We Let The Devil In And It's Tearing Us Apart

I've been drawn back into the orbit of Eddie Chacon recently. 

The Dubhed selection focusing on Seahawks in the New Year included their excellent 2020 remix of Hurt from Eddie's debut album. His third album, Lay Low, was released on 31st January.

Since coming across that debut, Pleasure, Joy And Happiness, in late 2021 and discovering Charles' fascinating career - and life - left turns since his success thirty years previously as one half of Charles & Eddie, I've been a fan of his ongoing solo explorations.

After a second, equally brilliant album, Sundown, with John Carroll Kirby, Lay Low sees Eddie collaborate with Nick Hakim, the pair having first come together in 2020 when Nick remixed Above Below from the first album.

Lay Low is not a dramatic departure, but a further teasing out of the "low-key R&B" that Eddie has made his signature in the 21st Century. The touchstone for me is Why Can't We Live Together by Timmy Thomas, sharing the sparse, stripped back sound yet slowed down even further. The effect is to focus the mind on the words and the voice. And it works.

The economy extends to the album itself: eight songs, less than half an hour, but rewarding on so many levels that it feels like a complete, nourishing experience.

I've picked five songs from the Lay Low, a remix from each of the previous two albums and an extended segment from Later...With Jools Holland. The latter features an interview with Eddie, a clip of his 1993 debut on the show with Charles Pettigrew, performing Would I Lie To You?, and closing with Eddie, John Carroll Kirby and band performing Holy Hell.

What a way to start the week.

1) Empire (Official Video) (ft. John Carroll Kirby) (2024)

2) Good Sun (Official Visual) (2025)

3) Let You Go (Album Version) (2025)

4) If I Ever Let You Go (Album Version) (2025)

5) Let The Devil In (Official Visual) (2025)

6) Hurt (Seahawks Remix) (2020)

7) Holy Hell (Mndsgn Remix) (2022)

8) Interview / Would I Lie To You? (Charles & Eddie, 1993) / Holy Hell (Live On Later...With Jools Holland, BBC2 TV, 10th June 2023)