Tim Lee - No Discretion

The thing that I like best about living in Knoxville is our "secret" music scene. I'm not talking about DJ techno at Fiction or the parade of extreme bands at Blue Cats; rather the artists who walk the streets of downtown every weekend, and play the smaller clubs like Patrick Sullivan's, the Pilot Light, and Manhattan's. We are lucky to have been blessed with a continuous stream of talented, homegrown musicians and bands that call Knoxville home. The latest addition to our local family is Tim Lee, who some of you die-hards might recognize from the Windbreakers from the eighties. We could sit here and reminisce of days gone by, or… we could talk about Tim's latest solo release No Discretion, written and recorded right here in east Tennessee.

No Discretion represents a southern, garage-y songwriting style that anyone who spends time at the bars is bound to identify with. The songs are raw and explosive with a hint of folk sprinkled in for good measure. Lee's voice has a delightful level of scratch which more the compliments the scream of his guitar "I Wanna Believe," and "Keep Me Down" are sure to light a fire under yer arse. Not all the songs are barnburners of course; a few good old southern ballads are in the mix as well such as "New Hope," and "Felt Like…" The title track "no discretion" pulls from the best of both worlds in a beautiful amalgam of ugly-pretty.

The cast of players on this record is all local veterans. You might recognize a few: Don Coffee Jr., Todd Steed, Jason White, John Baker, and the lovely Susan Bauer Lee. These guys have played together in more projects that I can count and the result is always the same. Tight, passionate, and tasteful music that always feels like home.

No Discretion has all the ingredients that a rock & roll record should have with a taste that can't be beat. But, as always, don't take my word for it. Come by either location of the Disc Exchange and check out No Discretion yourself at our listening bar. ----KH

(Disc Exchange newsletter, 9/21/04)