Jeannie Lewis - Looking Backwards To Tomorrow (1974)

(Australian 1964 - Present)

Jeannie Lewis' performing career began in the mid 60's, and her name has since become synonymous with concerts and cabaret shows that flently blend dance, theatre, poetry and song into their own unique style of music theatre. She has worked with jazz artists, blues bands (ie. The Foreday Riders Blues Band) and symphony orchestras, and her multilingual performances reflect a career which has taken her through countries as diverse as Cuba, France, Greece, China, Mexico and Argentina.

Jeannie started her singing career on the Sydney folk and jazz circuit in the mid-1960's then moved into the rock scene in the early 70s, establishing a strong reputation through her dynamic performances and powerful interpretations of songs both on stage and on the outstanding recordings she made in those years. During the 80's and 90's she continued to develop and broaden her career, with roles in musical theatre and the unique one-woman cabaret shows that reflected her growing love of Latin music, and her commitment to the often-underrated role of women's voices in music. Jeannie can adapt her voice to a large and eclectic range of material -- folk, rock, blues, opera, torch songs, Broadway tunes, tango and jazz -- and she is recognised both here and overseas as a peerless interpreter, with a rare ability to make almost any material her own.

Jeannie Lewis (born 1945) is a highly talented virtuoso performer of jazz, blues, rock, folk, tango and opera, who began her diverse musical career playing in folk and jazz clubs in Sydney in the early 1960s. Gifted with a voice of extraordinary vocal range and tone, and able to brilliantly convey a vast array of moods and emotions, Jeannie Lewis is arguably the most underrated performance artist in Australian musical history.

After singing in clubs and with jazz bands such as the Alan Lee Jazz Quintet and the Ray Price Jazz Quintet throughout the 60s, in early 1970 Lewis changed streams to join forces with the progressive rock band Tully, who had just completed a stint as the house band for the Australian production of the rock musical Hair. In what was to be the first stage of a long and successful collaboration, her first foray into rock music was as one of two vocalists, alongside Tully and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, in a Sydney Proms premiere performance of Peter Sculthorpe’s work Love 200. Later that year she formed the Sydney-based band Gypsy Train, which included Tully vocalist Terry Wilson and highly regarded jazz pianist Bobby Gebert, alongside guitarist Kydric Shaw, bassist John Helman, and drummer Daryl McKenzie. She also sang the title song to Jim Sharman’s 1972 debut feature film Shirley Thompson Versus The Aliens.

Jeannie Lewis’s debut album was the critically acclaimed Free Fall Through Featherless Flight (1973), which featured musical direction and arrangements by Tully’s Michael Carlos, and cover art by Australian artist Martin Sharp of Cream’s Disraeli Gears fame. The star-studded lineup of backing musician included Carlos on Moog, organ and harpsichord, Marcia Hines and Shayna Stewart on backing vocals, Mike Reid and Mike Wade on guitars, Ken Firth on bass, Jamie McKinley on piano, Greg Henson on drums, Alan Lee on percussion, plus a wind section, and The Fidelio String Quartet. 

 The album won an Australian Radio Record Award for Best Australian LP of 1974 despite receiving almost no airplay – only the ABC via Chris Winter’s music show Room To Move, and the newly created Sydney radio station 2JJ showed interest. Amongst an outstanding list of high-quality material, Lewis’ rendition of Australian Graham Lowndes ballad "Till Time Brings Change" is particularly moving, however it was her brilliant take on the Dylan Thomas poem "Do Not Go Gentle" that first drew my attention to Lewis's musical genius.  

Jeannie’s second album was the live set 'Looking Backwards to Tomorrow (In and Out of Concert)', released in 1974, and was released and performed on stage at the State Theatre in Sydney. The song list for the album includes stunning versions of songs by artists such as Dory Previn (Scared to Be Alone), Ray Davies (Celluloid Heroes), Graham Lowndes (The House is Burning) and the Reverend Gary Davis (Cocaine Blues with backing provided by the Foreday Riders). Celluloid Heroes was released as a single, while the album was released in the USA by American label Mainstream.

Jeannie Lewis' 1974 live album is an superb mixture of progressive rock, folk and pop opera and she was absolutely one the best Australian female singers in the 70's.   As "The Age" once reviewed - "Jeannie Lewis is a concert in herself, her singing thrills, her voice is powerful and unique, with a startling range of dramaric expression".

This post consists of FLACs freshly ripped from my near mint Vinyl and includes full album artwork. Requested by a blog follower last month, I have finally found time to rip this rare album (enjoy Peter).

For those of you who have not heard any of Lewis's performances, this album may take several hearings to fully appreciate its genius, while her voice in quite unique and compelling.

Track Listing:

A1 The Magician

A2 The House Is Burning

A3 Porque Los Pobres No Tienen

A4 Scared To Be Alone

A5 Celluloid Heroes

B1 Feet

B2 Rocelli Kaharunta

B3 Les Blouses Blanches

B4 Ladies Who Lunch

B5 Cocaine Blues

B6 An Artist's Life

Musicians:

Jeannie Lewis - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Michael Carlos - Moog, Organ

Dave Ellis - Bass

Doug Gallacher - Drums, Percussion

Ian Mason - Acoustic Piano

Jamie McKinley - Electric Piano

Mike Wade, Peter Boothman, Roy Ritchie - Electric Guitar

Allan Lee - Vibes & Percussion

Graham Lowndes - Backing Vocals

The Foreday Riders - Full backing band on "Celluloid Heroes"

Jeannie Lewis Link (327Mb)