Alex Chilton Essentials

Alex Chilton Essentials

The late Alex Chilton is best known as the frontman for critically adored but commercially ignored ‘70s power-pop pioneers Big Star. By their third album, the band had effectively degenerated into Chilton’s solo project, a breakdown epitomized by the grim piano ballad “Holocaust.” But from there, Chilton revelled in his liberation from pop aspirations, aligning himself with punk on the 1978 single “Bangkok” and anticipating the ramshackle sound of lo-fi indie on 1979’s Like Flies on Sherbert. And just as Big Star were being rediscovered by ’90s alt-rockers, Chilton pivoted toward eccentric soul ballads like “What’s Your Sign Girl.”

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