Search - Alex Chilton :: Like Flies on Sherbert

Shoulda Used the Soft-Tex?

Roger Duprat | Cleveland | 04/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the album that divides Alex Chilton fans. On the one hand, there are people who revere the Big Star albums as the ultimate revisionist take on British-Invasion and west-coast pop music. "#1 Record" and "Radio City" certainly derive from the Byrds, Beatles, Zombies, Who, Kinks, as well as from the Beach Boys and Moby Grape. And the Big Star albums are untouchable. On the other hand, there are fans who, in my opinion, get the bigger picture and see how "Like Flies on Sherbert" and other solo works by Chilton ("Bangkok," "Walking Dead," "Take Me Home and Make Me Like It") are the next step past mere reverence for the admittedly storied past. I'm of the opinion that "Sherbert" is one of the great albums of the late '70s, or indeed of any era. As a corrective to the mere reverence I referred to earlier, it's unbeatable; and of course it fits in with the so-called psychobilly of bands like the Cramps. Yet "Sherbert" is unique because it combines a lingering affection for the somewhat naive products of men like Ernest Tubb and Jimmy C. Newman with a desire to reveal the rather unpleasant or at least geographically and romantically fraught realities that lie beneath seemingly artless songs like A. P. Carter's version of an old Civil War song, "Lorena," that later became, through some alchemy, a song about slavery called both "Way Down in Alabama" and "No More the Moon Shines on Lorena." Many, including the obviously challenged folk at AMG, simply dismiss this album. Goodness gracious, what delicate sensibilities one must have to be offended by the twanging guitars and sprattling synthesizers of "Sherbert." And merciful heavens, sometimes the singing is a bit out of tune, and on the brilliant cover of K. C. and the Sunshine Band's "Boogie Shoes," Chilton even starts singing a bit early, and he didn't correct the mistake. Of course, "Boogie Shoes" is such a sacred object, such a classic, that the desecration is unbearable. There are a few other artists who, having recorded such sublime and well-crafted pop music, have chosen to bare their souls in such a manner while remaining essentially unknowable; and few who have been brave enough to take a romp through the pop-music past in a way that actually shows respect for it. What I think the detractors of "Sherbert" miss is that true respect is not always solemn. This record was originally released in late 1979 on Sid Selvidge's Peabody label, in a limited editon of 500. Aura Records released it in a sonically inferior version, in 1980, leaving off Ross Johnson's "Baron of Love pt. II" and "No More the Moon Shines on Lorena," and replacing them with "Boogie Shoes." There have been various reissues since then. This reissue restores the original tracks, keeps "Boogie Shoes," and adds something kind of sick called "Baby Doll" and an instrumental version of a Cordell Jackson tune. The record was produced by Jim Dickinson and makes a nice companion piece to his early-'70s classic "Dixie Fried," which mixed covers of Carl Perkins, Furry Lewis and Bob Dylan for a somewhat similar listening experience."

One of the most storied albums ever!

Bill Wikstrom | Long Island, NY | 11/27/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First of all this is not a conventional GOOD or BAD album. It requires too much explaining for most people to even care to "get it". The album was recorded in a few boozy/druggy nights and was mixed on and off for a year according to Mr. Chilton. The musicians were very unfamilliar with the material (and unrehearsed) which was somehow very attracive to Alex. The album kinda makes sense considering Alex's state of mind at the time - having been burned a few times by the music industry by now. He was in a "if anyone's gonna screw this up it's gonna be me" spiteful mind set. False starts, wrong notes and pure lunacy is accentuated in the mix. Even flaunted.

The Replacements boozy tendencies make a lot of sense after hearing this record. You hear the influence right away.

Maybe it's just me but there's something very exciting and even primal in this recording which you simply don't hear much in "music".

Thank you Mr. Chilton"

"Baron of Love pt. II"

Bachelier | Ile de France | 05/31/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ross Johnson's "Baron of Love pt. II" is missing from this version. A pity, for Johnson's masterpiece provides another glimpse at this fantastically creative time in the independent music sceen in Memphis in the late 70s and early 80s. This work suffers from its absence, and without the immortal phrase "get in here before this stuff coagulates!" none of this makes any sense at all."