Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Rab Noakes, Al Stewart, Sandy Denny, John Wesley Harding, Alan Hull, Duncan Browne, Curtis Mayfield, Fairport Convention, The Strawbs, Bob Collum, Chris von Sneidern, Nina Simone, Incredible String Band
Sounds Like
Nick Drake, Al Stewart, Keith Christmas, Duncan Browne, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Robin Williamson
UK singer-songwriter David Lewis's 1996 debut, the acoustic-oriented "No Straight Line" (Dejadisc DJD 3215) gained a four-star rating in the All Music Guide and a handful of perceptive and positive reviews. It was followed by "For Now" (Appleseed APR 1057) in 2001, which continued NSL's restrained acoustic folk approach but added a more fleshed-out full-band backing on some songs. It included a cover of the late British songwriter Nick Drakes Northern Sky, creating "a tasteful and satisfying album" (Dirty Linen). Almost in keeping with the slow but steady structure of the once ubiquitous Five Year Plan, a third CD, entitled "Ghost Rhymes", was released in 2007.
Growing up in the West of England and addicted to 1970s folk-rock, David met fellow student and novelist Wes Stace (also known as singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding) at Cambridge University in the mid-1980s and the two forged a friendship busking blues and folk songs mostly discovered on old Dylan and Ry Cooder records.
Later when Harding's career took off, they started collaborating on writing songs such as Red Rose and the Briar, Ordinary Weekend, and Cupid and Psycho which wound up on various Harding CDs. Each of Lewis CDs to date has also included three co-writes with Harding. With Harding and fellow musician Scott Mathews as co-producers, Lewis recorded NSL at Mathews San Francisco studio. Harding, Matthews, Robert Lloyd (a frequent Harding accompanist) and guests like REMs Peter Buck on mandolin created an acoustic-based recording that also featured "unexplained atmospherics... setting up some interesting spooky textures", according to Sing Out! Launched at SXSW, NSL unfortunately took a quick trip to the cut-out bins when the American record label, the Austin-based Dejadisc, went out of business the next year.
Undeterred, Lewis and Harding began working on a follow-up - in between other commitments - which became For Now, enlisting such notable Harding friends and musical associates as co-producer/musician/solo artist Chris von Sneidern and Chuck Prophet (guitars; a writer/player/singer with his own career) along with multi-instrumentalist Lloyd. Seminal Lewis influence Al Stewart provided second vocal on You Don't Know. The release of "For Now" coincided with an extensive U.S. tour in late 2001 supporting John Wesley Harding, taking in venues across the country including McCabes LA, Schuber's Chicago and the Makor Lounge NYC.
Lewis third CD "Ghost Rhymes" was recorded in Seattle and San Francisco. It contains 13 new songs (three co-written with Harding) and also includes Black Pig, recently and unexpectedly recovered from the folk process and found to have been originally written by Lewis great-grandfather John Owen, a sometime bard of South Wales during the late nineteenth century. More details at www.davidlewismusic.co.uk.
No Straight Line and For Now are both available through iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=89232650.
Also available through CD Baby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/davidlewis3
How's it going? There is a free track available for you at the moment on our myspace page. Just click the FREE DOWNLOAD box at the top of the page and enter a valid email to download the tune. How cool is that!
Have a great week and thank you very much for being electronically connected to us as friends and fans.
BME GIVES YOU Acustic Moments will be at the Theatre Royal Margate. This will be BMEs big one. Headlining this event will be Luke Jackon & Kayley Weller pluss many guests. This will be a great event its not to be missed. Tickets are just £7.50 & £8 OTD. CALL BOX OFFICE NOW ON 0845 130 1786 OR 01227 787787. BME website see www.billmurrayevents.com. We hope see you there.
The Kittiwakes - CD Launch - Clerkenwell 22nd June
Leigh-on-Sea 3-piece, The Kittiwakes, celebrate the release of their Midwich Records debut, ‘Lofoten Calling’, a collection of original folk songs written about the people, landscape, folklore and history of the Lofoten Islands above the Arctic Circle and influenced by the traditional music of Norway and the British Isles.
'The Kittiwakes craft timeless and magical acoustically dappled folk treats - gentle and alluring ostensibly Gaelic in sound texture and gorgeously flighty braided as they are by corteges of mandolins, accordions and violins.' [LOSING TODAY]
'The Kittiwakes (rissa tridactyla): delicious, intriguing and evocative music, beautifully played and sung by this talented trio. Recommended to twitchers and lovers of folk music alike' [LEIGH FOLK FESTIVAL]
Thanks for the kind comments.... You are welcome to come and play again when you can... I'm glad you like the pub.... Dave.... PS I'm listening to your CD now... It's very good....
'Your Kind Of Madness' still makes me shiver every time I hear it. And 'Ramadan Moon' should have been a big radio hit. I played this one to a friend and she agrees.
The new songs sound like the forthcoming album is gonna be a big one again!
Thanks for the add :-)
