Official Site of Lee Tyler Post: Press

Review of Emancipate
by Frederick Leonard

Inside of the first 30 seconds of listening, Emancipate is already one of my favorite records! Here are ten beautiful gems in the form of expertly rendered songs sung by a guy with one of those voices that burns so sweetly from the spirit within — that place where God and sex share the same space.

Post’s big, big urgent voice is parked somewhere between the rough growls of Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and the soulful pleas of Eddie Kendricks (Temptations) whom we all know, knew, and came to love. With a raw but disciplined voice, he takes manly charge of every note he encounters, spinning his way through this masterful CD.

The components are simple. A voice. A coupla guitars. Some bass and a little percussion. There’s no high-tech wizardry here. There are no existentially long solos. It’s not too long. Most impressively, there are no reservations in its delivery. It is quite simply, honest. Even in its quietest moments the music speaks loudly in its own confidence and condition without begging for attention for attention’s sake.

Post has deployed the instincts of Simeon Flick (guitars, bass, percussion) and Andy Machin (production and percussion) at Big Fish Studios. Flick and Machin’s contributions are equally impressive in that they offer smart changes and subtle embellishments while clearing the way for this lion to roar. Often times rockers start jamming away until the mix is drunk with cacophony, since that’s what they know or think their supposed to do. And while that scenario usually strives to add personality, or “popability,” it most often dilutes it. This is not that kind of record, but rather it is a creation resulting from smart, innate, and heartfelt choices that seem to concern themselves with how strongly the material is written. I’d also like to say that these songs bear that magical quality where the music sounds like the words being sung, and vice versa. Further, Lee Tyler Post sings with ease. His triumph isn’t so much that he finally sang it right, so much as that he’s so willing and so capable to sing so nakedly honest.

Believe for yourself at www.leetylerpost.com

Review of Emancipate
Cashbox Magazine
Folk troubadour Lee Tyler Post brings his ragged tales out into the open on Emancipate. With a deep gravelly voice, Post can dig deep, but what separates him is that he can take that low voice and let it soar when it needs to. With “Vacant” Post shows us how his realistic spirit can sometimes give way to bursts of unforeseen optimism. Singing to his wife, Post is as sincere as it gets in the music business, letting her know “I will be waiting for you”. While it is not a new concept in music, it is the intensity that Post brings to “Vacant” that keeps it fresh and entertaining. On “Comfort Street” Post is more relaxed than normal and lets the music hang in the back while his voice takes the song to delicate heights. It is Post’s voice and storytelling abilities that keep Emancipate from being a typical folk experience. There is no better example of what Lee Tyler Post is capable of than on “Miles From Home”. Here Post is not afraid to have an electric guitar come out of nowhere and rip into the scenery. One of the most upbeat moments on Emancipate, “Miles From Home” is the perfect mesh of folk and rock and roll. Closing Emancipate with its longest track, Post takes us through the journey of a life gone by. Again, it is Post’s storytelling and voice that prevail, making “Price You Pay” and Emancipate a emotional journey through one man’s pain and perspective.

Review by Justin Scro

Review of Life Without Fences
by Simeon Flick

A Helluva Hooky Way to Work Things Out

Lee Tyler Post is working a lot of things out on this record...but you won't notice the pathos while you're first being drawn in by the engrossing music and the utterly memorable monster hooks. This is ideal music for a quiet night, or for a road trip, with your soul as the subtext destination. This record may not grab you right away, but after a few listens the songs will reach in and take hold, which is symptomatic of a classic recording. What's also symptomatic is when the songs transcend their instrumentation; much more seems to be conveyed by these bare-bones guitar and vocal arrangements than would seem possible.

It's always the small things, and on 'Life Without Fences' they're the skillfully layered nuances; a little harmonica here, second guitar and/or vocal there...all of the layering perfectly serves the well-written songs. There's a lot of soul in these tracks, which seem to channel several genres into one new and different one, about as close to one's own sound as one can get and still be listenable. There's a lot of heartland grit and motor city soul, and one could use or refrain from using the term "country," since it seems to apply in some respects, but is ultimately too limiting to this music.

Post's huge voice cuts to the quick on every track. He runs circles around Springsteen on the epic opener, 'Vagabond', and goes bigger than Tom Waits on the we're-not-in-Kansas-anymore sojourn of 'Contemplation'. The stand-out cut is 'Sara', which was perormed live in the studio and gets even more intimate than the other songs, if you can believe that. This song is akin to someone like Otis Redding or Al Green singing on a front porch in Tennessee, and his words are cut-to-the-quick introspective: "I know it's hard when you're living all alone/Sometimes this world's so cruel/But the world's only cruel when you're living like a fool/And baby, that's exactly what you do" 'Life Without Fences' is classic stuff, and until you own it you'll be less alive.

Read more articles/reviews by Simeon!
http://simeonflick.com/fmain.html

Review by Billy Jones of IndleHandsMag.com - NC

In the letter that came with the CD Lee Tyler Post mailed to me he mentioned that this CD was recorded on a 16 track, 2 inch Analog machine with zero digital corrections-- you know, old school. The tone of his letter seemed to be that he was concerned that I might not wish to review a CD built on ancient technologies, but fact is: this is exactly what I'm looking for.

Lee has paid his dues in the record business, having crossed the country beginning in Austin, Texas, moving to Nashville, then California before returning to Nashville where he currently resides. A veteran of years spent touring the west, Midwest, and southwest; Lee has developed a clear voice capable of winning hearts and souls both young and old. His music is reminiscent of old school Southern Rock without the pain of electric guitar solos that pierce your ears and stay with you for days thereafter.

