LEWIS TAYLOR Vinyl & CDs

Review: Lewis Taylor has been around the block with his music, originally releasing pyschedelic music in the 80s as Sheriff Jack, and then coming through as Lewis Taylor in 1996 with his self-titled debut LP. Hitting a sweet spot in the inventive realms of neo-soul, he enjoyed considerable success with a run of LPs over 10 years before stepping back to work as a musical director and bassist for Gnarls Barkley and other projects. Now he's back with his first solo record in 17 years, exploring a range of moods and production styles while stitching everything together with his evergreen soulful croon.

Review: .Lewis Taylor has always roamed fairly creatively freely with his music. He emerged at first releasing psychedelic music in the 80s under the name Sheriff Jack, then as Lewis Taylor in 1996 he offered a self-titled long player debut that explored the neo-soul sound of the day. He put out plenty of albums after that, an even played bass with Gnarls Barkley. Much of his work is being reissued right now including Lewis II which mixes up soul and breaks, funk and beats, with plenty of percussive grooves and expressive vocals that fans of James Lidell will love.

Review: Be With have been on a mission to redress a great wrong in the history of modern British soul - the overlooking of Lewis Taylor. As a recording artist his legacy goes back to the late 80s, but he also had various patches of inspiration and activity in the late 90s and early 00s before making a welcome comeback with last year's NUMB. As with all great artists who never received their due, there's a lost album of unreleased work from Taylor which now thankfully sees the light of day, and it's another interesting dimension to this enigmatic singer. There's a touch of prog about the grandiose instrumentation, while you might also catch a whiff of Steely Dan in some of the pristine songwriting. It's a refined and wide-ranging listen which sits wonderfully with the other reissues from Taylor's back catalogue.

Review: The Damn Rest is part of Lewis Taylor's extensive reissue campaign on Be With, revisiting the earlier works of an unsung talent of British turn-of-the-Century soul. In the late 80s he was recording as Sheriff Jack, and over time he worked with the likes of Gnarls Barkley but he also sparked off a sterling solo career in the mid 90s with a singing to Island which might well mark his finest output. There's a heavy, raw and inspired feel to the tracks from his 1996 EPs which are gathered together on The Damn Rest, the sound of someone deep in the reeds of inspiration and letting the music flow freely - just listen to the likes of 'Waves' and you'll be convinced by the time the track drops.

Review: It was only last year Lewis Taylor returned after 18 years with the warmly received NUMB. As an unconventional spirit within the modern British soul scene, he's always pursued his own path whether recording in the late 80s as Sheriff Jack or working with Gnarls Barkley. In 2002, in the wake of a deal with Island Records, he struck out on his own with two-part psychedelic soul opus Stoned, and here we get a reissue of Stoned - Part II laid down on wax for the very first time courtesy of Be With. If you have a thing for blue-eyed soul as well as Shuggie Otis' dreamy approach to songwriting and instrumentation, you're going to love this record.

Review: One of the great unsung talents of 21st Century British soul, Lewis Taylor's legacy in fact reaches back to the 80s and long stints as a solo artist and collaborator. He even signed to Island Records at the turn of the millennium, but after a couple of albums went independent and conjured up a double-album opus over the course of two years which begins with this hidden gem, Stoned - Part I. Now Be With have done the right thing and revisited this and other greats from Taylor's catalogue and given it a proper vinyl pressing, giving you the chance to savour his blue-eyed psychedelic songwriting all over again, or perhaps indeed for the first time.

Review: Lewis Taylor self-released self-titled 1996 album is often spoken of as his masterpiece. It remains a modern classic more than a quarter of a century later as it stylishly and effortlessly mixes up neo-soul, pop and laid back funk. Original copies are incredibly hard to find let alone affordable so this is another timely reissue form Be With. The music has shades of every from Price to Gaye to Hendrix. It can be intimate and vulnerable as well as bold and empowering and is always hugely sensitively charged at all times. Highlights include the likes of the swinging, sombre funk of 'Whoever' and bittersweet feels of 'Betterlove.'