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THE BOX TOPS
Four separate titles (Sundazed)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
The Box Tops' two years in the spotlight didn't produce a long string of number ones, or even a pile of popular favorites for modern-day radio programmers to cling to, but these four CDs are packed with great, overlooked blue-eyed soul.
The Memphis-based band recorded "The Letter" with their 16-year-old vocalist, Alex Chilton, struggling through a hoarse throat from a night of drinking and making out with his girlfriend. The song shot to number one on the charts and the rest, as they say, is history. The follow-up, "Neon Rainbow," failed to crack the top thirty, but was a great little pop song nonetheless. The album, which is part of this set of four CDs on the wonderful Sundazed label, features both songs plus a soulful cover of "Whiter Shade Of Pale" and a handful of songs by their producer, Dan Penn. Among these, the best is "I'm Your Puppet," with Chilton playing the part of the helplessly love-struck young man to perfection. "Gonna Find Somebody" was the song that really showed Chilton's chops, however. Gritty, powerful, emotional and perfectly imperfect; all the things that marked the great Memphis soul singers, all in this marketable 16-year-old package. The only misfire on the album was the uninspired version of the Bacharach/David tune, "Trains and Boats and Planes," which was done much better by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. The CD ends with four bonus tracks: "Turn On A Dream," "Georgia Farm Boy," and mono single versions of "Neon Rainbow" and "The Letter."
In April 1968, The Box Tops released Cry Like A Baby and watched the title track fly to the number two spot. By this time Producer Dan Penn had the band sounding authentically soulful, and his compositions (including "Cry Like A Baby") fit like a glove. As The Box Tops became mellower and mellower, Penn still threw them occasional kickers like "747" (a sequel to "The Letter") and "Every Time." Their version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is much sloppier than Vanilla Fudge's, but just eerily powerful. As with all these reissues, there are bonus tracks at the end of the CD, including the single version of "Cry Like A Baby" and the previously unissued "Take Me To Your Heart."
Only three months later, the aptly-named Nonstop heralded a much tougher band. How much of it was performed by The Box Tops and how much was the work of studio musicians, I don't know, but there's a noticeable variety of sound from song to song. Keyboardist John Evans had been replaced by Rick Allen (The Gentry's), but the remainder of the Cry Like A Baby lineup of Chilton, Tom Boggs (drums), Bill Cunningham (bass), and Gary Talley (guitar) was intact. It's kind of a shock to hear Nonstop when you realize only three months had passed since Cry Like A Baby. The entire album swims in a rather intoxicating reverb, and the mood is considerably darker, still soulful but tough, as if the 1968 Box Tops had just started listening to the 1964 Stones. This disc includes bonus mono/single versions of "Choo Choo Train" and "I Met Her In Church," as well as two more songs, one of which ("Since I Been Gone") is as lame as anything ever recorded.
The final release was Dimensions, from September of 1969. While Nonstop had suggested there was nothing else in The Box Tops' arsenal to threaten the pop charts, Dimensions provided a big surprise in "Soul Deep," one of the best pop songs of the year. Dan Penn was out and Chips Moman was in as producer, and, unlike Penn, Moman gave Chilton a bit of freedom. Chilton penned three songs for the album, including a powerful blues called "I Must Be The Devil" and the Dylanesque "Happy Song." Shortly after this, Chilton turned 18, and as he says in the liner notes, he took control of his own musical destiny and said "To hell with y'all." Of course, Chilton would resurface in the 70s with Big Star, and he's still making some pretty fine music today. But it's probably safe to say that some of his finest work can be found on Dimensions, a strange little album with strange little titles like "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March." Of the four CDs, it's the most powerful, the one that shifted the focus from blue-eyed soul to blue-eyed blues. All four CDs have their place in history, and, as always, Sundazed has treated them with great respect, piling up bonus tracks and liner notes that include modern-day interviews and original notes alike. Gotta appreciate their passion.
© 2000 - DJ Johnson