Review: Douglas Lee, Themes for Falling Down Stairs

Douglas Lee, Themes for Falling Down Stairs, featuring Robert Petersen on Double bass…

I am excited to start this review for Themes for Falling Down Stairs by mentioning that I experienced this album on vinyl and the sound was much better than I remember records being back in the day. In fact, I purchased a new turntable for the experience and it was totally worth it!

Now that I have got that out of the way, let’s talk about the album. To start out, Douglas plays about fourteen different instruments on this record. To complete his sound he recruited an excellent group of musicians who complement his efforts nicely on every track. Robert Petersen does a great job at laying down a solid bassline for the tunes to develop on and rings clear throughout. Together they perform eight original compositions that are unique, odd, and quirky in the best kind of way. The music and the arrangements are deliberate, fascinating, and exotic to a point that I am not exactly sure what genre to place it all in but I will go with Jazz / World Music if I am pressed.

The music is super-entertaining and makes your mind wander on a different journey with each track.  At times there is a kind of retro-vibe that makes you try to envision the tunes in a movie you might have seen years ago.

There is a humorous vein throughout the whole project like you shouldn’t take it too seriously but musically it is impeccable.

The variety is impressive and grabs your attention and leaves you wanting more. The whole thing is a lot of fun and you will find yourself smiling from start to end!

Hear this one for yourself (and on vinyl if possible)

Douglas Lee, Themes for Falling Down Stairs available online at douglaslee.bandcamp.com