Search - Alex Chilton :: Bach's Bottom

Beware! If you love the real one, this isn't it!

09/17/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of Alex Chilton's protopunk masterpiece should find the german import (LICD 9.00091 from Line records). This one is producer Jon Tiven's revenge for the savage fun made at his expense in that CD's final song. Tiven rerecorded the album with new musicians overdubbing every note, and searched through the outtake bin for the worst available vocal for each song. Petty and unlistenable.The three bonus tracks, from Chilton's brilliant, bizzare early 80's period, aren't sabatoged, but are all available on other, better CD's."

Un-Ravel-Ing

leeleedee | Lexington, KentuckyCincinnati | 11/19/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The above reviewer from Austin is correct; Mr. Jon Tiven, for unknown reasons, has overdubbed on the original tapes here. I've owned this record in its original Line version since it first appeared about twenty years ago. The original has its moments but it's obviously just some buddies getting together over a few drinks or something. Mr. Tiven apparently had the idea these tapes could be turned into something saleable; as fans might be aware, Alex Chilton wasn't able to play guitar on this record, which partly accounts for its lack of focus. The version of "I'm So Tired" is nice, though. Some of this was released on the long-ago Ork EP "Singer Not the Song." It is a bit sad to think about how Chilton could have benefited from some direction back in the '70s, but I guess it's all right that we have the occasional visionary semi-masterpiece, like "Bangkok" or the "Sherbert" album. Anybody can make a sane, well-crafted record--who needs 'em anyway? I mean, if you was Mott the Hoople, I'd come out there and pee all over you, but who cares?"

Take this home and make it stop!

leeleedee | 04/30/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Let's clarify the star rating first: If you're interested only in music, this a one-star album; if you're interested in listening to someone's life flashing before his eyes, this is a five-star album (hence, the average of three stars). While there might be a moment of musical pleasure somewhere in here -- probably the bonus track "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" -- the real pleasure (or agony, depending upon your chemical make-up) here lies in listening in on a moment in time . . . a really long, sad moment, that is. What we have here is, in essence, the soundtrack of a man at the very bottom of his career, perhaps even safe to say his life. It seems that one would have to have felt, at least at some point in his life, just as recklessly hopeless as Mr. Chilton does here to appreciate this music. And how often do we gain this kind of close access into the emotional state of a famous, yet total stranger, especially in such an advanced state of disarray? This is exactly the kind of behavior 99.9% of the performers in this world would go to any lengths to prevent from being released; but, luckily, there are performers like Mr. Chilton, who are brave enough -- or maybe just downright perverse enough -- to give everyone the opportunity to listen to a portrait of this artist as a seventy-car pile-up. I, for one, am quite grateful for that opportunity."