Lewis II [Import]

Lewis Taylor | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Island UK
• ASIN: B00004WKFT
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,803 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Party

2. My Aching Heart

3. You Make Me Wanna

4. The Way You Done Me

5. Satisfied

6. Never Be My Woman

7. I'm On The Floor

8. Lewis II

9. Into You

10. Blue Eyes

11. Everybody Here Wants You

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Lewis Taylor's second album, Lewis II, finds the complex R&B maverick in exceptional form. Although often compared to Marvin Gaye--it's the swoops and honeyed falsetto--Taylor's music gently slips and slides between classic soul, symphonic pop, funk, and psychedelic rock. That said, the subject matter of this album has much in common with Gaye's controversial album Here, My Dear: not only is every song an impassioned lament to an estranged lover, but Taylor has that uncanny knack of making self-pity sound utterly gorgeous. Taylor has shelved the widescreen soul of his eponymous 1996 debut in favor of a quirky London-centric brand of wah-wah guitars, brass, and achingly beautiful funk. Surprisingly, for an album that reputedly took three years to make, there are no fillers--just 11 tracks of knockout future classics. From the sweet rare groove of the opener "Party" to the elegiac epic "Blue Eyes," Lewis II resonates with thoughtful melodies and dreamy determination. Like D'Angelo, another multi-instrumentalist with one foot in the past, Taylor is unrepentantly retro: his "Never Be My Woman" will appeal to fans of Voodoo. But his cover of indie poster boy Jeff Buckley's "Everybody Here Wants You" is a heroic effort to convert the original's understated feel into something grandiose. Lewis II is diverse, melodic, and inspired. Let's hope others will follow Taylor's example. --Na'solo So Fahed

Product Description

Japanese edition of the modern soul artist's 2000 album. Often compared with Marvin Gaye to Maxwell. Emotive & heartfelt sum his music up quite nicely. Includes the bonus track, 'Electric Ladyland' (Hendrix cover) and the UK bonus track 'Everybody Here Wa --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Audio Orgasm, January 16, 2001

By 

"ysgall" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lewis II (Audio CD)

At the heart of Taylor's work, beneath the admittedly thick veneer of soul, is a certain way of subverting tradition. It's not the synthesis of disparate sources like you would hear in David Bowie, it's more like the amalgamation and reconstruction of influences as you would hear in the work of Tricky and Scott Walker.

And it works brilliantly. Lewis II is one of those albums like Tricky's "Juxtapose" which becomes more rewarding with each listen, full of intense sexuality and dense musicality. The comparisons to artists like Marvin Gaye and D'Angelo are understandable but they essentially miss the forest for the trees - the sound vocabulary of these artists has been co-opted and reapplied in unimaginable ways. "I'm On The Floor" builds up very slowly to an almost unbearably beautiful ocean of harmonic tension before ending abruptly; the title track starts with the lead vocal laying out like drying bones only to be richly fleshed out over its course.

It's all the more amazing when you realize almost all the backing tracks were recorded by Lewis himself - with suberb musicianship, especially on guitar. He has an uncanny talent for compelling basslines as well and his vocal range is inarguably impressive. The wedding of talent and excellence is rare enough in any era that Lewis II would stand out, but in this age, when so much of popular music has been reduced to hollow genre exercises, Lewis II is a splendid foundation-shaking wake up call to both senselessly agonized alternapop and joylessly sexualized R&B.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars U.K. soul will always soothe my ears, August 16, 2001

By 

dOc "undergroundmuzic" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lewis II (Audio CD)

A DJ Krush mix tape was where I first heard of this kat. Underground radio was playing "Blue Eyes" and "Satisfied" but I never knew who the kat was. Not until I bought the CD did I find out this kat was white. Compared overseas to the style of Marvin Gaye (not quite.....but can sing!!) Lewis Taylor could go very far with this CD if only it was promoted in the U.S. THE RIGHT WAY. The man has madd vocal talent and the crisp production behind him makes this CD a must in my kitchen of chefs cooking up nothing but the best soul food for my ears.

oNe

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Album!, February 1, 2005

By 

Jivon Lee Jackson (Fort Washington, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lewis II (Audio CD)

I have been trying to get my hand on this album for years. Some of the best music out there is impossible to get your hands on, and Lewis Taylor's second album is no exception. This is a truly solid effort from start to finish, for if no other reason than that Taylor is such an experimental artist. You never get bored hearing on of his songs, or feel compelled to skip, because with each track you can find something interesting. If you enjoyed his debut alum, this project will only make you more a Lewis Taylor fan.