BadfingerBarb Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 I know there are some Big Star fans here so I thought I would mention that Big Star will be playing at Memphis in May once again on May 5th. I'll be there all weekend. Anyone who wants to meet up or needs travel advice, feel free to drop me a line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 It's about time they got out and plugged the new (somewhat disappointing) CD.....I guess Alex C. got sidetracked somewhat with Hurricane Katrina, living in New Orleans...BadfingerBarb - Do you know where they'll be playing in Memphis on 5/5? The last time I saw them was at Randall's Island, NYC, in August '04, at Little Steven's Underground Garage Fest (just a 4 song set). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadfingerBarb Posted February 16, 2006 Author Share Posted February 16, 2006 They're playing at "Memphis in May" which is a huge festival they have every May in Memphis. http://www.memphisinmay.org/ The music festival takes place the 5th through the 7th and is at Tom Lee Park which runs along the Mississippi just west of Beale Street. There are three stages that run along the park. It's all GA. You can bring blankets and/or chairs but I highly recommend standing. Big Star plays Friday evening the 5th. They haven't released all the artists scheduled yet but The Killer plays on the 6th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 BadfingerBarb-Do you like the Box Tops stuff too? I actually picked up their greatest hits cd "Soul Deep"-as an Australian import for $6.99 at my local Shop-Rite supermarket.Chilton was a real great and mature singer even as a kid.I remember seeing him alot on TV when I was just a kid myself, and the voice coming from this skinny youngster was uncanny.-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadfingerBarb Posted February 17, 2006 Author Share Posted February 17, 2006 I like the Box tops ok. I have a compilation cd ("Ultimate Box Tops"?) that is more than enough for me. Four of the five original members still gig around. I saw them January of 2005 in Chicago at Navy Pier with Joey Molland's Badfinger. I was surprised to see they had a horn section as well. The band was tight but they sounded a bit too cabaret for my tastes. I like them when they play with some blue eyed soul. I spent an evening with Chilton at the bar Earnestine & Hazel's in Memphis about four years ago. Because of his reputation for being somewhat erratic and eccentric I didn't know what to expect but he was just a regular guy. The Box tops are playing in Cleveland with Joey Molland's Badfinger on March 18th at the Quicken Loans Arena (formerly Gund Arena). Anyone in the area should check them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 The reunited Boxtops' live shows have essentially been their old hits plus their comeback CD from '99 or so, "Blast Off!"....which didn't really offer up any new originals of note. It's practically all covers, ranging from Sun rockabilly-filtered-through-blue-eyed-soul ("Billy Lee Riley's "Flying Saucers Rock & Rock", to Sam & Dave ("Ain't That A Lot of Love"), to Howlin' Wolf ("Wang Dang Doodle") - essentially a tribute (and not a particularly heavy one) to Memphis music. Instrumentally, they were never exactly the Stax/Volt revue....although Alex could sing the contents of a local phone book & it would probably still sound great.I understand Mr. Chilton has been pretty much sober for the past 12-13 years. At a book signing party in Wash, DC several years ago, for Robert Gordon's "It Came From Memphis", Gordon showed some old video footage of the Boxtops, with an extremely drunk (or stoned) AC fronting them....an absolute shambles! In his post-Boxtops and post-Big Star days, I saw him several times live, and he'd usually pass out midway thru his sets. Per Robert G. that night, Alex went thru rehab of some sort, and was thru heavy duty partying for good.....so thankfully, we still have him! (Although I understand Katrina was a close call...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 Some truly tangential stuff from someone who just unwiilingly woke at 4:00 a.m. 1)"Soul Deep" by the Boxtops always sounded to me just like a great Grass Roots record-minus horns.It really sounds like that wonderful rollicking commercial stuff they did after their "faux folk-rock"-"Live For Today" period. 2)"Sweet Cream Ladies" by the Boxtops -which created a bit of a stir as an AM Radio hit praising the helpful and thankless role prostitutes play in society-uses some of the most formal and sophisticated vocabulary one will ever hear in a 60's AM pop song. 3)It's a kick seeing Alex Chilton's name come up on the credits every night on "That 70's Show". End of ramble.Going back to sleep.Good night everyone.-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 18, 2006 Share Posted February 18, 2006 If I recall correctly, the Box Tops relied heavily on 2 main songwriters - Wayne Thompson (The Letter, Neon Rainbow, Soul Deep), and Dan Penn with various partners (Cry Like A Baby and a large number of their album cuts......Penn's one of the all-time great soul writers, having penned Dark End of the Street, I'm You Puppet, Do Right Woman, It Tears Me up, etc.). The Grassroots' soul period songs were also all penned by 1-2 writers, I think, but the names escape me....(just as they relied on PF Sloan and Steve Barri during their folk-rock days). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannoman Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Alex Chilton and BoxTops aside, I just can't find anything remotely listenable by Big Star. To call them the best power-pop band makes me do the Aflac duck double-take - you know, like the D-T the duck does in the Yogi Berra spot.They are not is the same class as the Raspberries (sorry, Alex). On a scale of 1 to 10 my ears (which are big) give them a gracious 4.What am I missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Hey - Different strokes for different folks....I personally know 2 people who refused to attend the Raspberries NYC shows because they were afraid they would turn into (and I'm using a phrase coined by one of them, NOT me) "Eric Carmen solo snooze-fests". They love the Raspberries but can't stand EC's solo easier-listening material.Regarding Big Star, I suspect you have to have been there when their stuff was released in order to fully appreciate it. I say this because I know several people who've seen the "reunited" Big Star live, and simply aren't impressed by either their LPs or the band. As far as I'm concerned, it's their loss....