John Lennon

Growing up in Memphis back in '67, I used to get tired of hearing the Box Top's ‘The Letter’ (#1 hit in the world that year) on the radio every second because DJs felt obligated to reduntantly remind listeners that here, at last, was a hometown band that had hit the Big Time. (In The eyes of Nehru-clad visionaries, Memphis's Sun rockabilly and Stax soul – the untamed past – were irrelevant to the expectations for a bright Sgt. Pepper future.)

Fame's a brief candle though, and soon the Box Tops were inserted in the annals of anthropop history. That is, until '72 when their ex-vocalist Alex Chilton began making racket with Big Star, a name not meant as a cynical reference to the Box Tops' instant stardom but simply referring to Memphis' Big Star supermarket chain, where as a teen I used to buy Hit Parader (which printed the lyrics to all the Box Tops' hits).

Much has been written about Big Star's initial lack of success. True, #1 Record and Radio City are infectious pop LPs, but they're also rather uneven, their best moments on singles (i.e. ‘When My Baby's Beside Me’, ‘September Gurls’). As for Alex Chilton, his cultism is worth examining, not only because his recent works, the Singer Not The Song EP and ‘Bangkok’ 45, are well-crafted gems, but also because he's still out there fighting for fresh sounds (despite a disbanded Big Star, whose influence is heard in the music of Sneakers/Chris Stamey and Memphis Scruffs).

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER

1. Penny Lane (3:01)        Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
2. Baby You're A Rich Man (3:01)  Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]  
3. Only A Northern Song [Mono]    Yellow Submarine [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
4. Magical Mystery Tour (2:50)    Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    5. The Fool On The Hill [Take 4] (3:45)      Anthology 2 [Disc 2]    
6. Your Mother Should Know  2:28  Magical Mystery Tour[2009 Stereo Remaster]  
7. Flying (2:16)                 Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
8. Blue Jay Way (3:55)       Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
9. I Am The Walrus (4:36)  Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
10. All You Need Is Love (3:50)  Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
11. Hello Goodbye (3:29)        Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Remaster]    
12. Strawberry Fields Forever (4:01) Magical Mystery Tour [2009 Stereo Re]
 

TOMORROW NEVER KNOWS