SHINING REVIEWS FOR THE MUSIC OF TAX

From Rockpile Magazine, March 1998 regarding a Tax solo performance at DC's Metro Café:

...Local boy Tax opened the night with a concise 40-minute set. His dynamic songs were marked by rich, extended chords, well-plotted melody lines and intelligent harmonies. His passionately delivered vocals had a breathy quality, and Tax's multi-octave range showed no fear of falsetto. The artist's Joe Jackson/ John Lennon/ Elvis Costello style has been quietly building a loyal fan base in DC, and this show was a great opportunity to introduce his music to the sold-out house of people who turned out to see Patti Griffin...

From The Aquarian Weekly, Summer 1996 regarding the album "Not So Fast":

Taxbeagy [Tax] is not the name of a band, but a person: an extremely talented solo artist from the Washington, DC area with more than a knack for soulful gorgeous songwriting. With a voice as quiveringly beautiful as Lenny Kravitz or perhaps Jeff Buckley, Taxbeagy fluctuates between soft whispers and powerful groans, resulting in an entirely dramatic, full sound packed with emotion. I'm impressed.

From Music Reviews Quarterly, Spring 1996 regarding "Not So Fast":

...The title cut here could have easily been a later-era Beatles song, and it's not hard to imagine a number of these songs, like "Back Where I Belong" and "Protecting My Spirit" being lost songs from the White Album sessions.

That's how good the songs on "Not So Fast" are. With only a guitar, bass, and drums- and no studio tricks- Taxbeagy [Tax] proves exactly what Lennon was trying to prove when he tired of the studio magic and tried to get back to basics. The songs are melodically pretty and catchy, and it takes the blues emphasis of a song like "Be Wise Blues" to inject some of what might be called melodic expectations into "Not So Fast." In truth, the title tells it all: the songs plow on steadily, relying on the guitar for their instrumental texture and variety. Fortunately, the guitar work is excellent. The movements are, again "not so fast," but perfectly arranged and played for time and mood. Each song has its own mood, and Taxbeagy does everything in his power to develop that mood to its utmost impact. More often than not, that's a dark, intense mood, but that's what makes "Not So Fast" so potent. To anyone who ever completely understood why "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was such an addicting thing, that potency will be understandable; to those who never felt that song's power, Taxbeagy won't make sense, but that's their loss...

...The list of what's right on "Not So Fast" could go on and on, but the crux of the matter is that it catches a potent, often neglected aspect of rock and roll perfectly. Most analysis of The Beatles ignores their dark rock, probably because it had no comparable reference point. Now it does. Don't expect a Beatles impression if you buy "Not So Fast," but do expect some fine, fine rock and roll that has plenty of bite for the buck, and do expect to be quite pleased.

From The Washington Post, December 1994 regarding "Goodlife"

The area rock trio Goodlife boasts a singer who sounds like Elvis Costello and packs a three-piece punch that occasionally recalls the Police's infatuation with reggae, but overall its new self-titled CD says more about craft than calculation.

If lead singer and songwriter Paul Tewksbury [Tax] set out to mimic Costello, he couldn't have done a better job, and his flair for wordplay only underscores the impression. But there's nothing particularly affected about his delivery, and the best songs on the album are easily strong enough to stand on their own. The list includes the bitter title track, the surreal waltz "In the Round" and "Kingdom of Confection," another none too sweet meditation on love, longing and illusion...

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