed Earth Party earlier this year, and here's a selection of adjectives I used about the album that encourages greater consideration of environmental needs: "earth-friendly," "rousing," and "joyful." It's brief, but it shows every bit of the brilliance the 2006 album did.
So, I'm very happy to premiere "Trees Are the Hair of the Earth," a track that, as I noted in that review, "packs wordplay, a plea against deforestation, and a plaintive melody into less than 4 minutes of pop goodness." Lee is joined by Street Corner Symphony, Gabe Dixon, Jason Eskridge, and Alyssa Bonagura. Stream it below, and if you can't wait 'til the official release date, you can pick it up on iTunes here. Enjoy!
