Rest In Peace Alex Chilton
December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010
December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010
A great songwriter and musician has died. Nobody brought jingly jangly power pop to the level Alex Chilton did, the innovator and Big Star frontman who passed in New Orleans yesterday of what seems to have been a heart attack. Unfortunately the group never achieved the commercial success one would have hoped for, especially considering the universally appealing, deceptively simple rock ballads and pop tunes which characterized the band throughout the 1970s. Third/Sisters takes the Big Star sound perfected (and I mean they're actually perfect records) on #1 Record and Radio City and makes it a little spacier, with more instrumentation and back-up vocals. That doesn't mean the group abandons its pop sensibilities on this record, but rather they expand it to include synths, strings, backup vocals and slightly more melancholy lyrical content. For balance's sake, there are a few heart-wrenching acoustic joints as well ("Blue Moon" will make you cry or wish you could). I'd say its probably the best record to listen to as we mourn Mr. Chilton and celebrate his legacy, though you should really get the whole holy trilogy, for the sake of your own mental health. Enjoy.
Tracklist:
1. Kizza Me
2. Thank You Friends
3. Big Black Car
4. Jesus Christ
5. Femme Fatale
6. O, Dana
7. Holocaust
8. Kangaroo
9. Stroke It Noel
10. For You
11. You Can't Have Me
12. Nighttime
13. Blue Moon
14. Take Care
Rykodisc, 1978
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I had no idea of who he was,thanks for this discovery:)
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ReplyDeleteWith the recording of this album in 1974, Alex Chilton single-handedly invented 90's alternative pop. A lot of people like to compare this songs to The Verve, etc. But once Third/Sister Lovers grows on you (it might take 3 or 4 listens) put on "Bittersweet Symphony" immediately afterward, and you'll hear a great song sound pale and stiff in comparison to an exponentially greater album. The most beautiful (and uplifting) depressing pop music ever recorded, and Alex Chilton's masterpiece.
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