Although officially released on Friday (23 Feb) the new album from Down To Earth, "LoveLifeAndHarmony" is only now available to stream on Spotify.
The album has been a few years in the making and follows their highly acclaimed and chart topping "Still Ridin' High" (Sep 2021) which was also released on vinyl by Izipho Soul and arranged over two sides: a The Meat Side and The Sweet Side.
To celebrate the release of the new album, Izipho Soul is offering a special deal on the remaining vinyl copies. They are offering black or gold vinyl copies for a limited period at £5 per copy plus P&P via Izipho Soul website. The offer is open until 16 Mar or until stocks last.
We posted album samples last week prior to release but now enjoy the album in full. It's great to see several tracks already receiving radio airplay.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
The new album from Down To Earth, following their highly acclaimed and chart topping "Still Ridin' High" (Sep 2021), is "LoveLifeAndHarmony" due for release on Friday (23 Feb '24).
The album has been been a labour of love over the last couple of years but, owing to health issues, which are now hopefully being resolved
(we wish both Lol Williams and his wife Debs a speedy recovery), it's finally ready for release.
All songs have been written and produced by Lol Williams and Stevie Paul
with their good friend keyboardist David Foster (who's played with Billy
Paul, Peabo Bryson and Loose Ends to name but a few) co-writing on three
tracks (1, 3, and 7).
They tell us that it's a personal and meaningful album reflecting life challenges that
can affect anyone unexpectedly at any time and has been designed to be listened to in full in track running
order.
"That Loving Touch" an 80s/90s style groove with Stevie Paul bringing out his inner Larry
Carlton jazz/funky guitar licks and chugs away very nicely with a steppers
kinda groove.
"Girl" also has an 80s feel and just builds and builds.
"Waiting No Longer" a lovely soulful mid-tempo ballad/stepper featuring long time collaborator Bobbi Shepherd on lead vocals.
All three above, we believe, would do well as singles.
The remaining four new songs are all ballads. The album opener, "Beautiful Day", a jazz flavoured mid-tempo ballad. "What We've Both Been Waiting For" starts off as a bit of a crooner but don't be deceived as it builds and
builds and develops into a mid-tempo stepper with Stevie's jazz guitar in evidence throughout. "Everything To Me" has a similar groove to Mike Post's "Theme from Hill Street Blues" (on
which Larry Carlton featured) and features Karen Lenihan on backing vocals.
"Perfect Company", is a duet with Lol Williams and Bobbi Shepherd.
Another solid set from the East End boys which is going for radio promotion
this week so will, quite rightly, receive lots of airplay in the coming
weeks, so watch out for it on several of the UK soul charts.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
01 - Beautiful Day
02 - You Keep Loving Me
03 - Shadows Of The Night
04 - Waiting No Longer (Bobbi Shepherd on lead)
05 - Guiding Star
06 - That Loving Touch
07 - What We've Both Been Waiting For
08 - What We Gonna Do
09 - Everything To Me (backing singer Karen Lenihan)
Our good friends Lol Williams and Stevie Paul, otherwise known as
Down To Earth, release their latest single "In The Shadows Of The Night" tomorrow (21 Apr '23) which will be the last one before they release the
follow up album to their UK Soul Chart topping "Still Riding High". The, as yet unnamed, new album should be out in the summer with
seven of the eight tracks now completed. It will also contain the previous
singles "What We Gonna Do", "My Guiding Star" and You Keep Loving Me".
The new single harks back to the jazz funk days of the late 70s / early 80s (although is also timeless to these ears - a barometer of quality) which a well known and respected UK soul radio
presenter commented "That’s actually *** brilliant mate, very Lonnie Liston Smith early 80s,
love it!!" when a demo cut was received months ago.We hope you'll agree?
It's out on all the main digital platforms from tomorrow (21 Apr
'23).
