Andrew Lewis Taylor has never troubled the BRIT, MOBO or Grammy awards, never had a Top 40 single or album but, along with Amy Winehouse and Adele, he may be the most musically talented British solo artist of the last 30 years. Over six studio albums, Taylor's work has embraced neo-soul, old-school R&B, prog, psych and yacht rock, influenced legions of blue-eyed-soul wannabes and been publicly lauded by David Bowie, Aaliyah, Paul Weller, Amy Winehouse, Leon Ware, Elton John, D'Angelo and Daryl Hall.
But Taylor is also one of the most complex characters to emerge from the homegrown music scene, fascinated with "art born of a disintegrated mind" and peppering interviews with pointed references to mental illness, drug use, and reclusion. For a while it looked like he might even succumb to the sort of issues that affected his heroes, Syd Barrett and Brian Wilson. Barring a few reissues and one-off collaborations, he essentially ceased to exist as a solo artist between 2006 and 2022 - until a remarkable, completely unexpected comeback with last year's NUMB.
But let's back up a bit. Taylor's classic self-titled debut album dropped on Island Records in 1996 and stunned industry cognoscenti. This ex-greengrocer from Barnet sang a bit like Marvin, played guitar like Ernie Isley, bass like James Jamerson and keyboards like Billy Preston, and created his extraordinary angst-ridden compositions in a North London flat on two digital reel-to-reel tape machines.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2023 de Record Collector.
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"Things can go very badly wrong"
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Out Of The Darkness
Long-anticipated solo debut from Portishead singer is worth the wait
Clearing The Way
The end of an era for Bolan's glam-rock trailblazers.
SOCK IT TO ME DISC-ITS! WHEN TWO TRIBES VINYL AND CD (AND CASSETTE) WENT TO WAR
Dream, if you can, a courtyard. An ocean of violets in bloom. Alternatively, a 1984 record shop and all its pristine treasures. Close your eyes, let’s go there together. What do you see? From chest-level down – vinyl.
Steve Harley 1951-2024
As frontman for Cockney Rebel, the singer-songwriter crafted one of the glam rock era's greatest singles in Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me).
The Collector
Swiss-based Icelander Sunna Margrét is a rising force in experimental pop. Having begun her career as a teenager touring with electro-pop ensemble Bloodgroup, she is about to release her debut full-length solo LP, Finger on Tongue.
She'd only Just gun
With their rapturous harmonies, the Carpenters dominated the 70s’ airwaves, selling over 100 million records with hits like Close To You and Yesterday Once More. But by 1979, lead singer Karen was seeking a new direction… Biographer Lucy O’Brien recounts her attempts to move out of the restrictive environment of the family band that had made her a star
PNEUMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
Forming in West Berlin in 1980 and achieving their greatest notoriety circa 1984, industrial noise-punks Einstürzende Neubauten have far e xceeded t he i r p ro jec ted l i fe expectancy. Founding frontman Blixa Bargeld traces the evolution of the metalbashing pioneers. Jeremy Allen is all (suitably protected) ears
FRUITS OF THEIR LABOUTES
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Being Soaring.
In April 1984, the original, faster Bobby Oproduced version of West End Girls was released.