(April 21, 2020) The artist who performs under the stage name CeeLo Green has made some of the most memorable songs of the last decade – “Crazy” and “F**K You” just to name a few. However, he’d never recorded a song with a band playing in the same room – until he recorded the cut “Lead Me,” the lead single for his upcoming project, CeeLo Green Is… Thomas Callaway.
Thomas Callaway is the name music fans will find on those hits that he penned as a member of Gnarls Barkley and the solo work he did operating under the Ceelo Green moniker.
And one listen to, “Lead Me,” a mix of good, old-fashioned gospel, soul and pop, and it becomes clear why Thomas Callaway had to emerge while CeeLo Green took a step back. “Lead Me” is a song about the kind of love that a person has on both a sacred and secular level. In that sense, it is the prototypical gospel tune.
The lyrics describe a love that is forward looking – tossing that tortured into the sea of no remembrance. Callaway talks of following this true significant other through the ups and downs of life, even when it seems like it would be easier to quit. Calloway’s vocals are augmented with tight, church influenced choral backing that also features call and response.
The instrumentation is decidedly old-school as producer Dan Auerbach eschews the technologies of modern song making and takes Callaway back to the church (or to the hot night clubs). Actually , Auerbach invited Callaway to Nashville to write some songs with no intention that this woodshedding would result in an album. However, musical chemistry happened, and they had enough material for an album.
Auerbach brought in some top flight Nashville musicians and the result is CeeLo Green Is… Thomas Callaway. You can hear the lead single, “Lead Me,” here.
By Howard Dukes