Stoned | Part Two Available March 1, 2004

Stoned | Part Two is released today in HMV stores, and can be picked up online by going to http://www.hmv.co.uk/ and ordering there. As I compile this issue of Positively Beautiful, reports are starting to show on the fan forums at http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/ from people who are starting to listen to the new album.

Following is information and available reviews about the album, and in future issues we will report on any further reviews discovered and how fans are enjoying the new album. One thing seems certain... this might not be your 'typical' Lewis Taylor album, but it offers the quintessential Lewis sound in a high-energy outpouring of new - and still familiar - brilliance. Don't miss it!

The Track Listing

1. Madman

2. Keep Right On

3. Reconsider

4. When Will I Ever Learn 2

5. Out Of My Head Is The Way I Feel

6. Carried Away

7. Stoned Part 2

8. Positively Beautiful 2

9. Throw Me A Line

10. Shame 2

11. Won't Fade Away

12. Keep On Keeping On

HMV.CO.UK says:

Feb 2004
Born and bred in North London, Lewis Taylor is an enigma, a British soul singer who can take the Americans on at their own game. His previous album ‘Stoned: Part 1’ was a remarkable work written, produced and played entirely by Taylor himself. ‘Part 2’ follows the tried and tested formula of smooth soul, future funk, 70s disco, Motown vocals and everything in between. Often compared to such diverse artists as Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Brian Wilson, Scott Walker, Syd Barrett and even Radiohead, Taylor is a unique talent that defies simple categorisation. ‘Stoned 2’ is destined to be the sound of Summer 2004 and beyond.

"If you know someone who thinks Daniel Bedingfield or Jamiroquai represents the very apex of classy soul-pop, then slip them a copy of this stylish, sexy, infectious record and blow their tiny mind." Mojo ****

HitSheet, February 20, 2004 Issue #45

The Hit Sheet Issue #45 - http://www.hitsheet.co.uk/ - features Lewis' song Madman on its free promotional CD that comes with every issue of the magazine, and presents a written review in its Records of the Week section.

Madman Lewis Taylor Slow Reality

The smooth soul stylings of North London's Lewis Taylor have taken a turn towards the dance scene on his second independent album, Stoned Part II. Released on 1 March, the album will be available exclusively in HMV and features four tracks from Stoned Part I that have been reworked and re-recorded to great effect. Madman is a classic Lewis track - dripping and smothering large doses of soul over the proceedings, irrespective of the track's arrangements. Having suffered on Universal/Island by not fitting into a marketable niche, the indie ethic is suiting Lewis well - he's producing some of the finest work of his career and Stoned Part II looks to replicate the critical acclaim of its predecessor which saw notables ranging from The Times to Sir Elton John lauding its excellence. Last year's live dates at London's Jazz Cafe were some of the best shows we saw all year, so we were thrilled to learn that he's returning there for four consecutive nights from 26 - 29 April.

MOJO Review of Stoned | Part Two, February 2004

The second instalment of the soul auteur's two volume masterwork.

Here is the ever-resourceful Mr. Taylor's cooler compliment to his flamboyant Stoned Part 1, making the entire work a kind of 'lets go out/lets stay in' double fantasy. His usual when-Marvin-met-Leary instincts are sweetened here with hints of Beach Boys, Hall and Oates and French disco. Reiterating some previous tunes, but justifying every revisit, Taylor - working with co-producer Sabina Smyth - employs a brighter gloss and tighter sound than previously, slightly less molten guitar (though Keep On Keepin' On blows a valve or two) a shade more languid beauty (as on the surf-flavoured Won't Fade Away and the lustrous Out Of My Head Is The Way I Feel) for his most accessible collection yet. If you know someone who thinks Daniel Bedingfield or Jamiroquai represents the very apex of classy soul-pop, then slip them a copy of this stylish, sexy, infectious record and blow their tiny mind.

Uncut Magazine Review, February 2004

Fustrating fourth from once-visionary British white soulser, again released on his own label Veteran of a couple of albums which, despite rabid acclaim, Island failed to sell to anyone. Lewis Taylor is clearly having some kind of art-versus-commerce crisis. Unfortunately, in attempting to second-guess an imaginary apogee of marketable smooth soul, he's fogotten his USP: a ravishingly lush and wildly sophisticated prog/soul hybrid that owes as much to Surfs up as Let's get it on, as epitomised by early songs such as "Lewis III". He's singing as beautifully as ever, but there's little bite or vision left among the perky reset funk. The epic opening of "Positivly Beautiful 2" captivates until you realise it sounds like something Trevor Horn might have dreamt up for Seal 10 years ago, and too many songs have been remade/remodelled from Taylor's last own-label release. There are glimpses of his unique talent here, but no more. He's got nothing to lose - he should let rip or, at least, unearth some of the extraordinary material he scrapped between the recording of the Island albums'. (2/5 stars)

Four Gigs at London's Jazz Cafe - April 26 - 29, 2004

Excellent news to accompany the release of any new Lewis Taylor album: Lewis and band will be playing four dates at London's Jazz Cafe, April 26 through 29, 2004 (inclusive). Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/ , http://www.meanfiddler.com/ or of course directly from the Jazz Cafe itself if you can swing by there (means you'll miss out on that rotten booking fee, as well). More information about the venue, the dates and other pertinent gig information in our next newsletter.

Nonchalance IV - April '04

What else have fans been waiting for, but a proper convention including a Lewis gig? 2004 is the year! Join fans from London and all over the world who will be attending the Jazz Cafe gigs in April - we're starting to collect information now on who's going to be there & when, so keep an eye out for coming newsletters with further information about activities and arrangements. If you've ever wanted to attend one of these gatherings and meet other Lewis-heads, now's your chance! Don't miss it - obviously, with four London dates to attend, it's the ideal time for fans to get together to celebrate and bask directly in their love for Lewis' music in the company of like-minded friends - and the music itself!