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
Posted only yesterday from promo, the new double single from Down To
Earth has been officially released today (23 Sep 2022). I wasn't sure of
the exact release date as it has been in the pipeline for a few weeks.
Down To Earth are Stevie Paul and Lol Williams who have worked together
for for over 30 years and released their album "Still Riding High" last September which caused quite a stir and hit the top spot of the
UK Soul Chart spending several weeks at #1 and on the chart. they
followed it with a new single "You Keep Loving Me" in Apr 2022 which entered straight in at #9 on Solar Radio's Sweet
Rhythm Chart.
They are working on a new album which will hopefully be out before the
end of the year and to promote it they have released a double single.
For "What We Gonna Do" they recruited a long time friend Stacy Lee to sing lead vocals. The
other track is a ballad "My Guiding Star" with Lol Williams on
vocals.
Having had their album "Still Riding High" hit the top of the UK Soul Chart last October and spending several
weeks at #1 and on the chart, Down To Earth followed it with
a new single "You Keep Loving Me" in Apr 2022 which entered straight in at #9 on Solar Radio's Sweet
Rhythm Chart.
Prior to the release of a new album due in the Autumn, in May they
invited me to a recording session for a new single which they originally titled "So Good Together" (it's now called "What We Gonna Do") for which they recruited the services of Stacey Lee to do the lead vocals. In addition to sessions, Stacy Lee performs
live as an Adele tribute act. Within a matter of a couple of hours she had
laid down all the vocals.
The core of Down To Earth are duo Stevie Paul and Lol Williams who have
worked together for over 30 years and their chemistry is evident. They
have also known Stacy Lee for over 20 years since she was a young girl who
started singing at a very young age.
It was a complete no drama session, the backing track was already
recorded and Stacy Lee had already recorded the vocals previously but the
guys decided that the song's tempo was too fast so decided to slow it down
and asked her to come back to record new vocals. In she came and within a
few takes recorded verse, chorus and ad libs, job done, and off she went
to prepare for a show that evening.
The guys told me that the track would require a few more sessions for Lol
to record his vocal sections and to then mix the track down into the final
cut before it would be ready for release. It is now ready for release
imminently.
Whilst there, they also played me several unfinished cuts of songs
planned for the new album and I can tell you it will be just as good as,
if not better than, the last album so I'm looking forward to hearing the
final cuts. I think the new single is probably one of their best and is
very reminiscent, to my ears, of Incognito's 1999 version of The Jones
Girls "Night's Over Egypt".
They have decided to release a double single as a taster/teaser for the new
album so, along with "What We Gonna Do", they have recorded a ballad "My Guiding Star".
The lead single from Down To Earth's forthcoming, as yet untitled,
sophomore album to follow their chart topping "Still Ridin' High" is "You Keep Loving Me" officially released today (22 Apr 2022).
It's a mid-tempo modern soul stepper which should appeal to traditional
and contemporary soul lovers alike and is a taste of things to come from
their new album.
Lol Williams and Stevie Paul have been together for 40 years in various
groups and have played with many of the UK's 'heavyweights' including
jazz guitarist
Jim Mullen and Yes's Rick Wakeman. They have also performed at the legendary Ronnie Scott's Club and the
Jazz Cafe.
Lol released an album of Jazz standards in 2005 titled "The Very Thought Of You" as Lol Williams Band.
Having had a UK Soul Chart #1 hit with their album "Still Ridin' High" in Autumn 2021, which is getting renewed airplay on the back of it's
very recent vinyl release on Izipho Soul, the Down To Earth boys, Lol Williams and Stevie Paul, have been back in the studio
to record their new album which should be out later this year.
The lead single "You Keep Loving Me" from their forthcoming album (a demo was posted as a month ago) is due out this Friday (22 Apr 2022).
It's a mid-tempo modern soul stepper which should appeal to traditional
and contemporary soul lovers alike and is a taste of things to come from
their new album.
Click icons below for further information or to connect with the
artist.
