A Man Called Destruction

Last updated
A Man Called Destruction
Mancalleddestruction.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1995
Genre Rock
Length37:00
Label Ardent
Producer Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton chronology
Clichés
(1994)
A Man Called Destruction
(1995)
Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy
(1999)

A Man Called Destruction is a studio album by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1995.

Contents

The album consisted of six songs written by Chilton, and six cover versions including Jan and Dean's "The New Girl in School", which had featured as the B-side to their "Dead Man's Curve" single.

"It's Your Funeral" is based on Frédéric Chopin's marche funèbre which became the 3rd movement of his Piano Sonata No. 2.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly A [4]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
Pitchfork 6.7/10 [7]
PopMatters 7/10 [8]
Tom Hull – on the Web B+ ( Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg ) [9]

Title

Blues musician Howlin' Wolf employed a pianist named William "Destruction" Johnson in the late 1940s, [10] and Chilton's title is a reference to him as well as a play on both the title of the Western film A Man Called Horse and the Biff Bang Pow! song "A Girl Called Destruction". [10]

Track listing

  1. "Sick and Tired" (Chris Kenner) – 3:04
  2. "Devil Girl" (Alex Chilton) – 2:55
  3. "Lies" (Keith Keller) – 4:01
  4. "It's Your Funeral" (Chilton, Jim Spake) – 1:29
  5. "What's Your Sign Girl" (Daniel Pearson, Anthony Sepe) – 4:37
  6. "Il Ribelle" (Adriano Celentano) – 2:14
  7. "You Don't Have to Go" (Jimmy Reed) – 4:26
  8. "Boplexity" (Chilton) – 2:56
  9. "The New Girl in School" (Brian Wilson, Bob Norberg, Roger Christian, Jan Berry) – 2:10
  10. "You're Lookin' Good" (Chilton) – 2:54
  11. "Don't Know Anymore" (Chilton) – 3:28
  12. "Don't Stop" (Chilton) – 2:46

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Star</span> American rock band

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". In its first era, the band's musical style drew influence from 1960s pop acts such as the Beatles and the Byrds, producing a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations" according to Rolling Stone. Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.

<i>Radio City</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Big Star

Radio City is the second studio album by the American rock group Big Star. Released February 20, 1974, Radio City was recorded during 1973 at Memphis' Ardent Studios. Though not a commercial success at the time, it is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label, Ardent Records. The album included "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the most famous Big Star songs; both the Searchers and the Bangles have covered "September Gurls".

<i>Third/Sister Lovers</i> 1978 studio album by Big Star

Third is the third album by American rock band Big Star. The sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 1975, a combination of financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the record, and lack of interest from singer Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens in continuing the project prevented the album from ever being properly finished or released at the time of its recording. It was eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bell (American musician)</span> American singer

Christopher Branford Bell was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tav Falco's Panther Burns</span> American rock band

Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to (The) Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco. They are best known for having been part of a set of bands emerging in the late 1970s and early 1980s who helped nationally popularize the blending of blues, country, and other American traditional music styles with rock music among groups playing in alternative music and punk music venues of the time. The earliest and most renowned of these groups to imbue these styles with expressionist theatricality and primitive spontaneity were The Cramps, largely influenced by rockabilly music. Forming just after them in 1979, Panther Burns drew on obscure country blues music, Antonin Artaud's works like The Theater and Its Double, beat poetry, and Marshall McLuhan's media theories for their early inspiration. Alongside groups like The Cramps and The Gun Club, Panther Burns is also considered a representative of the Southern Gothic-tinged roots music revival scene.

<i>Pleased to Meet Me</i> 1987 album by The Replacements

Pleased to Meet Me is the fifth studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released in 1987 by Sire Records. The album was acclaimed by music critics.

<i>Number 1 Record</i> 1972 studio album by Big Star

#1 Record is the debut album by the American rock band Big Star. It was released on April 24, 1972, by Memphis-based Ardent Records.

<i>Hog Wild</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Hank Williams Jr.

