In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L’Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know.
The record itself is a delicate, whispered album, reflecting the way the artist himself – spectral, movie star-like – almost disappears into the grey of the cover. It should come as no surprise that it failed to shout loudly enough to be noticed, another private press album that sank without trace.
The ingredients are simple: smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocals and the gentle plucking of acoustic guitars. But the effects are arresting: a spine-tingling, sombre album that echoes Springsteen’s Nebraska or Angelo Badalamenti’s atmospheric soundtracks. Later, Arthur Russell would grasp for something similar on the epochal World Of Echo LP.
L’Amour is a true discovery of the blog age, uncovered in an Edmonton flea-market by collector Jon Murphy, passed on to private press fanatic Aaron Levin, shared on the internet and speculated over by lovers of curious LPs. There’s almost no information about Lewis or the album on the internet. There’s precious little on the sleeve: a dedication to Sports Illustrated supermodel Christie Brinkley, a photo credit for Ed Colver, the noted L.A. punk rock photographer, and credits for engineer Bob Kinsey and synth player Philip Lees. All that was known of Lewis is conjecture: a rumor that he was a con artist who fled after not paying for L’Amour’s photo-shoot and a dubious theory that he was not actually of this earth.
When Light In The Attic looked to release the album, they set out to investigate the mystery. They found some answers, but more intrigue too. Colver was able to fill in some blanks. Firstly, Lewis is a pseudonym. The man the photographer met was named Randall Wulff. He stayed in the Beverley Hills Hilton, drove a white convertible Mercedes and dated a girl who looked like a model. He paid for his photo session with Colver with a $250 check, which bounced.
Eventually, the trail led to Alberta, Canada, where that first LP had been found. Liner notes writer Jack Fleischer along with master detective Markus Armstrong found Randall’s nephew, who remembered Randall as a stockbroker. His vague recollections include a visit to Randall’s apartment, with all-white furniture and that beautiful girlfriend in situ. Crucially, he offered another name – another of Randall’s pseudonyms – which led to a Vancouver studio and the revelation that Lewis had recorded three or four albums of “soft religious music” there. Alas, even the new nom de plume led only to dead ends.
Lewis remains a ghost, a total mystery, but the music will be heard. The album is being pressed for the first time in more than 30 years, and widely distributed for the first time ever. Lewis’s royalties will be placed in escrow until he makes himself known. Perhaps you know Lewis. Perhaps Lewis is you. The only certainty is this: Lewis is about to find a whole bunch of new fans.
Everything's Changed
Lewis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics to Lewis's song Everything's Changed convey a sense of loss, both personal and universal. The opening lines, "Of course I feel as if the light of youth has gone / The innocence both you and I have known," suggest a nostalgia for a time that can never be recovered. The imagery of "clenching teeth" and "open eyes become a noose" evokes a feeling of being trapped and powerless to change one's circumstances. The phrase "wait, and soon sorrow" suggests a sense of impending doom or tragedy.
The theme of impermanence is underscored by the line "fast your work is left to decay," which suggests that even the things we create or accomplish are ultimately fleeting. The image of "red earth and fallen leaves" suggests a cycle of life and death, and the idea that everything eventually returns to the earth. The repeated refrain "everything's changed" reinforces the idea that nothing stays the same; life is a constant process of growth and change.
Line by Line Meaning
Of course i feel as if the light of youth has gone.
I feel like I have lost the energy and vitality of my youth.
the innocence both you and i have known.
The purity and naivete that we both once had.
clenching teeth who can undo.
I am filled with frustration and anger that cannot easily be undone.
open eyes become a noose.
Being aware of things can sometimes feel like a burden, a tight rope around my neck.
and soon. everything's changed.
Things have changed and will continue to do so
and the dust that i have come from. i return to.
I came from nothing and in the end, I will become nothing again.
broken back. unbending knee. wait. and soon sorrow.
I am physically and emotionally exhausted and I'm waiting for the inevitable sadness that will come.
naked heart it seems too much for me to bear.
My emotions are so overwhelming, it's difficult for me to handle.
of pleasures past. fast your work is left to decay.
The good times are behind me, and the work that I once did is no longer important or useful.
i've seen where this path will lead. through red earth and fallen leaves before. everything's changed.
I have seen where my life has led me in the past and now things are different.
take the road. find a source of comfort. of comfort.
I need to find a new path to seek comfort, and to find it quickly.
here you come. here you come. with one eye open. and one eye closed. staggering
I see you approaching, but you seem uncertain; like you're not quite sure where you're headed.
Contributed by Wyatt S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@makcnm47416
да это одна из самых ебейших песен, что я слышал