The Box Tops
The Best Of The Box Tops: Soul Deep (Arista) 1996
1. The Letter
2. Neon Rainbow
3. Happy Times
4. Cry Like a Baby
5. Fields of Clover
6. Choo Choo Train
7. She Shot a Hole in My Soul
8. People Gonna Talk
9. I Met Her in Church
10. Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March
11. Together
12. I Must Be the Devil
13. Soul Deep
14. I Shall Be Released
15. (The) Happy Song
16. Turn on a Dream
17. I See Only Sunshine
18. You Keep Tightening up on Me
"20 Bit remastered from original master tapes."
Amazon User Reviews:
MAN COULD THAT KID SING!
Reviewer: Patrick Earley
If your looking for some great blue-eyed southern soul from the sixties, you've come to the right place. The Box Tops were a band of 5 kids, led by dynamite lead singer Alex Chilton, who was only 16 years old when he joined the group. The band was relegated to doing only one thing, making great music. All the rest of the duties, including the production and most of the songwriting fell on the shoulders of Dan Penn and legendary Stax producer Chips Moman. But the person who wrote the Box Tops best music, including "The Letter, "Neon Rainbow", and "Soul Deep" were done by the great songwriter Wayne Thompson. It may have been pretty much Penn and Moman's show, but it was the gruff-voiced teenager Alex Chilton who took this band to the top of the charts. It seems like all this great music came out at one time in the late 60's. I remember when I was young kid, I used to wait in anticipation for these songs to skirt their way along the airwaves and into my 2 dollar transistor radio. I wasn't satisfied till I heard those words "gimme a ticket for an aeroplane" to come on. That 1:52 of "The Letter" was over all too fast. But I always had those other Box Tops gems like "Sweet Cream Ladies" and "Cry Like A Baby", among the others to look forward to. As quick as this band came with all this great music, they disappeared just as quick without any fanfare, and pretty much without the recognition they, and especially Alex Chilton deserved. I've followed Chilton's career closely over the years since the Box Tops...his voice never was anywhere close to being this good again. But if you want to step back in time and listen to some great and unforgettable Memphis soul, get this best of from the Tops. It's all you need.
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Super sound and great collection, April 26 2000
Reviewer: "gordon@ruraltel.net"
If you are an Alex Chilton cultist or someone who liked the Box Tops hits all those years ago, this will be a real find. I can't stop playing it!
Alex Chilton went on to a totally different sound and style with Big Star, but honestly, he never sang better than he did here. Working with the brilliant Dan Penn and Chips Moman at the American Studio in Memphis, those cats coaxed the most soulful vocals imaginable out of Chilton (a mere 16-year-old at the time!). Also the backing of the American Studio house band is impeccable. I'm sorry to disappoint those who thought that the Box Tops actually played on these records, but cette la vie.
But don't let that put you off this record. This is a sleeper, a classic, some of the best blue-eyed soul that has ever been cut. While not all cuts are as brilliant as The Letter, Cry Like a Baby, Soul Deep and Neon Rainbow, there isn't a bad apple in the bunch. How many groups from the 60s could put out an 18 song collection with no clunkers? In particular, check out Chilton's vocal on his self-penned "I Must Be the Devil." Unbelievable.
Finally, the sound is inpeccable. I had the Ultimate Box Tops, a really early CD release (1986). The sound on this collection blows that away.
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