Search - David Lewis :: For Now

British singer-songwriter David Lewis?s 1996, the acoustically oriented NO STRAIGT LINES, was awarded a four-star rating by the All Music Guide, a handful of perceptive and positive reviews, and a quick trip to the cutout bins when his American record label went out of business the following year. Undeterred, Lewis and longtime friend, co-producer and occasional songwriting collaborator, the witty and insightful solo artist John Wesley Harding, worked sporadically over the next five years on FOR NOW. Lewis?s sophomore CD alternates a restrained folk approach and more fleshed-out full-band backing on its ten songs, including three Harding co-writes and a cover of the late British songwriter Nick Drake?s "Northern Sky." "We didn?t want to make the same album all over again," explains Lewis, "so we thought it would be interesting to work on some band arrangements." Enlisting such Harding associates as alt.country/roots singer-songwriter-guitarist Chuck Prophet (formerly with the band Green On Red), seminal Lewis influence Al Stewart (second vocals on "You Don?t Know"), co-producer/musician/power pop maven Chris von Sneidern, and multi-instrumentalist Robert Lloyd, Lewis has succeeded in creating a unified collection of songs that reflects his talent and inspirations. Among the CD?s highlights are the rollicking "Rain Stops Everything" (powered by David?s gutsy harmonica), the sensuous, mysterious "Ramadan Moon," which features Richard Thompsonesque guitar from Prophet, and the valedictory "Weary Traveller," with regret-filled solos by Prophet and accordionist Lloyd. Enticed by an excellent bottle of wine, Al Stewart, one of David?s heroes, joined him in the studio to sing on "You Don?t Know ! Me." Although Lewis?s globetrotting experiences inspire some of his material, the various aspects of love ? accepted, imploded, frustrated, postponed, denied ? dominate the majority of the songs, including "Almost a Stranger," "Your Kind of Madness," "Let the Sunlight Dry Your Tears" and "Too Much Love." The contrast between Lewis?s boyish voice and the depth of experience in his lyrics sets up an engaging invitation for listeners to get lost in his music.