LEWIS TAYLOR Lewis Ii

Description

Lewis II was the follow up to Lewis Taylors epochal, self-titled debut album. It was initially released in 2000 and this double LP release, its first ever vinyl edition, has been heavily anticipated for nearly a quarter of a century. Its often years before most listeners catch up with an albums breathtaking vision and devastating execution, and so it has proved with Lewis II; it stands up exceptionally well today.

After Island rejected Lewis Taylors second release (later released as The Lost Album), he returned to the studio to record Lewis II. Less esoteric than Lewis Taylor, Lewis II is a more polished, sophisticated funk and mature uptempo soul than the dark psych-soul of his debut. The production, whilst slicker, is a bit tougher, with more crisp, R&B-flavoured grooves and head-nod beats and more bass pumping up his voice. The vocal intensity present on album number one doesnt abate. Indeed, as Lewis himself noted, my voice is better on Lewis II and the vocals are high in the mix.

The moody funk of Party sounds like a mad blend of Riot-era Sly Stone and Brian Wilson. It rides a stuttering drum machine groove with acapella harmony vocals arriving halfway through to stay for the duration. My Aching Heart, with its clean, slick, late 90s R&B drums, could surely have been a single. Perhaps Lewiss idiosyncratic melodies wouldve been too challenging for the charts. Lewis had hoped You Make Me Wanna would be a single but the dank, organ-drenched groove, coupled with the growling eroticism of Lewiss vocals wouldve, again, made this beyond the pale for most mainstream music fans. Somewhat incongruous acidic synths and bleeps give way to a laconic summertime groove on breezy highlight The Way You Done Me, all funky acoustic guitars and stunning, good-time vocals. Sumptuous ballad Satisfied, a real fan favourite, marries unusual instrumentation with classic soul-ballad structure and closes with a monster guitar solo which almost out-Princes Prince in its gritty melodicism, set against sweeping strings of real majesty. Prog-Funk-Rock!

The dubbed-out, spaced-out Never Gonna Be My Woman is the closest the album comes to classic DAngeloesque neo-soul, with echoes of the esoteric funk featured across Maxwells contemporaneous Embrya. But what follows is on some next level business. As Lewiss biggest fan, Geoffrey Scull, noted, “the Im On The Floor / Lewis II / Into You song cycle stacks up against any other consecutive 15 minutes of recorded music, ever!” And who are we to argue with that? These couldve been hits for Justin Timberlake during his fascinating Timbaland-collaborating days, such is the sonic and textural pop experimentation at play here. The extraordinary title track sounds like an outtake from Marvin Gayes Trouble Man and spends its last third as a searingly dark piano-led psychedelic-guitar-crunching soul instrumental. Just astounding. And then. AND THEN! The way it segues into, er, Into You is just straight up genius. Goosebumps galore on this one, no words can describe its celestial brilliance. Just kick back and be beguiled by the Let me come on over again refrain that ornately adorns its sensational coda. Phew.

The swoonsome, lovelorn ballad Blue Eyes, apparently written in the spirit of Marvins Vulnerable, is a lush, slow swinger with some gorgeous noir touches. To close, Lewis completely retools Jeff Buckleys beloved, beautiful Everybody Here Wants You and, while talking some liberties, even manages to surpass the original. Yes, really! With soaring, fiery vocals set against icy piano and psychedelic guitars, Lewis recasts Buckleys effort as dramatic, ethereal soul.

When it came to translating the original CD booklet into a 12 inch LP sleeve, thanks to some suggestions from Cally Callomon (head of Islands art department, who designed all the sleeves for Lewiss two Island albums and their singles) and his trusting us with his Lewis Taylor folder full of various negatives, test prints and whatever else he was able to salvage from the old Island art department, weve gotten pretty close to what the original LP sleeve wouldve looked like if it existed. Simon Franciss vinyl mastering, presents the eleven tracks over a double LP so, as ever, the record sounds outstandingly good. The records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry.

• First time vinyl issue
• Pressed on 140g double vinyl
• Updated artwork

BEWITH129LP -Artist-Lewis Taylor

• Format Detail: 2LP Black
• Handling Note: **Please allow an additional 5 business days for this item’s shipment.**
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Funk
• Internal ID: JIT
• Released: 4/10/23