Lewis II Lewis Taylor SKU: BEWITH129LP Barcode: 4251804138512 29.00 £29.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records Released Date: 30th June 2023 Buying Format: 2LP Out of stock Back Order Add to your Wishlist Description Product Info 2023 first time vinyl issue, 140g double vinyl, updated artwork. Lewis II was the follow up to Lewis Taylor’s 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. It’s often years before most listeners catch up with an album’s breathtaking vision and devastating execution, and so it has proved with Lewis II; it stands up exceptionally well today. After Island rejected Lewis Taylor’s 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 doesn’t 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 Lewis’s idiosyncratic melodies would’ve 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 Lewis’s vocals would’ve, 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 D’Angeloesque neo-soul, with echoes of the esoteric funk featured across Maxwell’s contemporaneous Embrya. But what follows is on some next level business. As Lewis’s biggest fan, Geoffrey Scull, noted, “the “I’m 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 could’ve 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 Gaye’s 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 Marvin’s “Vulnerable”, is a lush, slow swinger with some gorgeous noir touches. To close, Lewis completely retools Jeff Buckley’s 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 Buckley’s 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 Island’s art department, who designed all the sleeves for Lewis’s 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, we’ve gotten pretty close to what the original LP sleeve would’ve looked like if it existed. Simon Francis’s 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. Artist Lewis Taylor Genre Soul / Funk Label Be With Records Buying Options 2LP Format 2LP Condition New Country UK Track Listings Party 5:56 My Aching Heart 5:23 You Make Me Wanna 4:49 The Way You Done Me 5:12 Satisfied 5:53 Never Be My Woman 4:29 I'm On The Floor 5:05 Lewis II 5:05 Into You 3:53 Blue Eyes 3:45 Everybody Here Wants You 4:47 Share this On Facebook On Twitter Via Email More from Lewis Taylor View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor The Lost Album Rock And Pop | Be With Records | 2LP Released 30th June 2023 £29.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor The Lost Album £29.00 Genre: Rock And Pop Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH141LP Formats: 2LP Released Date: 30th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor The Damn Rest Soul / Funk | Be With Records | 1LP Released 30th June 2023 £22.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor The Damn Rest £22.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH130LP Formats: 1LP Released Date: 30th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor Stoned Part II Soul / Funk | Be With Records | 2LP Released 16th June 2023 £29.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor Stoned Part II £29.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH140LP Formats: 2LP Released Date: 16th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor Stoned Part I Soul / Funk | Be With Records | 2LP Released 16th June 2023 £29.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor Stoned Part I £29.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH139LP Formats: 2LP Released Date: 16th June 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor Numb Soul / Funk | Be With Records | 2LP Released 11th August 2023 £28.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor Numb £28.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH138LP Formats: 2LP Released Date: 11th August 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Graham's picks View Product Quick View Lewis Taylor Lewis Taylor Soul / Funk | Be With Records | 2LP Released 13th August 2021 £25.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Lewis Taylor Lewis Taylor £25.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Be With Records SKU: BEWITH099LP Formats: 2LP Released Date: 13th August 2021 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders See more from Lewis Taylor Start again More from Soul / Funk View Product Quick View Ruth Brown Rock & Roll R&B | Mobile Fidelity | 180g, 1LP Released 15th March 2024 £46.00 Add to basket Reserve View Reservations Ruth Brown Rock & Roll £46.00 Genre: R&B Label: Mobile Fidelity SKU: LMF548 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 15th March 2024 Reserve View Reservations Read More Add to basket View Product Quick View Various Artists Northern Soul Vol. 3 Soul / Funk | UMC | 7", Box Set Released 16th March 2018 £58.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Various Artists Northern Soul Vol. 3 £58.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: UMC SKU: 6711369 Formats: 7", Box Set Released Date: 16th March 2018 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Mavis Staples We’ll Never Turn Back (Anniversary Edition) Soul / Funk | Anti | 1LP Released 12th August 2022 £25.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mavis Staples We’ll Never Turn Back (Anniversary Edition) £25.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Anti SKU: 268303 Formats: 1LP Released Date: 12th August 2022 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Change Paradise: The Ultimate Collection (1980 – 2019) Soul / Funk | Demon Records | 180g, 2LP Released 22nd November 2019 £28.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Change Paradise: The Ultimate Collection (1980 – 2019) £28.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Demon Records SKU: DEMREC553 Formats: 180g, 2LP Released Date: 22nd November 2019 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Mar-Keys, The Last night Soul / Funk | Vinyl Lovers | 180g, 1LP Released 24th August 2017 £17.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Mar-Keys, The Last night £17.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: Vinyl Lovers SKU: 6785474 Formats: 180g, 1LP Released Date: 24th August 2017 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Various Artists NOW Presents… Classic Soul Soul / Funk | NOW | 5LP, Box Set Released 22nd September 2023 £79.00 Back Order View Pre/Back Orders Various Artists NOW Presents… Classic Soul £79.00 Genre: Soul / Funk Label: NOW SKU: LPNBX5 Formats: 5LP, Box Set Released Date: 22nd September 2023 Read More Back Order View Pre/Back Orders View Product Quick View Soul II Soul Keep On Movin’ (Remixes) Soul / Funk | Funki Dred | 12", Coloured Vinyl, Single Released 8th April 2022 £13.00 - 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