"If you forget about the Rascals and the Righteous Brothers, the Memphis based Box
Tops are the finest blue-eyed soul group. Lead singer (and former Big Star
honcho) Alex Chilton had
a tough, swaggering voice that belied his teenage years, sounding at times as if he were
in a cutting match with the
young Steve Winwood. Instead of knocking off pimply,
lightweight teen-fodder, the Box Tops managed to add another link in the Memphis soul chain,
mixing blues, Beatlesque pop, and the sound of Stax, Hi, and Goldwax.The Box
Tops benefited from top-notch material:
Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's
Cry Like a Baby
and I Met Her in Church; Wayne Thompson's The Letter and Soul
Deep and the occasional Chilton
penned nugget such as I Must Be the
Devil. The group's heyday was brief
-- two years, tops -- but their music remains a staple on oldies stations and has retained
its vitality for over two decades."
-- John Floyd
