Vale Alex Chilton:
Big Star's Alex Chilton dies at 59
Singer and guitarist Alex Chilton, a teen star who became an alternative hero with Big Star, died yesterday at the age of 59.
Walking back from the canteen just now I found myself humming In The Street, which made me smile. That's the ironic thing about Big Star songs: despite Chilton having bulk depression issues, his songs rarely fail to put a smile on my dial.
Most of the readers here would know Big Star, I just felt like boosting #1 Record. It's not perfect, but it rocks. Get a load of these tracks: Feel, In The Street, Don't Lie To Me and When My Baby's Beside Me. Surely, those are four of the best-ever power pop guitar tracks. Even a couple of the lighter, more whimsical tracks rock out: The Ballad of El Goodo and My Life Is Right. Don't get me wrong, either, I quite like the Cheap Trick cover above. The kid doing air guitar - that's me. Well, not me, but like me. However, the cover lacks IT. You just know what IT is, don't you. IT is the cow bell. That ding-a-lingin' inspiration takes In The Street from Great to Really Great. Tell me you don't waggle your hand every time you hear IT. Nor is that the only bit of genius on the album. The other zinger lives in Don't Lie To Me. That's right, coming out of the second verse and into the third it's the penny whistle that accompanies the guitar crescendo. I think it's a penny whistle.
Stroll on over to Tim Dunlop's Basement. He's put together a tidy pocast: cow bell, penny whistle, the lot.
Wow. Loved that guy. As you say most of the songs were pretty upbeat, emotional but upbeat.
By the way disagree with your earlier post - I much prefer Radio City - Way Out West, Back of a Car, September Gurls - come on. 'I Am The Cosmos' is pretty damn good too.
Posted by: Simon | 19 March 2010 at 11:30
You disagree? With me? I find that very hard to believe.
Posted by: Tony | 19 March 2010 at 11:44
The punchy guitar greatness of #1 Record clinches it for me.
Posted by: Tony | 19 March 2010 at 11:44
Well I'm sure we can all agree that the third album was tosh.
Posted by: Simon | 19 March 2010 at 21:53
30 years after the Boxtops, I heard Alex Chilton again on a 1991 Chet Baker tribute CD 'Medium Cool'. He sings on 3 or 4 tracks. Obscure album, but pretty good, especially if one likes Chet Baker.
I forget exactly how,(google probably) but because of the Chilton link, I then happened upon #1/Radio City.
And to further the link, the 'Big World' tribute album to Big Star.
Good stuff and AC is worthy of some respect.
Posted by: Decca | 19 March 2010 at 22:53
Bangkok, the most fantastically and deliberately bad geography ever committed to record.
Posted by: Adam 1.0 | 20 March 2010 at 23:39
I missed Big Star but remember heqring the Box Tops' The Letter on the Stardust (that crap David Essex movie) soundtrack double LP. Like a lot of numbers I thought of as Joe Cocker songs, the original was an eye-opener.
Posted by: Lad Litter | 23 March 2010 at 20:05
Or, the Joe Cocker version was an eye closer.
Can we all agree that Joe Cocker was/is unmitigated garbage ?
Posted by: Simon | 24 March 2010 at 20:30