Hog Wild is an album by the American country music artist Hank Williams Jr. It was released on January 24, 1995 by Curb Records. Williams supported the album with a North American tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">September Gurls</span> Song by Big Star released in 1974

"September Gurls" is a song written by Alex Chilton that was first released by Big Star on their second studio album Radio City in 1974. "September Gurls" was also released as a single.

<i>Relations</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Kathryn Williams

Relations is an album of cover versions by Kathryn Williams, released by CAW Records on 17 May 2004. The album was a BBC Radio 2 Album Of The Week, and peaked at no.76 in the UK albums chart.

<i>Horse of a Different Color</i> (Willy DeVille album) 1999 studio album by Willy DeVille

Horse of a Different Color is a 1999 album by Willy DeVille. The album consists of original compositions and remakes of traditional Black music titles such as Fred McDowell's “Going over the Hill,” and Andre Williams' "Bacon Fat."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thirteen (song)</span> Song by Big Star released in 1972

"Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band Big Star. Rolling Stone describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was written by Alex Chilton and Chris Bell.

<i>In Space</i> 2005 studio album by Big Star

In Space is the fourth and final studio album by American rock group Big Star, released in 2005. It was the first new Big Star studio album since Third/Sister Lovers, recorded in 1974 and released in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Chilton (song)</span> 1987 single by the Replacements

"Alex Chilton" is a song by American rock band the Replacements from their fifth studio album Pleased to Meet Me. The song was written as a homage to Big Star frontman Alex Chilton, who was an idol of the band's who worked with them on several occasions. The song's hook was inspired by Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg's attempt to compliment one of Chilton's songs upon meeting him for the first time.

<i>Columbia: Live at Missouri University</i> 1993 live album by Big Star

Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93 is a reunion live album by the American power pop group Big Star, recorded and released in 1993 by the original Big Star members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens together with The Posies' members Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow. It was recorded at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

<i>Black List</i> (Alex Chilton album) 1990 EP by Alex Chilton

Black List is an EP by the American pop rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1990. The EP includes three Chilton originals and three cover versions. These are a cover of Ronny & the Daytonas' "Little G.T.O." on which Chilton played all the instruments; a version of Frank Sinatra's "Nice 'n' Easy", and a song penned by country blues musician Furry Lewis.

<i>Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy</i> 1999 studio album by Alex Chilton

Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy is the last studio album by American pop-rock musician Alex Chilton, released in Europe in 1999. It was released in the United States in 2000 under the title Set. It was subsequently released on a double CD with one of Chilton's previous albums, Clichés.

<i>Like Flies on Sherbert</i> 1979 studio album by Alex Chilton

Like Flies on Sherbert is the first solo album released by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton. He had previously recorded a collection of songs in 1969 and 1970, ultimately titled 1970, but this was not released until 1996. Released in 1979, Like Flies on Sherbert was recorded at two Memphis studios, Phillips Recording and Ardent Studios, in 1978 and 1979. Chilton had previously been a member of the Box Tops and Big Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Chilton</span> American songwriter, guitarist, singer & producer (1950–2010)

Alex Chilton was an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.

<i>Bachs Bottom</i> 1981 studio album by Alex Chilton

Bach's Bottom is the second solo album by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1981. Bach's Bottom was recorded in September and October 1975 at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

References

  1. Deming, Mark. "A Man Called Destruction". AllMusic . Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  2. Caro, Mark (1995-03-23). "Alex Chilton A Man Called Destruction (Ardent)". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958.
  4. Cannon, Bob (1995-03-24). "A Man Called Destruction". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  5. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Alex Chilton". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide . Simon and Schuster. pp.  162–3. ISBN   9780743201698.
  6. Gettelman, Parry (1995-05-05). "Alex Chilton". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  7. Deusner, Stephen (2017-08-29). "Alex Chilton: A Man Called Destruction Album Review". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  8. Driver, Richard (2017-09-05). "Alex Chilton: A Man Called Destruction". PopMatters . Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  9. Hull, Tom (May 24, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  10. 1 2 George-Warren, Holly (2014). A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man. Viking Penguin. ISBN   978-0-670-02563-3.