Lewis Taylor: lost but not forgotten

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Lewis Taylor signed to Island records in the mid 1990s having produced a demo that got the music industry very, very excited. The release of his debut, Lewis Taylor, led many to think that he would become one of the great British recording artists; by the early 2000s he was dropped from Island and many were left scratching their heads. What on earth happened?

Lewis Taylor, and many will not have heard of him, was tipped to be a soul sensation when his self-titled debut came out in 1996. He had the likes of David Bowie singing his praises, his appearance on Jools Holland made heads turn, and his debut single, Lucky, got the blood pumping for many radio stations and eager new fans. Yet, not unusual in the music industry, the album was a complete flop and the fingers starting pointing.

Island records, it has been alleged, just did not know how to market a short, thin, quiet, white guy as a new neo-soul express train, think of artists like Maxwell and D’Angelo, and I believe that Lewis himself was not sure of what to do either. In the mid 1980s he had released two psychedelic pop/rock albums under the name Sheriff Jack, he also came to prominence as a touring guitarist for the Edgar Broughton Band, another psychedelic outfit, and following his debut soul album, he delivered a Beach Boys style demo album to Island records for their consideration, one they flatly refused to fund. This suggests that Lewis Taylor was never all that into his soul status and future.

Despite the disagreements about where he wanted to head musically, he did release a second album while with Island, Lewis II, an album I would argue is one of the best examples of Lewis Taylor’s brilliance. He is a talented multi-instrumentalist, a distinctive and remarkable singer, and he has a vision for song writing and production that is hard not to admire. Certainly Lewis II is an album that needs a few listens, but once you immerse yourself in its waters, you will find yourself happily bobbing about its deep end. Some good tracks to listen to are, I’m on the floor, Lewis II and Blue eyes.

But again, there were very few takers, the album bombed and he was dropped by Island. Lewis Taylor went on to release a number of albums independently one of which, Stoned Part 1, did catch the attention of some in the music industry. The Robbie Williams’ single, Lovelight, is a cover of a track from this album. He followed this with Stoned Part 2, an album with remixes of previous tunes with a few new compositions and Limited Edition 2004, which included very good new tracks as well as new versions of previously recorded songs.

Then came a disaster for Lewis Taylor fans. In 2006 he announced his retirement and, quite strangely for many of us fans, removed all content from the Internet. There was a time when you could listen to everything he ever did, all of the quirky and wonderful B-sides, many live performances, but now it is all very hard to find. There are a few online hosts that have some of his rare tracks, check out soundcloud, but finding everything that wasn’t released on albums is a long, painstaking process…I know from experience.

So where is he now?

I suspect there are a few people in the music industry that keep trying to tempt him out of hibernation. He toured with Gnarls Barkley as their bassist, recorded with American soul artist Deborah Bond and has most recently appeared on Songbook #1 by The Vicar. But I feel that getting him performing and recording as Lewis Taylor, the soul and funk artist, will be very difficult as it may have not always been he first love. He has leant more often to the psychedelic rock genre, so it is in that field we might see him again.

Final thoughts?

Lewis Taylor’s career is one common in the music industry, one where the hype and expectation was never really fulfilled either by the artist’s failure to be business minded about their music, or by a record label not allowing an artist time to build an audience and develop. In Lewis Taylor’s story, I believe that both were probably true. It is also a case that the music industry does not always allow artists to change directions: success is often continued by sticking to what works, with what was popular before. Island must have seen potential in his soul/funk sound and songs, and even with the poor record sales maybe he could have produced a few more albums with them, but his career was also hampered to some extent by his desire to produce different types of music, to stray from what had got him signed in the first place and what had excited the industry so much.

However, that is not the entire story. Lewis Taylor, despite the difficulties in his career, has produced some very good music and has given the world some excellent tunes. He has influenced many artists who have gone on to have very successful careers and has given many music fans a great deal of pleasure. For those interested in hearing his music, his albums are still available from itunes and via spotify. His rarities, the b-sides and more obscure work are now unfortunately much harder to find.

Artist rating: 8/10

Best album: Lewis II

Songs worth a listen: I’m on the floor (Lewis II), Party (Lewis II), Shame (Stoned Part 1), Lovelight (Stoned Part 1), Back together (Limited Edition 2004), No hope in here (Limited Edition 2004), Lucky (Lewis Taylor), Damn (Lewis Taylor), Madman (Stoned Part 2), cover of Electric Ladyland (if you can find it).

Interesting facts/rumours: he learnt to play music as something to do while recovering from a car accident; American soul artist D’Angelo arranged to meet him in New York, but when he saw a white, weenie guy, he walked out.

Other links:

Another blog: http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com.au/2008/12/lewis-taylor.html

Interview: NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5220035

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Taylor

Spotify code: http://open.spotify.com/artist/6fnqzS1hvb0HUV5YHIBkAJ