Lewis Taylor: The Lost Album

SHORTLY AFTER HIS brilliant debut, Taylor declared his next album would be an even more ambitious blend of soul and West Coast pop, proper Crosby, Stone & Brian. Delivering detailed demo of same, he was shocked to have it rubbished by his label’s MD, who greenlighted a straighter set which derailed Taylor’s major-label career. "The lost album" survived in the mind of fans (and Taylor) as a totem of what might have been. In charge of his own destiny again, he decided to finish it, and is justifiably thrilled with the result. After a muted, slightly clichéd start - which may be where that MD defaulted - it blossoms into something superb, Taylor obviously enjoying himself enormously. ‘Let’s Hope Nobody Finds Us’, ‘New Morning’, ‘Say I Love You’ and ‘One More Mystery’ have the emotional punch he sometimes neglects to pack, and everything comes up billowing harmonies, stirring dynamics and deep melodic grace.