ALEX CHILTON – FREE AGAIN
Too late to fill the Xmas stocking of hardcore pop aficionados around the globe, this gathering of post-Box Top and pre-Big Star recording from the man many consider the flawed founding father of indie pop, will never the less be in high demand.A star at 18, Chilton escaped the prefab package that was the Box Tops with a hankering to write his own material, and Free Again is a pretty comprehensive musical bio of a young man finding his voice, literally and figuratively. There is the plenty of his Southern background in Just To See You and I Can Dig It; a share of country twang in Come On Baby; but more importantly, a large slab of the Beatles influenced pop that he was about to explore along with Chris Bell in Big Star. The ballads All We Ever Got From Them Was Pain and Every Day We Grow Closer are clear templates for what was to come. While many of these songs came to light in the 80’s, five of these songs are previously unreleased in this form. While the various demo and mix versions are for Chilton fans, the whole package is still a delight for lovers of pop music, and perhaps a way into one of the less-heard geniuses of the art form.
*** 1/2
