Lewis Furey is one artist that is hard to follow due to the obscurity of his recordings and most of his work is in France. This French Canadian somehow missed his mark in the United States, even though he was signed to A&M Records during the mid-1970s. The fact is I purchased most of his albums as cut-outs at the time, and when I went to Japan in 1989, I re-purchased them as CDs, due that some Japanese music company purchased the rights to distribute and re-release the entire A&M catalog for the market there. One of the reasons why I'm devoted to Japan is due that they released Lewis Furey albums in that country.
"The Sky is Falling" is the third album by Furey, and it is similar to the first solo album in that John Lissauer produced and did some of the arrangements for both records. Furey is a combination of many talents that reminds one such as Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen for example, yet not like them at all. Their resemblance is based on their observation lyrical skills, with some musical overtures. The one connection between Cohen and Furey is Lissauer, who also produced/arranged the Cohen recordings of the late 1960s and early 70s. Furey is very much had his feet in the musical theater, as well as writing French Chanson songs in English, that tells a narrative that is usually sexual and there is a strong off-Broadway aspect to his work. "The Sky is Falling" was only released in Japan and France, and it's a fascinating collection of songs. Some were meant for a theater piece, but the other songs match perfectly with respect to mood and location. "Thieves" is a show-topper of a chorus, and the beautiful song that ends side two "Ordinary Guy" is a French composition that's translated and adopted by Furey. He's an artist that should be better known, and especially for those who are fans of Leonard Cohen. I feel that they are missing a creative link here.
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