With a new biography that I reviewed recently, Alex Chilton is finally getting some much deserved attention in the mainstream media. Listen below to a conversation between Soundcheck host John Schaefer and author Holly George-Warren, as they discuss Chilton’s path from child superstar to unpredictable outsider to elder statesman of alternative rock.
Jellyfish “Radio Jellyfish”
This was mentioned a while back, but it’s worth another shout out. This is a stripped down acoustic set by one the greatest power pop bands of the last century. Each song is pulled from live performances in radio stations across Holland and Australia.
The harmonies are pristine and clear with only Roger Manning’s keyboard and Jason Falkner’s acoustic guitar backing them — this is proof that the band had real magic. Omnivore has done a great job pulling it together as the band flows through highlighted tracks from their 2 albums. Included are covers of Badfinger’s “No Matter What” and The Move’s “I Can Hear The Grass Grow.” Essential for all power pop fans, especially Jellyfish fanatics.
Alex Chilton “Electricity By Candlelight: NYC 2/13/97 “
Alex Chilton was performing a show at NYC’s Knitting Factory when without warning, the power went out and the show was “cancelled.” Amazingly Chilton came out to the remaining audience with an acoustic guitar and started playing romantic gems like “Someone To Watch Over Me.” It’s a great story, but unfortunately the moments are captured with a cheap bootleg recording. Often you hear lots of crowd noise, audience singing, glasses clinking, but Alex’s charming vocal is often buried. He does cover a lot of ground, even doing The Beach Boys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” But this album is for die-hard fans only.
