Alex Chilton - 1970 (13 tracks) +Album Reviews

Looking for his voice here...

L Buckley | Raleigh, NC United States | 11/16/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Not a lost masterpiece, but there is worthwhile material here. The sound is kind of southern-fried soul, with an occasional dash of Gram Parsons thrown in. Less of the chimey-guitar and falsetto vocals of Big Star, more of the gruff blue-eyed soul of the Box Tops (though without the restraining leash that kept those records sounding sober and radio-friendly). It's not as out-of-control as "Bach's Bottom." But it's not as crisp as his playing on all of his post-1970s work, where Alex displays really tasty, understated rhythm guitar (and equally-understated breaks--I hesitate to call them solos--along the lines of George Harrison). Vocally, he's switching between his "macho" Box-Tops voice and his more natural mid-rangy voice. His singing on records of the past two decades is more understated--sometimes even deadpan.
Alex has matured into a rock and roll equivalent of the "saloon singer," as Frank Sinatra would say. Unfortunately, the music world doesn't have a place for singers who artfully reinterpret, refine, and rediscover songs of the rock era. Too bad, because someone like Alex can illuminate a song's strengths and make you hear it afresh--he's not really interested in using music as a vehicle to hash out childhood trauma, excoriate the government, display his navel, or save the world. He just meets the song with keen arranging abilities, killer grooves, biting rhythm guitar, and his Chet Baker-of-rock vocals. For the recent material, it usually doesn't hit you until several listens what a groovy take Alex has come up with on whatever song he's singing. But there's almost never anything you mind hearing after 200 listens; his newer material sounds as if he's had to listen to himself perform it enough to know what's working and what's not.
1970 misses both glorious decadence of Big Star's Third and the black comedy, rump-shaking grooves, and wonderful variety of the later stuff (I love his takes on gospel songs and standards).
1970's stone-classic, for me, is "I Wish I Could Meet Elvis," in which Alex, in an exaggerated drawl enhanced by echo/delay, channels the spirit of trailer-trash fandom (and kind of presages the documentary film "Dancin' Outlaw"). Check out both this song and the film; you won't be sorry."

Alex's bridge between The Box Tops and Big Star

J. R. Vargon | New York City, USA | 11/03/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Along with "Man Called Destruction" and "Bachs Bottom" I've always been partial to 1970. This album is another that had been shelved for whatever reason and features a good collection of Alex originals and covers that bridge the gap between his life musically between The Box Tops and Big Star.

Sure these recordings at times are raw, but they do provide insight into Alex's head at the time and where he was headed as a musician. Ironically this is the first recording to feature "Free Again" which also pops up later on Bachs Bottom almost as his "up your's" to the bands / musicians who he may have felt compromised him as a musician, or took time from his life with little in return.

1970 features a young, irreverent, promisingly talented and mischievous Alex who after Big Star burned out in 1974 wouldn't resurface again till the mid 1980s when he'd gotten his life together again, and later when he released A Man Called Destruction. It's definitely an album worth having in your collection if you have an interest in Alex's younger years, and want to see where the seeds of his pre-Big Star musicianship really began.

"

Uneven, but worth it if your a diehard Chilton fan.

J. R. Vargon | 04/10/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

""1970" is an uneven album, but it is worth the price if your a diehard Alex Chilton fan. The best songs on this one are very different - the sweet ballad "EMI Song", and the punk-meets-Led Zepplin cover of the Archie's "Sugar Sugar". "EMI Song" is possibly a distant cousin to Big Star's "Another Chance" while "Sugar Sugar" might be seen as kind of a cousin to "Baron of Love" from Alex's "Flies On Sherbert" album. Since this album was actually recorded between Alex's time with the Box Tops and his time with Big Star, he is actually still singing in his Box Tops raspy voice on much of this material though not all of it. This is also the first time that he was allowed to write most of his own material for an album so what you see is an artist in transition. "EMI Song" and "Sugar Sugar" make it all worthwhile though."

Missing link between the Box Tops and Big Star

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 12/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As others have noted, this isn't one of Alex Chilton's masterpieces, yet it's a terrifically listenable album that bridges between his more straight-jacketed work with the Box Tops and the freedom of expression found with Big Star. Chilton can be heard indulging his affection for Memphis blues and soul on several tracks, stripped of his former group's AM-radio sweetening. Produced and engineered by Terry Manning, and recorded on spec rather than in fulfillment of a signed contract, Chilton was freed to sing more grittily, to record his own material, to extend the guitar jams, and to loosen up with odd touches like the banjo on "I Wish I Could Meet Elvis." Even when things get a tad sloppy, it's hard to fault someone shaking off the confines of top-40 for a bit of self-expression. Ironically, the craft drilled into Chilton's head as a Box Top would soon serve him well in Big Star.

