Ephraim Lewis - Skin
Ephraim Lewis
Skin
Elektra 1992
Produced by K. Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby
Ephraim Lewis - vocals
guitars - Hussein Boon, Mark Sheridan
drums - Ed Hacket, Caroline Bowden, Darren Ford, Trevor Murell
+ a litany of other UK session players.
A decade ago the young life of Ephraim Lewis came to a rather mysterious and unpleasant end. I had only recently really gotten into his sole album, Skin and had felt his death to have been quite saddening. As time has wore on, I have felt that compound, as repeated listens to that album shows the first steps of someone who could have possibly eclipsed people like Marvin Gaye. His debut is a lush and rooted affair that still manages to evoke space and the vastness of the personal. It still remains excellent listening a dozen years since its release.
At initial listen, the easiest way to describe him would be to think of what would happen if Sade and Seal had a child, and made Terence Trent D'Arby the godfather. The album is stacked with dense basslines, taut rhythmic figures, and punchy bits of horns and layered keys. It is distinctly an R&B/Soul record, but does not lend itself to being fully confined to what those names may define it as. There is no pathetic R. Kellyesque posturing or brickheaded plodding of things produced by anyone dating Janet Jackson these days. There are hints and references to people like Miles Davis in the mellifluous trumpet phrases in Drowning in Your Eyes as well as having the kind of songs that would lead the way for neo-soul (an infinitely stupid bloody term, but I use it for those those who are fixated to it) singers like Maxwell, as evidenced by a track such as Rule For Life.
It offers a lot of variation, and not in the form of intentional eclecticism, but as exploring the spaces that soul can occupy easily; both musically and lyrically, there is a good gamut to be absorbed here. Love, loss, race, celebrity, and the infinitely fragile state of being human are all covered. Lewis has an astonishing range, first evidenced by the original first single, It Can't Be Forever where he smoothly shifts from a deep baritone "speaking" register to a clear tenor and shining falsetto without batting an eye. It just flows. He can open up, as he does in spots from Mortal Seed and Hold On, but Skin as an album eschews vocal gymnastics for expressiveness, and in that regard, Ephraim is a more relaxed, pensive persona.
There are some treasures here, as both Summer Lightning and the melancholy Sad Song could qualify as timeless ballads. The production is stellar; crisp, full, but never overpowering -- you can actually feel that the songs stand on their own rather than needing the embellishment, so the fact that Bacon and Quarmby opt for measured embellishment rather than suffocating over-adorned pabulum speaks volumes. Even the drum programming of It Can't Be Forever, which utilizes the now most overused beat in history (most remembered for being on Madonna's Justify My Love single from way back) still feels appropriate given the time this was initially released. It is really a shame Ephraim never go a chance to follow this up, as even the b-sides of the singles, like Dreams From the Trees showed an artist trying to progress.
This is one of those albums that if you like soul, is an absolute must have. No excuses. Sell your Ashanti and Ciera collection and trade the proceeds to pick this up instead. Ignore BET, MTV, and whatever Clear Channel cordoned-off musical cul-de-sac you happen to have been duped into bothering with.
You might like this if you like:
Sade - Love Deluxe
Seal - Seal I, II
Terence Trent D'Arby - Symphony or Damn
Maxwell - The Urban Hang Suite
Rasahn Patterson - Love in Stereo
D'Angelo - Brown Sugar
Rafael Saadiq - Instant Vintage
Skin
Elektra 1992
Produced by K. Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby
Ephraim Lewis - vocals
guitars - Hussein Boon, Mark Sheridan
drums - Ed Hacket, Caroline Bowden, Darren Ford, Trevor Murell
+ a litany of other UK session players.
A decade ago the young life of Ephraim Lewis came to a rather mysterious and unpleasant end. I had only recently really gotten into his sole album, Skin and had felt his death to have been quite saddening. As time has wore on, I have felt that compound, as repeated listens to that album shows the first steps of someone who could have possibly eclipsed people like Marvin Gaye. His debut is a lush and rooted affair that still manages to evoke space and the vastness of the personal. It still remains excellent listening a dozen years since its release.
At initial listen, the easiest way to describe him would be to think of what would happen if Sade and Seal had a child, and made Terence Trent D'Arby the godfather. The album is stacked with dense basslines, taut rhythmic figures, and punchy bits of horns and layered keys. It is distinctly an R&B/Soul record, but does not lend itself to being fully confined to what those names may define it as. There is no pathetic R. Kellyesque posturing or brickheaded plodding of things produced by anyone dating Janet Jackson these days. There are hints and references to people like Miles Davis in the mellifluous trumpet phrases in Drowning in Your Eyes as well as having the kind of songs that would lead the way for neo-soul (an infinitely stupid bloody term, but I use it for those those who are fixated to it) singers like Maxwell, as evidenced by a track such as Rule For Life.
It offers a lot of variation, and not in the form of intentional eclecticism, but as exploring the spaces that soul can occupy easily; both musically and lyrically, there is a good gamut to be absorbed here. Love, loss, race, celebrity, and the infinitely fragile state of being human are all covered. Lewis has an astonishing range, first evidenced by the original first single, It Can't Be Forever where he smoothly shifts from a deep baritone "speaking" register to a clear tenor and shining falsetto without batting an eye. It just flows. He can open up, as he does in spots from Mortal Seed and Hold On, but Skin as an album eschews vocal gymnastics for expressiveness, and in that regard, Ephraim is a more relaxed, pensive persona.
There are some treasures here, as both Summer Lightning and the melancholy Sad Song could qualify as timeless ballads. The production is stellar; crisp, full, but never overpowering -- you can actually feel that the songs stand on their own rather than needing the embellishment, so the fact that Bacon and Quarmby opt for measured embellishment rather than suffocating over-adorned pabulum speaks volumes. Even the drum programming of It Can't Be Forever, which utilizes the now most overused beat in history (most remembered for being on Madonna's Justify My Love single from way back) still feels appropriate given the time this was initially released. It is really a shame Ephraim never go a chance to follow this up, as even the b-sides of the singles, like Dreams From the Trees showed an artist trying to progress.
This is one of those albums that if you like soul, is an absolute must have. No excuses. Sell your Ashanti and Ciera collection and trade the proceeds to pick this up instead. Ignore BET, MTV, and whatever Clear Channel cordoned-off musical cul-de-sac you happen to have been duped into bothering with.
You might like this if you like:
Sade - Love Deluxe
Seal - Seal I, II
Terence Trent D'Arby - Symphony or Damn
Maxwell - The Urban Hang Suite
Rasahn Patterson - Love in Stereo
D'Angelo - Brown Sugar
Rafael Saadiq - Instant Vintage
posted by theloniusfunk at 2:51 AM
3 Comments:
I absolutely agree! Ephraim was a musical treasure that is missed among those that knew his work. Those who never knew his genius missed a lot.
I have "Skin" and it is still one of my most-played albums to this day. While certain parts of the album show their age (simply because of the time where the album was made) it's still amazing to me how fresh "Drowning In Your Eyes" sounds to this day.
"It Can't Be Forever" is one of my all-time favorites. The video only made the song more eerie--too bad there was no YouTube back then.
It's downright scary that he died so shortly after recording that song. One can only wonder what he might have accomplished had his life not been cut short. A pity.
Newly uploaded at 28/04/13
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