Crockmister - Going Down To Babylon

Hear The Track Here

It seems to be the month for old faces to reappear. One of the real harsh drawbacks of cutting down on the amount of reviewing I've been doing (to make room for my own work you understand) has been that I no longer review over at MP3 Unsigned which means that I miss out on previously reviewed artists such as The Shed, Smalllife and - of course - Crockmister and Deggsy. That combination delivered so well that they narrowly missed being my Artist of The Year 2005. Who did they lose out too? Maria Daines and Paul Killington and if that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is. Not content with that they gave me a Track Of The Year 2006 in Lullaby In Blue, released at the very beginning at that year, again showing just how good they can be. Crockmister on his own is no slouch either, let me tell you. Long before the deadly collaboration with Deggsy, Craig Sofaly (for he is the Crocky) had made a distinct impression on me with his extremely professional approach.

An artist to be savoured.

Happily, having finished my own projects this year, I've now had time to re-acquaint myself with MP3 Unsigned and lo, I stumbled across this track and let me tell you, this one was too good NOT to bring it to your ears immediately. It was only then I discovered it was available on Soundclick too, How could I miss this? Waaaaahhh. Judging by the activity on the page Crockmister has been almost silent for a year, but get a listen to this and you'll be begging him not to stop EVER AGAIN. After the dush, dush dush of most indie music, the lightness of touch shown by a true master of what it means to be as professional as you can get - indie or otherwise. Why Craig isn't a major star is completely beyond me: he has everything going for him; a classy, stylish performer musically and vocally and he is a songwriter par excellence. Even the merest glance towards Going Down To Babylon will hook you in before you can say fu....

k? You have been warned.

Although I absolutely hated Dire Straits, I did like the area of music they tried (Business Ed: successfully, mind) to capitalise on. Can't say they really grasped the ethos of it though, whereas Crockmister exhudes it through every musical pore. In my life I have had the great good fortune to encounter some incredible musicians live and in person. One such was Dr John, of Night Tripper legend. One of the most compelling, mesmerising performers I have ever seen (not counting Jimi obviously) his live performances made a powerful impression on me. That seemily oh-so-easy vocal style is why I bring the good doctor into this review because Craig has that same manner about him and Going Down To Babylon (not a reggae track, way more rhythmic than that) is a classic example of what Crockmister is all about, Class all the way. Oh, I did use the Dr John reference on purpose because - to my ears - this track has more stylistically to do with the US South than the land of me bredden. Safe.

Top class track, get it at all costs. MUST HAVE.