The Lost Album

Description

140g double vinyl, brand new artwork.

A breezy sunset masterpiece.

RIYL : Love, Brian Wilson, CSN, Laura Nyro and, of course, Todd Rundgren.

Lewis Taylors legendary magnum opus: The Lost Album. Now youre talking. Thats my favourite LT album. Unlike all of the others, there isnt anything about it that embarrasses me. Straight from the geniuss mouth. What can we say about this? Well, its the most requested record ever at Be With Towers. The Lost Album was the intended follow-up to his first album but Island rejected it for fear of confusing the marketplace and its conception of Lewis as a soul artist. Their loss. Its a breezy sunset masterpiece.

The genesis of this incredible record needs unpicking a bit. Lewis stopped promoting the first album after a year and went home to record a completely different record that was the most un-R&B album you could probably ever hear: I pushed in such an extreme direction the other way with what eventually became The Lost Album. It was a knee-jerk reaction to a perceived trapped in R&B feeling I was going through at the time. Some people around me were in favour of it and others werent. In the end I think I lost confidence in it and did Lewis II instead. We did at least get Lewis II, which is a remarkable album, and he kept Island happyfor a bit. Not long after, Lewis was dropped. And what was to become The Lost Album couldve beenerlost. Forever.

Thankfully, however, Lewis and longtime partner Sabina Smyth revisited those scrapped demo tracks in 2003. They decided to re-arrange, re-record and then selfrelease them. So it was that the brand new version of The Lost Album finally dropped in late 2004. Its sheer perfection, and we dont say that lightly. The Lost Album was a fully 50/50 collaboration between Lewis and Smyth. As well as production, Sabina did a lot more writing on it, from the melody to Listen Here to the chord sequence for Lets Hope Nobody Finds Us. Thankfully, Sabina is credited this time around.

No, its not straight up soul music in the vein of his previous work. Yet, in its perfectly formed suite of one dozen songs, The Lost Album is dripping in soul. Its so warm, so effervescent and so alive with possibilities. It features deep, fresh imprints on well-loved, accessible sounds. Its a proper 70s style double album. Just one listen and the musical influences on The Lost Album are fairly self-explanatory, as Lewis recently told us, but its always nice to hear that, in case we were in any doubt, he was definitely channeling Love, Yes, Brian Wilson, CSN, Laura Nyro and, of course, Todd Rundgren. The influences dont end there: Im particularly fond of my bass playing on that album, theres a lot of Chris Squire going on which is cool.

Deep orchestral opener Lost is a sublime, harp-laced, string drenched gem, a cinematic, melancholic Axelrod-esque mini-epic that simply beguiles. Written by Smyth, it evokes Donny Hathaways celestial I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry from Extensions Of A Man. The only problem is the brief 90 seconds running time. It segues into the classic Brian Wilson-meets-power-pop-rock splendour of Listen Here which, with its outstanding extended harp-licked beatless intro, sounds like the younger cousin to Bostons More Than A Feeling. We then drift into the ringing guitars of classic 70s rock anthem Hide Your Heart Away. Its Lewiss personal favourite, especially the multi-tracked guitar solo I was listening to Boston at the time, which was fun. A-ha!

A new version of the heart-stopping, shoulda-been-a-massive-pop-hit Send Me An Angel opens Side B before the arrival of, in Lewiss completely correct words, the clear standout, Leader of the Band; the perfect distillation of everything that album was trying to achieve. Soaring, piano-led Rundgren-esque power pop that makes the hairs on the back of your next stand on end. Truly, otherworldly. This is pure pop for now (and then) people. The simple jangly brilliance meets experimental prog-rock of Yeah sounds like simultaneously like prime CSNY and late 90s Radiohead (if theyd had a slightly more accessible bent and could write better tunes).

Oh, you wish The Beach Boys had continued writing amazing songs beyond Holland? Well, allow us to point you in the direction of the downlifting stunner Please Help Me If You Can and the warm textures and brilliant atmospherics of goosebump-inducer Lets Hope Nobody Finds Us. Words cant really describe the sheer beauty of these songs. So well stop trying. Just listen. Listen, listen, listen. Closing out this remarkable side of music, the accidentally Balearic New Morning should be blasting out at every sunrise set in Ibiza, this summer and forevermore.

The final side opens with the vaguely Beatlesey Say I Love You. Its just classic, soaring pop-rock songwriting and should strictly be canonical. Its that good. The sassy, Stonesy swagger of See My Way injects enough rocknroll attitude to compensate for the rest of records peace-loving, AOR sun-dappled vibe whilst album closer, One More Mystery, emerging out of the rubble of the previous track, comes on initially like a Baroque-Pop George Harrison before piling crunching drums and screeching guitar solos atop the dreamy harmonies til close.

When asked what it means to have these records available on vinyl for the first time, Lewis is in no doubt: Its great and its really nice to be able to offer fans a different listening experience. Theres a whole other dimension with vinyl that taps into that whole nostalgia thing, well for me anyway. Something about the physical aspect of pulling it out of the sleeve and putting it on, it does tend to make you feel like youre more engaged.

Lewis was adamant that he wanted all new artwork for The Lost Album vinyl sleeve and his brief was just the sort of classic tropical-beach-at-sunset youd want to see on the front of a record that sounds like this. On the finished sleeve, the beach at sunset is just where we start out, before heading up through the painterly clouds and heading out into the stars. And yes, the lettering is a definite subtle nod to all those in-between-period Beach Boys bootlegs we all love. Simon Franciss sensitive mastering combines with Cicely Balstons precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios so the album sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry double LP pressing will ensure this previously lost masterpiece stays forever found.