Chas Hodges

Right At Home: Selected Unreleased Home Recordings 2007-2017

DEMON. CD/DL/LP

Final recordings from half of the pride of north London.

Recorded on his Portastudio over the last years of his life, Right At Home

at times stalks familiar Chas Hodges territory – Daisy Rag, What You Got You Got To Show and Trigger all recall his work with Chas & Dave – yet it excels when it strays. You Can In The Summertime evokes bayou blues. Rock’n’Roll Allotment is superb: instead of signalling the virtues of women and fast cars, Hodges praises cabbages, pak choi and hoeing. Chazzajig sounds like something off

McCartney III and demonstrates Hodges’ capabilities as an instrumentalist. Over a bossa nova-style drum machine, the call-andresponse acoustic guitar is enthralling. While we’re talking Beatles, Right At Home closes with Hodges’ version of I’m So Tired. Whereas John Lennon sounded weary with the excesses of his era, Hodges just sounds weary – it’s a poignant

listen from one of UK popular music’s great constants.