Singer/songwriter David Lasley's Demos Vol. 2 – Take A Look has been released on the Cool Sound label featuring Lasley's early recordings of songs from his critically acclaimed Missin' Twenty Grand and Raindance albums as well as unreleased works, including an early duet with Luther Vandross.  Cool Sound previously reissued Lasley's Demos in 1999.

Lasley, the highly regarded vocalist best-known for his distinctive falsetto and songwriting ("You Bring Me Joy," "Lead Me On," "Jojo"), says, "The original Demos, released in 1981 and re-issued/expanded to a 2-CD set in 1999, featured songs I wrote for consideration by other artists.  Demos Vol. 2 is just the opposite.  These are songs that I mainly wrote for myself.  This recording, subtitled Take A Look, does just that – it 'takes a look' at the demo versions of songs that I had recorded and released as a solo artist.  They're demos of songs in their earliest stages when they were still taking shape."

The album includes liner notes with Lasley's detailed recollections of how the songs came to be written, providing an intriguing look inside the head of a composer and his songwriting process.

The release of Demos Vol. 2 coincides with wide interest over the last few years in Lasley's early works.  The singles he recorded in the 1960s, including "Girls Are Against Me" and "Dream World" (on LaSalle) and "One Fine Day" (on Philly Groove), have become sought-after collectors items, selling on auction web sites and other online outlets for thousands of dollars.  His solo albums and his work with his group Rosie have all been reissued during the last several years. 

Tracks on Demos, Vol. 2 – Take A Look are "Look to Me," "Glad and Happy Feeling," "Chains on Your Soul," "Roomate," "Take a Look," "On Third Street," "I Only Want to Be with You," "Someone Like You," "Where Does That Boy Hang Out," "Chance to Win," "When Love Is Gone," "Afterglow," "It's a Cryin' Shame (Sha La La La)," "When My Baby Comes Home," "Raindance," "Take the Money and Run," "Never Say," "Sailing Boat," "It Ain't Worth the Heartache," and "Too Much Commotion, Not Enough Emotion."

The songs, with two exceptions, were written by Lasley and many of his frequent songwriting partners including Willie Wilcox and Luther Vandross (whose duet with Lasley is "Too Much Commotion, Not Enough Emotion").  "Take A Look" was written by legendary producer/songwriter Clyde Otis, and "Take the Money and Run" was written by Don Paul Yowell; Lasley recorded both for Missin' Twenty Grand.

Musicians on Demos Vol. 2 – Take A  Look include David Benoit, Jason Scheff, Bobby Watson, Jimmy Haslip, Moon Calhoun, Aaron Zigman, Mike Mainieri and others.  Arnold McCuller, Ula Hedwig and Myrna Smith are among the album's background vocalists.   

Lasley has written hundreds of songs that have been recorded by such artists as Bonnie Raitt ("I Ain't Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again"), Anita Baker (“You Bring Me Joy”), Maxine Nightingale (“Lead Me On”), Patti LaBelle (“Come What May,” ”I Don’t Go Shopping”), Aretha Franklin (“There’s a Star for Everyone”), Whitney Houston ("Dancin' On the Smooth Edge"), Boz Scaggs (“Jojo”) and Crystal Gayle ("The Blue Side"), to name just a few.  Additionally, his talent as a singer (Esquire included him with Philip Bailey, Barry Gibb and Smokey Robinson as "1985's Top Falsettos") matches his stature as a songwriter.  Lasley has also achieved great success as a background vocalist and vocal arranger.  He has toured and recorded as a background vocalist with James Taylor since 1977 and has worked with countless other artists, among them Bette Midler, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Jimmy Buffett, Ringo Starr, Cher, Chic, Sister Sledge, and Chaka Khan. 

Lasley's other solo recordings, in addition to Demos and Demos Vol. 2, are Expectations of Love (2001); Back to Blue-Eyed Soul (2000); Missin’ Twenty Grand (1982; reissued 2001); Raindance (1984, produced by Don Was) and Soldiers on the Moon (1990, reissued 2000). 

Rolling Stone called Missin' Twenty Grand  "genuinely beautiful white soul," and the New York Times commented, "The way his tunes blend the style of Motown with more sophisticated Broadway and Hollywood influences recalls the pop style of Laura Nyro’s classic late-60’s albums.”  Critic Mikal Gilmore called Raindance "off-beat, exquisitely beautiful, politically and emotionally savvy art-soul from perhaps the finest pop-R&B songwriter (if not the most affecting high-range vocalist) in America today."  Back to Blue-Eyed Soul, a retrospective of his career, was praised in Playboy by esteemed music writer Dave Marsh who said, "The great falsetto singer David Lasley put this together by rummaging through his 35-year career…  Call it the best Smokey Robinson CD of the 21st century."

Demos, Vol. 2 – Take A Look is available from Lasley's web site, on Amazon.com, in selected stores, or by mail order at P.O. Box 46667, Los Angeles, CA  90046.