(NOTE: I'd venture to say that Big Star's material hasn't aged as well as some other bands', but the last time I posted words to this effect, I was lambasted by defenders of the band. Hell, I love 'em too....but it doesn't mean everyone else needs to.....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mannoman Posted February 21, 2006 Share Posted February 21, 2006 Quote: Hey - Different strokes for different folks.... - So true. Quote:I'd venture to say that Big Star's material hasn't aged as well as some other bands' John, that's the first thing that popped (pun intended) out at me. The material seemed dated.What I also find interesting is I never heard of Big Star until last year, on this board. Maybe they weren't played in the Philly market "back in the day." Any other Philly area folks remember hearing Big Star on the radio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadfingerBarb Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 Big Star didn't get played on the radio anywhere. They also didn't sell any records and had spotty distribution. Their stature grew completely from word of mouth and album reviews. That has a lot to do with why critics like to rave about them. I bought their first album based on a review. It was years before I found a copy of their second album and by that time they had split up. Chilton's post Big Star material is erratic and sometimes just odd. There is a cd of recordings that Chilton made after he left The Box Tops and before he joined Big Star called "1970" that's really good. It's sort of a combination of the two bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 "Chilton's post Big Star material is erratic and sometimes just odd."If you think his solo material was/is odd (and I think it meets any kind of definition of that word), you had to see him live, post-Big Star but pre-clean & sober (I'm thinking the early to mid-80's). While he rarely no-showed (at least in the DC/Baltimore area), sometimes we wished that he would have....I remember a night at the old 9:30 club where he spent the entire show leaning against an amplifier, almost knocking it over several times....and playing an old Gibson ES-125 or 225 - a hollow body that kept feeding back, with Alex totally oblivious to the damage he was wreaking on our ears. He had spent the entire opening set (by Tav Falco's Panther Burns, probably worse drunks than he was) holding court at a bar, letting everyone in the club buy him drinks. During the first number of his set, he collapsed twice....then they just leaned him against the amp. A horrible (but entertaining to an extent) show....One thing I've never really understood is critics' infatuation with Big Star's 3rd LP, AKA "Sister Lovers"....which, to me, is the equivalent of that particular live show, only in the studio, and allegedly fueled by harder drugs. Not the most inspired songwriting or performances....yet many critics prefer it to #1 Record and Radio City.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockerreds Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 Yes.JohnO,I also saw him in that early-80s period,and it was the worst show I'd ever seen:didn't come on until 220am,played no guitar,20 minute set,no Box Tops,no Big Star,no encore.Terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Early Wynn Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I saw Alex Chilton about 10 years ago in Philly. He was incredible. Did some Big Star stuff, some solo stuff, even a few Box Tops tunes. Outstanding. I love Big Star's Radio City. I think it's truly a classic. The CD of the first two albums is well worth the money, IMO. I agree with the comment above that I don't understand the attraction to "Third." I found it to be very uneven. His solo stuff is also all over the place. He does a killer version of "Singer Not the Song" though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnO Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Every time I've seen Alex over the past 10-12 years, including several reunited Big Star shows, he's been great....being sober tends to improve you as a live performer, it seems. On the other hand, though, I don't think he's written too many new noteworthy songs over this period...including the new Big Star effort. Likewise, his recorded output over this time frame has been very erratic.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Allen Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Alex still sounds good, but, alas, is a victim of charisma bypass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ira Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 I am being a nag,but I am really encouraging all of you music enthusiasts to go to www.youtube.com click "Videos" then type in someone you like and see what videos have been uploaded.I just watched "September Gurls" by "Big Star"-live from Stockholm -and "The Letter"-live from 1967 by going to this site-clicking "Videos" then searching for "Alex Chilton"-Enjoy-Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierson Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 I saw Alex Chilton about 10 years ago in Philly. He was incredible. Did some Big Star stuff, some solo stuff, even a few Box Tops tunes. Outstanding. I love Big Star's Radio City. I think it's truly a classic. The CD of the first two albums is well worth the money, IMO. I agree with the comment above that I don't understand the attraction to "Third." I saw Chilton/Big Star in the early '90s & they were pretty awful-- mainly because of Alex's bad singing and uneven guitar playing...Big Star "Third" is just as important as the first 2 albums... if ya like the wierder stuff on Radio City, you should be able to enjoy songs like "Stroke It Noel," "For You," "Nighttime," "Take Care," "O Dana" and "Blue Moon"-- and the more straight ahead stuff like "Jesus Christ" & "Thank You Friends"it's definitely a darker more personal record, but it holds up well like Joni Mitchell's Blue and Neil Young's Tonight's The Night... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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