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| From | Michael Bennett <mrhonorama@ameritech.net> |
| Subject | Re: Big Star - In Space |
| Date | Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:10:04 -0700 (PDT) |
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Hmmm...Stewart's post has unleashed a bevy of
thoughts.
1. Alex Chilton's solo records -- quite a mixed bag.
I dig the 1970 album that was reissued (or was it
never issued and finally put out in the '90s? Too
lazy to look). And there are a couple other keepers,
though most of it is pretty mediocre.
2. That being said -- is there anything wrong with
expecting a record called Big Star to sound like Big
Star, as opposed to something more in line with Alex's
solo stuff? Stewart seems to imply that there is
something misguided about that -- I'm not so sure
about that. However, what I've read about the disc is
what I did expect. I honestly didn't think Chilton
would get back to writing pop songs.
3. Insofar as Chilton rewriting "September Gurls",
that point is well taken. But then the question
becomes -- how many good songs has he written since
the original end of Big Star? Seriously -- his output
as a composer post-Big Star leaves a lot to be
desired.
4. In that regard, I didn't include the excerpt, but
Stewart notes Chris Bell's contribution/influence on
the Big Star sound -- basically stating that it's the
dominant part of the sound of the first two albums.
This gets to the big question -- had Chris Bell not
passed on years ago, would Chilton get as much credit
as he does for Big Star? Could it be possible that
Chilton is really a modestly talented fellow who found
his mojo with Bell, and then watched it dissipate over
the years?
5. If this is the best Alex Chilton material in 20
years, do I really need it?
Mike Bennett
--- Stewart Mason <craigtorso@verizon.net> wrote:
The fact that I seem to be one of the
> very few
> Auditeers who finds much musical value in Alex's
> post-Big Star work --
> as opposed to those folks who consider it some kind
> of personal insult
> that he hasn't stuck to writing "September Gurls No.
> 238" -- probably
> means that there's going to be a very large subset
> of folks around
> here who are bitterly disappointed, but so far, I
> like it a lot.
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