Review

Live in Anvers documents a gig that former Big Star and Box Tops frontman Alex Chilton played in Belgium in January of 2004 with a local pickup band, which sounds pretty good given the circumstances -- they had one rehearsal with Chilton shortly before the show, and were reading some of the numbers off charts. Chilton delivers what longtime fans will recognize as a solid but typical solo set -- two classic originals; covers of soul hits by Ernie K-Doe, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and Wilson Pickett; a few old standards; and an obscure Italian pop tune called "Il Ribelle" for the obscurists. Chilton sounds solidly professional here, with his voice in fine shape and his guitar work sharp and jazzy throughout, and the production is clear and unobtrusive. It's a solid souvenir for fans of Chilton's solo work of the 1990s, though newcomers might want to start with his seminal earlier recordings with Big Star.