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Other products from Lewis Taylor |
| Details / Tracklist: |
1.1 Madman1.2 Keep Right on1.3 Reconsider1.4 When Will I Ever Learn 21.5 Out of My Head Is the Way I Feel1.6 Carried Away2.1 Stoned, Pt. 22.2 Positively Beautiful 22.3 Throw Me a Line2.4 Shame 22.5 Won't Fade Away2.6 Keep on Keeping on |
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2 |
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| | Description: | Lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor's Numb finally arrives on double vinyl! One of
UK soul??s most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most
under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious
multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. He enjoys a fiercely loyal
following which, over the years, has included celebrity champions like Bowie,
Elton and D'Angelo. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own
label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this
long-awaited physical edition. It captures Taylor's wholly unique, intoxicating
take on lush, late-night psychedelic soul music.
Lewis wrote and recorded these 10 brand new tracks after a 17 year break from
making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. The years
away have done nothing to dull Taylor's unique musical vision. He still
astounds. The lyrical themes, however, have shifted. Understandably, more than a
decade and a half of soul searching and unflinching self-examination cannot fail
to influence this most honest of songwriters, and boy does it show. Numb marks a
return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian
Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres", as Mojo put it recently.
After playing a rapturously received gig at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2006,
Lewis unceremoniously walked away from music and disappeared completely. An
interview in 2016 shed light on some of the reasons for Taylor??s withdrawal from
the business, but there was no hint of a return anytime soon. Then in June 2021,
news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina
Smyth with whom he had worked first time around.
On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo
pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts
of suicide - clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is
rich, warm and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you.
A true grower of an LP, it really does reward repeated listens. As Jim Irvin in
Mojo reflected, "despite the depths these plumb, it's a curiously uplifting
experience, unfurling like a concept album about life's challenges with an
optimistic beauty at its heart."
Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, ??Final Hour? takes on a
dark, downbeat vibe. With lyrics that confront (and, seemingly, confound) death
head-on, Lewis ensures the groove is still there, the beats still swing and your
head still nods, strings glissade. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and
subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track ??Numb? is a good example
of the lyrical themes throughout the album. As Taylor reflects, "So removed I
feel no pain / And for all I know I could be having the time of my life" with a
coda that feels very much in conversation with Brian Wilson's finest harmonies.
"Feels So Good" is sophisticated 90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The
music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. Downlifting. A
neat trick, and one Lewis has been so adept at over the years. "Apathy" is a
mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars.
??Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy,
discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking
free of its disorientating restraint.
The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood, with the refrain "I still
believe" ringing out as Lewis harmonises with himself. "Brave Heart" quietly
struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop
with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. Closing out
Side C, "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding five
and a half minutes of swoonsome deep soul that oscillates between a restrained,
barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and
electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. The penultimate track
"Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a
sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. If the hairs on the back of your
neck aren't standing up by the midway point, you might need to check your pulse.
Album closer and true tear-jerker "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice
high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what
Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st Century
electronic soul album. Astonishing.
Simon Francis??s vinyl mastering spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so,
as ever, nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by
Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Turn it up and let
the Lewis Taylor sound envelop you. - Brand new artwork {LF}Stoned Part II is Lewis Taylor's pure, perfect dance-pop album. His second self-released album and fourth album proper, it initially appeared on his own label Slow Reality in 2004. It's been licensed to Be With for this long-awaited double LP release, it's first ever vinyl edition. Gravely misunderstood at the time by hardcore fans and the music press alike, it has aged quite magnificently. An experiment in the sounds of contemporary pop and dance music, Lewis's wonky take on funky pop would annihilate anything kicking around the charts, then or now. If only it were given half a chance. Stoned Part II is brimming with Lewis's trademark soul, his singing as beautiful as ever, but the rhythms throughout are more upbeat, the overall sound a more smooth and slicker dance-funk presentation. Roughly half the tracks are absolutely essential, fascinating re-workings of tracks from the eternal Stoned Part 1, as Lewis explains: 'When we were doing Stoned we were trying different approaches with everything so we ended up with more than one version of nearly all the songs which left us with more than an album's worth of material. There was a lot of really cool house tunes around at the time which we were both really into and that shaped the sound and production, some songs more directly than others.' Amen to that. The swoonsome, string-drenched opener 'Madman' is quite the departure, a bleepy, bumping soulful disco-house record with a bassline to die for. Is there anything he can't do? It's followed by another huge dancefloor stomper, 'Keep Right On' again riding another killer bassline over funky drums and featuring Lewis's dazzling vocals. There's no let-up with the sparkling 'Reconsider' which sounds an awful lot like Daft Punk meets Nile Rodgers (prescient as ever, our Lewis). The wide-eyed French filtered house vibe is to the fore here, and how this wasn't picked up by someone like Kylie and taken wholesale to the top of the charts is something we'll never understand.2023 Reissue on black vinyl
Non gatefold sleeve | | | No. of tracks: |
12 |
| | Manufacturer No.: |
BEWITH140LP |
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