By Charles Donovan/28 February 2018
With the release of three lost classics by the underrated '70s funk quartet now available, Maxayan talks with PopMatters about her music and "the storm" that is life as a black woman in America.
ByCharles Donovan/28 February 2018
Cast your mind back to the great soul/funk/rock pioneers… Parliament/Funkadelic, Sly & The Family Stone, Graham Central Station, Rufus, Labelle. There’s a missing name, a name that belongs on the list but which has been overlooked, partly because, until now, it wasn’t represented in the digital age: Maxayn. From 1972 to 1974, Maxayn, who took the funk of their forbears and blended it with rock, jazz, soul and a pinch of post-hippie psychedelia, were among the great hopes of the Warners-distributed Capricorn label. To say that they didn’t get their props would be to stretch understatement to breaking point.
After four decades, Maxayn’s music has finally been brought in from the cold by the Cherry Red label. Late last year, it slipped out in a three-disc set, Maxayn Reloaded (simultaneously released to streaming and DL), that didn’t get quite the fanfare it deserved, but it certainly ranks as one of 2017’s most important reissues. Maxayn took its name from front-woman, singer, songwriter and pianist Maxayn Lewis, a woman whose charisma and talent, to this day, enter the room before she does. If her name sounds familiar, it could be for a number of reasons. Maxayn stands alongside Merry Clayton, Venetta Fields, Clydie King and the Waters siblings as one of the most accomplished backing vocalists in pop/rock history. Her voice has graced albums by Bonnie Raitt, Simple Minds, Duran Duran, Smokey Robinson and Ricky Martin. And that’s a tiny fraction of her work.....
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