Al Lewis - he's just like you and I; so too does he suffer heartbreak
when that seemingly unbreakable relationship falls apart, so too does he feel
the ache when the previously clear career path becomes infringed, so too does
he ride the rollercoaster that is life with all its ups and all its downs. Why,
then, is he - and not you, nor I - featured in this magazine? When life does
it's best to make living everything other than plain sailing, chances are you
and I like nothing better to have a good old fashioned moan and to be done with
it. Whilst listening to us spew our troubles out might be seen as a duty, a
nuisance even, listening to Al Lewis do so is seen by many to be a pleasure.
This is why he is featured in this magazine, and you and I are not.
Take Lewis's new album, Battles,
for example. In reference to the album's somewhat cryptic title, I tell him
that as much as I'd like these 'battles' to be epic Lord of the Rings-style, I figured that he'd most likely be talking
a little less Tolkien and a little more figuratively. He tells me that the
album is about the realisation that "life is hard". He's right on
both accounts; the album is indeed about life being hard (on opener The Truth in Growing Old, Lewis tells us
'Life can take it's toll - loved ones come and go', for example) and life is indeed hard - Al tells me he wrote
the aforementioned track when a few loved ones sadly passed away during the
recording process.
But by no means is it all doom and gloom for the Welsh
singer-songwriter, far from it. Although the start of his musical career was a
little bleak (but who's isn't?), scouring our country up and down in a quest
for the next available open mic night, him and his ability to be a man of the
people, and sound 'reminiscent of the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s
delivered with a modern twist' has got him going to all the right places and
meeting all the right people: it got him sharing the stage with King of
Collaborations Mark Ronson (at Welsh festival Wakestock), it got him meeting his musical childhood heroes, such
as Manic Street Preachers and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals (at the
ceremony of the Welsh Music Prize; Lewis' first English language album, In The Wake, made the shortlist (he also
operates in his native Welsh tongue, which tends to have a bit more of a 'band'
feel and makes for a more "raucous" set)), you could even say it's
what got Battles produced. Regarding
the latter, Al tells me he only got in touch with producer Charlie Peacock on a
whim having liked the sound of a band Peacock had previously produced (The
Civil Wars) as they performed on Later...with Jools Holland. Lewis was expecting nothing of it. Peacock e-mailed
back the next day saying he had liked what he had heard of Al's material, and
invited him to his recording studio in Nashville. Things went from there.
Somewhat bizarrely, Al has rather made a knack of being swayed by
musicians appearing on television shows. Whilst it is almost expected for Al to
take inspiration from such 70s greats as Jackson Browne, Neil Young and Cat
Stevens, and even their modern day equivalents, such as Damien Rice, Michael
Kiwanuka and Ben Howard, what is not expected
is for him to be getting ideas from the likes of Cheryl Cole. Yes, you read that
correctly. Cheryl. Cole. Whether it be a defence mechanism or whether it be a
legitimate excuse, in an attempt to defend his corner Lewis alleges that it was
somebody else's idea (his manager's) for him to cover something contemporary.
"But why, of all people, Cheryl Cole?" I quite rightly enquire on
behalf of all music fans. Well, guess who appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show?
In an attempt to move conversation onto artistry that's a little more,
well, credible in the music world, I ask him who his dream collaboration would
be with. I breathe a sigh of relief when he comes out with an absolute corker:
"It's got to be Bob Dylan." Well, given the way he's going, does dim
drwg am gofyn. Which, if you didn’t know, is Welsh for 'there's no harm in
asking'.
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