Big Star-Alex Chilton-RIP
I was saddened to hear about the tragic death of Memphis legend Alex Chilton this week.He had been a musical hero of mine for some time.
I had always been aware of his ragged vocals on the Box Tops oldies radio favourite The Letter which Alex sang aged just sixteen.The vocal on The Letter wasn’t typical and was,almost certainly,recorded when he was either hoarse from singing too much or he had a cold.Either way its a classic song with a great production and at under two minutes it doesn’t out stay its welcome.
I guess you could say the same thing about Big Star.
Alex Chilton formed Big Star with Chris Bell in the early 1970s and recorded two great powerpop albums,no 1 record and Radio City.The records are full of classic shimmering guitar pop tunes…the missing link between The Beatles,The Byrds and The Beach Boys.They are full of sunny harmonies and bright chiming guitar riffs.When they were released on a double CD in the 1992 by Ryko I was an instant convert and I quickly spread the word around my friends about this forgotten band who had such fantastic pop songs.
Their third album (Sister Lovers/Big Star Third) was also released by Ryko and although at first I found it hard going I grew to love this just as much as the first two albums despite (or because) of its dark,dreamy atmosphere.The third album almost seemed to have been recorded in a half dream state and it makes essential late night listening.
When Big Star reformed in 1993 (without Chris Bell who had tragicaly died in a car accident or Andy Hummelwho had retired from rock and roll to work in the airline industry) I was astonished to find they had planned two dates in the UK.With two members of one of my favourite bands of the time,The Posies,taking the missing Big Star members places they were booked into the Town And Country Club in Leeds.
On the day of the concert the gig was moved to the considerably smaller Duchess Of York and it was there that I witnessed one of my all time favourite concerts.
Before an audience of less then one hundred avid fans Big Star walked on stage.Jody Stephens sat behind the drums looking as handsome as he did on the back cover of the albums recorded two decades prior,the two guys from The Posies were poised and ready to roll and a little guy shambled on with a joint in his mouth and his back to the crowd.Hunched over his guitar he proceeded to spend forever tuning up.Some wag shouted out “Where’s Alex?” and he turned to face us with the look of someone who had no real need for an audience.
Then the magic happened.
It was like seeing The Beatles in your front room!
Classic after classic unsullied by over familiarity.Fresh as the day they were recorded.Pure,beautiful,happy sad music that lifts you up and yet fills you full of melancholy at the same time.Reflective acoustic numbers and upbeat energy packed rockers.All with that unique guitar sound and those block harmonies.
Big Star have played the odd show in the UK since then but somehow I have never got around to seeing them again.Maybe the first time was so perfect it wasn’t necessary to see them twice.
I would guess that most people ,if they do know of the band ,will be familiar with them from In The Street which is the theme tune of That 70s Show (albeit recorded by Cheap Trick and mimed by the cast.)Some older readers might also remember The Bangles version of Big Stars September Gurls.
Anyway in this age of download and re release it’s not hard to get hold of their music.All the albums are in print and a Box Set Keep An Eye On The Sky is available with rarities and alternative versions.There was even a new CD (In Space)released in 2005.I’ve got the lot,including all the live CDs but really all you need is the first three perfect albums.
Its said that Big Star are the best unknown band in the world and it certainly seems like most people have never heard of them,despite them being championed by the likes of Primal Scream,Teenage fanclub and REM.This made it all the more surprising when I came across a fan at 2am in Farnham in Surrey where I had just played an acoustic gig back in the 90s.
We were invited back to an old record company types house in this posh village wich is often reffered to as being in the Rockbroker belt.As we crept in at 2am he whispered to keep the noise down as his wife and kids were in bed but when I found the original promo 12inch Stax copy of the first Big Star single (pressed with an Issac Hayes Hot Buttered Soul song on the other side) he was so pleased to have found a fellow Big Star fan that he cranked the stereo up to eleven and we heard those shimmering chords coming through the speakers at max volume.
Alex Chilton became a legendary lost boy of rock depsite his legacy with both The Box Tops (and there are one or two white soul classics on their greatest hits-Soul Deep being a favourite of mine) and Big Star plus his production work on The Cramps and Tav Falcos Panther Burns and not forgetting Like Flies On Sherbert,his impentrable ,shambolic mythic solo album.Many of his solo albums contained versions of the American Songbook tunes he had grown up with and he seemed to treat his own music with some contempt.
Alex Chilton was one of my heroes. The Replacements even wrote a song about him and I have to agree with the lyric “I never travel far without a little Big Star”
Thanks for the music.We Salute You!
Tags: alex chilton death, alex chilton eulogy, alex chilton obituary, alex chilton remembered, big star leeds, big star obituary, duchess of york leeds
Geez, everytime I see blogs this good I just want mine to be there already!
Great work.