The pedal-steel driven original of "Free Again" is more innocent and exultant than the 1975 redo on Bach's Bottom, suggesting Chilton's departure from the Box Tops was a more freeing personal success than his extrication from the commercial failure of Big Star. Foreshadows of Big Star's expectant melancholy can be heard in the exceptional "Every Day As We Grow Closer," and the vulnerable "EMI Song," folk-country "The Happy Song" and heavy soul cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" are all worth hearing. The bombastic cover of the Archies' "Sugar Sugar" sounds more like a studio joke than an artistic statement, but perhaps Chilton was offended by the original's irrepressible ebullience. After hearing these other sounds from Chilton's head, his indulgence of the blues turns out to be the most perfunctory and least interesting material here.

Chilton backed out of a contract to release this album through Atlantic, and was distracted with Big Star before a deal could be closed with Brother Records. This left the original mono demo master to be circulated for two decades by collectors as it was forgotten by its creators. When Manning was reminded by a bootleg copy, he found the original 8-track tapes in the Ardent vault and created superb new stereo mixes (except for "Free Again," which remains in mono). Mannings' original engineering provided the elements necessary to create a finished product, and his craftsmanship fit the sessions together into a modern artifact that remains remarkably true to Alex Chilton circa 1970. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]"

Between Box Tops and Big Star

Morten Vindberg | Denmark | 01/30/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After the dissolution of the Box Top in 1969 Alex Chilton began to record music for his first solo album. This happened over a longer period during of 1970. Like the early Big Star the album is recorded in John Fry's Ardent Studios, and Chilton are musically supported by Ardent acquaintances such as as producer and mulitiinstrumentalist Terry Manning and drummer Richard Rosebrough.

Logically the music places itself somewhere between the soul-pop sound of the Box Tops and the more progressive power-pop-oriented sound of Big Star. Unfortunately when the album was finished and ready for release Chilton failed to find a satisfactory agreement with a record company, and he soon became heavily involved in his new band Big Star, so the recordings were shelved and soon forgotten.

Although several of the tracks have since appeared on various compilations, the album was first released in 1996 in its entirety.

The album opens with three bluesy numbers, which do not differ substantially from the Box Top sound, and none of them are really interesting. Hereafter things begin to change for the much better. "Free Again", known from "Bach's Bottom", is here in an early countryinfluenced version and vocally Chilton begins to sound more like we know him from Big Star.

"Something Deep Inside Of Me" is a nice pop number, sung with soulful vocals by Chilton - a recording that could very well go to have Box Tops.

The ironic "All I really Want is Money, would hardly have found its way into a Box Top album, though Alex singing with his well-known early "soul" vocals.

"I Wish I Could Meet Elvis" is a fun mix of rock and country, and certainly one of the album's best tracks. Chilton here sounds very much as we know him from Big Star. "The Happy Song" is another fine Chilton number which was actually also recorded by the Box Top and released on the group's last album "Dimensions" - a cute catchy melody.

The album's absolute highlight is the ballad "Every Day As We Grow Closer". Very beautiful melody, sensitive Chilton sung with fine vocal harmonies - a number that could easily go as Big Star, but without the ringing guitars that characterize the group.

"The EMI Song" is another fine ballad, though not quite on par with the previous.

The album finishes with two cover numbers. First "Jumping Jack Flash", given in a raw and unpolished version that could easily remind you on the musical approach of "Bach's Bottom". This is even more obvious on "Sugar Sugar", which is set down in pace, and given a heavy and punky treatment. The vocals are fairly loose, but definitely entertaining - interesting that already in 1970 music that almost only can be described as punk was being recorded.

Although the album as a whole probably comes out somewhat uneven, there is much to go for, and for fans of Big Star and Chilton this is obviuosly a must."

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	Alex Chilton 1970 Genres: Pop, Rock Track Listings (13) - Disc #1 Come On Honey I Can Dig It Just To See You Free Again Something Deep Inside All I Really Want Is Money I Wish I Could Meet Elvis The Happy Song Every Day As We Grow Closer The EMI Song (Smile For Me) Jumpin' Jack Flash Funky National Sugar Sugar/I Got A Feeling (Heavy Medley)
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