EDITOR’S NOTE: As 2018 comes to a close, we’re looking back at some releases from the year that we didn’t get a chance to write up when they were released. Sam Lewis’ Loversity was released in May.
Critics and music fans seem to be picking the “next” someone. Which troubadour is the next Bob Dylan? What blue-collar rock band is the heir to Springsteen?
It’s kind of a silly thing, comparing upstart musicians with classic artists. But it’s also fun, and it can help provide an audience with a frame of reference for an up-and-comer.
So with that in mind, let’s talk a little bit about the late Leon Russell. But let’s actually focus on Nashville-based recording artist Sam Lewis and Loversity.
Released this past May, Loversity is the follow-up to Waiting on You, the 2015 breakthrough that earned Lewis an opening slot on country megastar Chris Stapleton’s Traveller tour. Loversity takes the easy-feeling country with soulful vocals of Lewis’ prior LP and significantly expands upon it sonically.
That’s where Leon Russell fits into this whole thing. His spin on roots and country was deeply soulful, providing a funky, rhythmic backdrop for his unique phrasing and drawling delivery.
Loversity operates on a terrain that would place it somewhere between Russell albums like Carney and Hank Wilson’s Back!. But where Russell’s music was anchored by his legendary piano playing, Lewis utilizes other methods to get his country-soul hybrid to groove.
“When Come the Morning” opens the album. The loping, easy guitar line is evocative of the Southern soul of the ’60s and ’70s and provides a nice backdrop for Lewis’ smooth, steady vocals. He follows it up with a cover of Loudon Wainwright’s “Natural Disaster.” Lewis beefs it up akin to how Russell took a track like Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and pulled it out of the folk/singer-songwriter territory. Similarly, Lewis’ Wainwright cover maintains the essential melody and structure of the original and successfully presents it instead as a swampy blues number.
The title track is where Lewis’ soul-infused take on country really jumps off. It’s a sonic explosion. There’s a choir providing harmonies on the chorus, a poppin’ trumpet section, and a rich melody behind lyrics on the nature of and search for love. Musically, “Loversity” is the fullest sounding song on the LP and one of the most joyful listening experiences you’ll hear all year.
That vibe carries over into “Do It,” a track that encourages folks to get out there, earn some good karma, and be a part of the world. Lewis really ratchets up his vocal intensity on this one. His voice is still smooth, but there’s an intensity behind the force with which he’s singing that makes the cut more of a musical kick in the ass in than anything else.
“Loversity” and “Do It” are prime examples of Lewis’ focus as a lyricist. His words are a blend of the personal and political. Where they meet is at the idea that no one is alone and that considering the transitory nature of existence, our time is best spent making our world better at both the micro and macro levels. That concept holds true on the bluesy ballad “Everything (Isn’t Everything),” a song with such outstanding lead guitar work, it’s easy to pass by Lewis’ second verse:
Make a plan
Take a stand
Whether you’re black or white, in the day or night
Just be the best you can.
Lewis wraps things up with “Little Too Much.” It’s a reminder that as humans, we should feel obligated to put into this world as much as we take from it. On his chorus, Lewis sings, “I know you’ve given a little bit / But maybe you’ve taken just a little too much.”
“Little Too Much” sounds nothing like a Leon Russell song. The beauty in it is the simple elegance Lewis uses to deliver the message of his lyrics. But the subject matter did make this reviewer think of Russell’s gospel-cum-country ballad “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Particularly, it called to mind the part where he sings, “Stop the money chase / Lay back, relax / Get back on the human track.”
I know, I know – those are pretty normal themes in music, so that comparison is a stretch. But, to throw it back to where this whole thing began, so are most comparisons. Regardless, Loversity is worth a listen and on it, Lewis proves he’s a talent to be reckoned with.