Lee Post is the solo singer/songwriter, the type of guy who finds his own way, blazes his own trail. Oh sure, you'll hear many familiar influences in the music he plays and the songs he writes, but you'll always know it's his alone. The guys will sing along and the girls will melt. When he walks off the stage, hearts will be broken, destined to suffer until his return.

Rock and blues based, Lee's music has been described as follows:

"...Throw the imagio of Johnny Cash, the vocal clarity of Edwin McCain, and Dylan-esque lyrics, and somewhere in the beat-- you'll find Lee..." Michael Shear, New York Overview

"...Lee Tyler Post: from the heart of Texas. Bluesy, rock oriented, folk inspired, soulful, unique, and just plain cool.." -Gary Hays, owner Hobo Joe's, Nashville, Tennessee.

This is the type of music that talks to your soul. Acoustic guitar based, rock style ballads that tell the story of your own life as if Lee had spent his life writing your life. It's songs about falling in love and the price you pay. As a matter of fact, The Price You Pay is the title of one of Lee's songs, a bluesy, hard hitting ballad about losing someone you love.

Lee lists among his influences; John Hiatt, Tom Waits. Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers, and Don Henley. And you'll hear them when you hear Lee Tyler Post. On his website, LeeTylerPost.com, Lee lists numerous upcoming tour dates including several in my home state of North Carolina as well as one in my hometown-- I think I'll try and catch him live. You should too...? Billy Jones of IdleHandsMag.com

Virginia's Reviews - MusicAustin.com

Lee Tyler Post is a 2003 addition to the Austin scene, and he's an outstanding addition at that. For one thing, he's a very good singer. Post has a voice that can jump from refined polish to raw emotion and back without breaking a sweat the way Phoebe Snow skips from octave to octave. Post also racks up points for being a good songwriter. He seems to move around a lot, but if he can be persuaded to stay in Austin, he's a keeper!

Emancipate is his fourth release. It is an easy rocking, mostly laid back album with many of the tunes using simply acoustic guitar backing. Some of the songs have a full band with drums and electric guitars. Getting a sample of both sides of Post's talents makes me think he could rock the night away in a noisy club and hold his own quite well, but he would also be terrific in a quiet and intimate setting where people are into listening. His vocal talents really shine on "Miles from Home" and "When It's Over" on emancipate, but the CD really doesn't contain a single song that isn't good.

Looking at his album cover art, where he favors long coats and Western hats, I got the impression he was a country singer, but emancipate is firmly planted in the pop/rock or acoustic/rock sound. He's worth checking the club listings for and getting out to see.

Review of House of Miles By Isaac Lassiter

Lee Tyler post feels deeply what he sings. Not once in his solo singer-songwriter album do the lyrics or the guitar playing feel forced. Adding significant guitar melodies to his soul-ful voice, Tyler Post gives you a soulful rocking album that is well worth picking up. The first thing I noticed about the album was that the man is playing tight, sharp melodies. For that reason, what would have to be seen as a softer album considering the heavy state of many current releases, Tyler Post does a really good job pulling off a solid long release without ever "shredding" or rocking out too hard. The man has something to say, spicing religious themes and good philosophy in with his laments of love and love lost.

1. Cruel World Intentions- "To hell with the devil", this line immediately struck a funny chord b/c of a Christian-rap group I had seen as a kid (MC Talk), who if I remember correctly had a hit song that proclaimed this somewhat strange, somewhat redundant, somewhat bizarre phrase. Tyler Post adds tight changes, medium-highs to the mostly melodic and softer lows, and shows a highly developed voice in his music from the gate. I thought that I would enjoy the whole album after this song, and the unique pacing told a story itself within the song.

2. Heart Like a Train- "We'll find the proof that we're all just a memory," This softer song philosophizes and cleans the skeletons out of the closet, while still pushing some solid soul through.

3. Tilted- He shows great range here, moving deftly from vocal highs to lows, thought he might somewhat overuse the fast/slow tempo maneuver to affect the lyrical flow.

4. Hearts- This song catches you immediately. It is, without a doubt, my favorite song on the album. It is smooth, sweet song that you would want to play for a good friend on a Sunday afternoon on the way to the beach, or maybe when you just leave San Diego on the way out on a road trip with an ex-girlfriend you haven't seen in a long time. "Two hearts could never beat as one, as long as they are ours." I have to say, I'm sitting in the "Sad Cafe" with Tyler Post and the love he lost there, and I can see myself there as well.

5.Memphis- Ok, maybe because both sides of my family are Tennessee-hillbillies, i'm a sucker, but this TN themed song makes you feel good about the road trip that takes you "down the road". In the opposite way that a West Coast road trip takes you to that next distant city or spectacular natural spot, a Southeastern road trip takes you minute by minute through new towns where very different people live their lives in ways you will never understand. The depth of the lives and souls that you pass and completely miss add a dimension of understanding that shows to you more modestly your cultural place in the world. I think it makes the public more appreciate the importance of each person participating in the roots of arts and music culture. "Memphis" speaks, and I love how he says, "Nashville, I take comfort in your pouring rain", that negatively defining moment for many becomes a reason to grow and keep moving forward. That simple acceptance of life, path, and where the road has led you today is more subtly and deftly stated here than in almost anything else I've listened to.

All of the songs on this album reflect good production and thoughtful lyrics that are insightful and fresh. The guitar work paints the lyrical sentiments well, and his lingering leads are not overdone. I would have to recommend this album to the music fans in San Diego and beyond. I hope that you'll enjoy the images that this album brings you, and seeing what good and hard memories that it evokes. Get a bottle of wine, a friend to relax with, put it on and enjoy. Don't miss "Petals of Rain", track #10, and the mellow/easy let down of the album. - By Isaac Lassiter ? Copyright 2002 SDAM.com

For more info on Lee Tyler Post, visit his Web site www.leetylerpost.com