The eclectic Said I Had a Vision adopts the unorthodox strategy of tracing a label owner through a career’s worth of stylistic change. The album’s subject is David Lee, a North Carolina songwriter who presided over a tight family of independent labels between the early ‘60s and late ‘80s. Though bred and raised in the parallel traditions of African-American gospel and R&B, Lee revered the plainspoken eloquence of a good country tune and counted Ernest Tubb and Bill Monroe among his favorite performers. Lee’s recognition of the connections between seemingly disparate genres deeply informed his songwriting. His compositions embraced a myriad of styles, from the hayseed R&B of Bill Allen’s “The Party” to the deep soul–inflected gospel of The Singing Mellerairs’ “Ain’t It a Shame.” Most moving of all may be Lee’s own performance of “I’ll Never Get Over Losing You,” a rueful bit of country-soul that, with its theme of dogged persistence and abiding faith in the face of disappointments, mirrors Lee’s unwavering commitment to his artistic vision.