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Praise for I Know You By Heart…

• “With a lovely tenor that might remind you of Michael Ball without the angst, cabaret veteran Lee Lessack fills his second solo album with romantic ballads from contemporary songwriters. “Dreamers” was written by Marvin Hamlisch for the quickly defunct show Jean Seberg, while Frank Wildhorn’s “Storybook” is from the slightly more successful Scarlet Pimpernel. Other gems include John Bucchino’s “It Feels Like Home,” Jimmy Webb’s “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress,” Stephen Schwartz’s “Dreamscape,” Ann Hampton Callaway’s “Perfect,” and “Endless Night” from The Lion King. Turn on this gentle collection and start dreaming.”

  — David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

• “Lee Lessack is a cabaret act who records himself and others on his own label. There is a touching purity to his voice, which is given ample opportunity to stress its persuasiveness on such material as the title song, “Dreamers,” and “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” – songs that are introspective but generally unpretentious. Particularly effective is a medley of “Right As The Rain” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.” The background tracks have a lovely, chamber-music delicacy. This is cabaret romanticism of a high order.”

  — Irv Lichtman, Billboard Magazine, 3/13/99

• “Working with arranger/accompanist John Boswell, Lessack creates a world built on dreams – both lost and found. Opening with the often-neglected gem from the ill-fated 1983 “Jean Seberg,” “Dreamers,” Lessack begins a journey through life’s triumphs (“Storybook,” startling in its honest simplicity; “I Can See It,” given a driving beat and augmented by Boswell and Brian Lane Green’s harmonies; and an inspired pairing of “Right As The Rain”/”Soon It’s Gonna Rain”) and heartbreaks (“When October Goes;” “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress”) and the dreams that inspire (“I Know You By Heart;” Ann Hampton Callaway’s “Perfect;” Stephen Schwartz’s “Dreamscape,” which seems as though it was written especially for Lessack; and Steven Lutvak and Carol Hall’s devastating “I’ll Imagine You A Song,” one of the most perfect contemporary songs ever crafted and given a breathtaking reading by Lessack).”

  — Jeff Rossen, Gay Chicago Magazine, 3/11/99

• “Lee Lessack’s supple and warm tenor is well suited for romantic crooning, but it is his ability to dig deep into lyrics that has won him legions of fans. “I Know You By Heart,” a follow-up to his self-titled debut album, is too long in coming, but well worth the wait.

  Listening to Lessack is like hearing a male Nancy LaMott, and I cannot think of a higher compliment. Whether tackling songs of love and hope or bittersweet poignancy and loss, Lessack never falls into the trap of melodramatics to set a mood. Instead he allows the songs to reveal their own hidden layers of meaning. He knows the importance of each word, of each syllable, and communicates them beautifully.”

  — Scott Mallinger, Au Courant Magazine, 3/16/99

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