Description

2023 first time vinyl issue, 140g vinyl, specially commissioned artwork.

Nothing compares to Lewis Taylor and nobody crafts a B-Side quite like him. Indeed, his long deleted B-Sides are the stuff of legend. So, gathered together for the first time on one slice of wax, we present The Damn Rest: an albums worth of BSides from the era of the 1996 Lewis Taylor (Damn) album. More off-the-wall and abstract than the album proper, these rare, underheard tracks burst with Lewiss uncompromising genius. A lot more experimental, the music is still drop dead beautiful. The Damn Rest is the essential bridge between Lewis Taylor and Lewis II.

Lewis Taylors self-titled masterpiece from 1996 was to be originally called Damn. You can see the word right there on the from cover. However, concerns over distribution in the US scuppered this desired title. When thinking about what to call this collection of essential B-Sides from the era of that first album, we thought The Damn Rest would be appropriate. But these tracks arent simply throwaways or outtakes, as Lewis himself states: each little group were recorded specifically for the release of each single. These B-Sides were simply the next thing to happen after self-titled, and before Lewis II. In other words, you need this!

The collection opens with Asleep When You Come, the A2 on the original Lucky 12. Its a slow-mo string-drenched soul offering, cast in cinematic soft-focus with a vocal performance from the heavens set against wonky, shuffling drums and delicate instrumental flourishes. Beautiful. Also from the Lucky single, You Got Me Thinking may actually be Lewis funkiest moment and is definitely one of our favourites, a great, gently psychedelic funky club track, thats for sure. Next, the gorgeous, meandering I Dream The Better Dream is just sheer, metronomic bliss, with shades of Stevie Wonder. Just ask DAngelo, who included the track on his

Feverish Phantasmagoria show for Sonos. Not only a celebrity-fan-favourite, its Lewiss, too: My favourite has always been this track. In my fantasy its what early Soft Machine wouldve sounded like if Marvin Gaye was their lead singer.

As we move to the B-sides from the Whoever single, the first to feature is Pie In The Electric Sky / If I Lay Down. Its a brilliantly sprawling classic. A head-nod funk workout in two parts; part psychedelic heavy soul jam, part breezy Marvin-esque near-instrumental of the deeply lush variety. It needs to be heard to be believed. Astonishing! Flip over for Waves, a shimmering, dramatic, sweeping string-led fan favourite. The climax of the song is just too stunning for words. Its followed by the deep wyrd-soul of Trip So Heavy the final, dizzying track from the Whoever single and another celestial funk delight featuring strings, organ, twisted bass and heavy drums. From the Bittersweet 12, A Little Bit Tasty is a building, schizophrenic soul-jazz epic that starts out with Lewis performing a call and (distant) response with himself over a gentle mid-90s drum loop before snatches of heavy, crunching metal guitars blast apart the otherwise neat song structure. Ultimately, its unarguable that The Damn Rest is worth it for the inclusion of the jaw-dropping Lewis III alone. A dazzlingly lush and stunningly sophisticated prog/soul hybrid that owes as much to Pet Sounds as Whats Going On with arrangements that grow and unfold in layers. Just sparkling.

A compilation like this feels like one of those promo-only rarities they used to give out to a select few back in the good old days, so when it came to the artwork it only made sense to follow what Cally Callomon (head of Islands art department) had done for the singles and promos back in the 90s. He even did us some fresh scribbles of The Damn Rest to match his handwriting thats all over the first album and its singles. We hope you like it as much as the music contained within. Simon Franciss vinyl mastering ensures these classic recordings sound as great as they deserve to. The record has been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Weve lost Prince. We still have Lewis.