Box Tops

Fans familiar with the latter half of the phrase "Box Tops, featuring Alex Chilton" might feel a little shafted that the first part doesn't read "Big Star" instead. That legendary group, virtually ignored in the early '70s, when it released three near-perfect power-pop albums, was ultimately deemed a monster influence and remains Chilton's most impressive legacy. Despite Big Star's historical significance, the Box Tops, which Chilton fronted as a teen-ager, remains his best-known outfit. Thanks to "The Letter," a slice of white-boy soul, the Box Tops will live in perpetuity on oldies stations. Since reuniting in the late '90s with its original lineup, the group has toured and even completed a new album. Besides those two groups (Big Star folded in 1975, give or take the odd reunion), Chilton has led a maddeningly frustrating and uneven solo career. His transformation from teen soul man to power-pop granddaddy to surly rock and roll historian and back again is one of the more fascinatingly freaky tales rock has to offer. And not a single aspect of it means anything to the average oldies-concert attendee, which is kind of a shame.