Alex Chilton "A Man Called Destruction"

On the inaugural episode of Past Prime, hosts Matty and Steve
discuss Alex Chilton's 1995 solo album, "A Man Called
Destruction." At the time of its release, it was hailed as a
long-awaited great work by the beloved former Big Star front man
and legendary sad sack. Since his "should have been" days as a
Power Pop master in the 70s, Chilton only managed to eek out a
handful of half-baked records. Over time, his reputation as an
artist became more apocryphal than based on recent evidence. And,
although The Replacements, REM and a generation of College Rock
icons adored him, it was fair to wonder if Chilton had anything
left in the tank. Further, it was reasonable to conclude that
Chilton may not have been the defining force in Big Star and that
his bandmate Chris Bell was. By 1995, his cult and a new
generation of followers were starved for something new and
something (finally) great. Graded on the Big Star curve, many
critics suggested that "A Man Called Destruction" was just that
-- a late career validation of Chilton's talent. Twenty five
years later, Matty and Steve return to the scene of the crime to
consider whether all of that good will and all those reviews from
1995 were generous but wrong. Maybe "A Man Called Destruction"
wasn't great. Maybe it wasn't even good. Maybe Chilton hadn't
lost it. Maybe he never had it. Join our middle-aged wistfulness
as we make peace with this sad fart of a record.


Learn more and read the Alex Chilton essay at Past Prime.