Our friend Soren has said he will again help to organize this event so that fans will as usual have a variety of activities and times to choose from, to meet up with others. Anyone with ideas, suggestions, news and/or volunteer help is encouraged and more than welcome to contact Positively Beautiful at positivelybeautiful@telus.net. We will coordinate with Soren and other helpers, to arrange for the most fun possible!

Visitor Help - Flight, Hotel, Tourism

Big thanks to Roberto for offering to help out-of-town visitors with their plans for accomodation, travel and places to visit while in London. He helped during the preparations for Nonchalance III, and wrote recently to say that we could again include his name in the newsletter as being willing to continue helping visitors in this manner. Should you need any assistance with any of these issues when you're visiting London, please contact Positively Beautiful at positivelybeautiful@telus.net and we'll put you in touch with Roberto.

Want to revisit last year's August fan gathering? click to http://home13.inet.tele.dk/skri/convention3/enter.html for an accounting of activities on and related to the day and people attending, with some very cool pictures! You can find the related forum thread here: http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/newforum/viewthread.php?tid=743

Stoned | Part Two Tracks Played on Kiss FM

For any of you who can't get your hands on the new album just yet, fan Philip Clarkson reports that Patrick Forge has been playing some of the tracks on his Cosmic Jam show over the last while. Tune into Kiss FM - 100 FM in the London area for the show every Sunday night from midnight to 2 am GMT. Find Patrick Forge on the web at http://www.trustthedj.com/PatrickForge/, and Kiss FM at http://www.kissonline.co.uk/ . Make sure to email Patrick and request the songs - boost Lewis' airplay as much as possible! Thanks for the info, Philip.

Stoned | Part Two Availability

in the UK

The album is available through HMV stores in the UK.

online

Log onto http://www.hmv.co.uk/ to order Stoned | Part Two online.

Positively Beautiful - Lewis Taylor News Archives

Yes, at long last, it's the online archives of your favourite Lewis Taylor newsletter. Check into http://www.lozdesignz.com/newsletter/ whenever you have a need to peruse old newsletters and/or download any to your computer. The archives are available in HTML (like in this newsletter/on a web page) or in plain text format without all the bolding and active links and such. Current issues will be archived online approximately one month past their original issue dates. Enjoy!

Official Lewis News Availability

Don't forget to check the home page of the fansite - http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/ . There's a box on the right side of the
page where official current and upcoming news is updated by management when appropriate. Currently in the Official News is the following:

Over recent months, Lewis has been hard at work recording STONED PART II - the follow-up to the October 2002 release STONED PART I. The expected release date for the new record is early 2004 and further updates will be given as plans progress.

Whilst STONED PART II builds on many of the themes and musical ideas from the critically acclaimed first set, this upcoming release adopts a somewhat revised production approach, with Taylor and co-producer Sabina Smyth introducing a less constrained approach to proceedings. Particularly evident is the increased use of electronics alongside the more organic flavours of Taylor’s gifted guitar, bass and keyboard multi-instrumentation. Enhanced production or otherwise, the album retains the inimitable Taylor stamp as evidenced in the liberal use of creamy multi-layered vocal choirs, melodic twists and turns, rich musical textures and, of course, those trademark Lewis Taylor lead vocals.

As to STONED PART I, influential industry tome 'Music Week' joins the long list of critics raving about the record following nothing but excellent press and heavyweight support from, amongst others, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Q, Mojo, Uncut, Radio 1, Kiss FM and Jazz FM radio. No small feat for an independent! All this plus Elton John unexpectedly plugging the album on BBC1 prime time TV. Speaking to camera on Liquid News, Elton suddenly pulled 'Stoned' out of his coat pocket and advised viewers to 'buy this, he is fantastic' before handing a copy to fellow guest Ms Dynamite saying 'I bought this for you'.

Lewis-Lovers' Links

http://www.lewistaylormusic.com/ - Fansite with hugely popular forums... this is the place for Lewis fans to hang out online, and Lewis himself contributes from time to time. Lots of information, mp3s and pictures here. There's even a forum specifically for questions to and answers from Lewis, whenever he is able and/or has inclination to answer.

http://fanclub.lewistaylormusic.com/ - Lewis Taylor's Fan Collection. a site for and about Lewis fans. Show your love of and support for Lewis' music by going visible online with all the other fans there - or just have some fun checking out who else loves Lewis' sounds.

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/7463/ - The first fansite online; still there. Lots of great information for Lewis fans to peruse.

http://www.lozdesignz.com/newsletter/ - The 'Positively Beautiful - Lewis Taylor News' archive. Find all past issues of the newsletter in an online archive to read and/or download whenever and whatever you like. Available in HTML as well as plain text. Current issues will be archived approximately one month after issue.

http://www.soul24-7.com/ - The hugely popular internet radio station with a soul forum to post messages at. Try requesting a Lewis tune by emailing direct to any DJ on-air at studio@soul24-7.com. The more requests received and forum posts made about Lewis, we believe, the more likely the station will get behind The Man and his music!

http://www.slowreality.com/ - Lewis' official record company site. The site is currently being built... don't give up checking the link, even if you get a 'holding page' notice; keep checking back because it's still in the plans.

http://www.hmv.co.uk/ - The place to purchase Stoned | Part One and Stoned | Part Two online!

Contact Positively Beautiful:

All questions, comments, contributions and suggestions are happily received at positivelybeautiful@telus.net. We thank all fans for their valued and interesting contributions to the newsletter.

Until our next issue - take care, keep the Lewis faith, and spread the Lewis word! The Legend is back!

Positively Beautiful

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