Monday, August 15, 2011

333maxwell - And Drift Away

Hear The Track Here

Not to be mistaken with the infinitely more well known 'and r-e-l-a-x' refrain familiar to readers of this blog - or at least I don't think so. Trouble is, you never can tell when faced with a new Chas Holman (aka 333maxwell) potboiler. There was a while there, for instance, that I know for a fact he was writing song specifically for review the following month. I sent him away with a flea in his ear (Ed: yeah right...) and it's been a while since You Suck (March 2011) so I guess he's suitably chastised.

or I'm delusional... (Ed: yeah that...)

For a human being Chas has more sides than a many sided thing, musically anyway. Almost every genre has felt that maxwellian touch sooner or later and I've reviewed pretty much all of them. It's the reason 333maxwell was a former Artist Of The Year (2009) and has more Must Haves from me than any other musician around so it goes without saying that while I admire his talent and his chops, I feel the green tinge of envy to this day. After such over-exposure though I have figured that ultimately Chas is best when he's laid back, whether that's in a jazz way or a 1960's Beatles type way, and the Fab Four are definitely the inspiration for this track.

To gentlemen of a certain age and discernment, the epitome of great pop songwriting still resides in the ghost of The Beatles, whether it's early or later work it doesn't matter, all of it is ripe for plunder. Having said that there really aren't that many musicians around who can really pull it off on all the levels The Beatles did, but 333maxwell is definitely one of them. More Magical Mystery Tour than Hard Days Night, it's Lennon influences worn for all to see, this is a classic example of just what makes 333maxwell one of the brightest sparks around.

Highly Recommended nostalgia binge.

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