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| Thephoenix |
 On June 11 of last year, Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke. A critical figure in the New Zealand punk and pop scene (with groups like Toy Love and the Tall Dwarfs), he's as well known for being a supportive and exuberant DIY spirit as for his musical grace and tomfoolery.So with proceeds going to help Chris and his family, musical compatriots were quick to organize. Legends from the Flying Nun scene — the Chills, the Bats, the Verlaines, David Kilgour (the Clean), and Alec Bathgate (the Tall Dwarfs) — all turn in fine tunes. The Americans really weigh in strong, with nouveau folkies Bill Callahan, Will Oldham, and the Mountain Goats rubbing virtual elbows with pop-pranksters (and therefore Knox kindred spirits) Yo La Tengo and Stephin Merritt. But the songs that bring the biggest news come from a couple of side stories. Knox's close friend Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) releases his first recording here since 2001, "Sign the Dotted Line," and it's delivered with the big brassy voice and robust strum that Mangum fans have long been missing. Also included is one of the final tracks recorded by Jay Reatard before his death last month — a sparkling version of the stone-cold early-Knox classic "Pull Down the Shades." As musicians continue to struggle with iffy health coverage (remember Vic Chesnutt), it's heartening to see a wholeheartedly practical case for why we should buy music....full text |
| Pitchfork |
| For decades Chris Knox has loomed over New Zealand's music scene. While Knox occasionally ventured outside his native land, the charismatic/confrontational Enemy/Toy Love/Tall Dwarfs frontman and solo act spent most of his life home supporting New Zealand's productive arts scene, paving the way for such acts as the Clean, the Chills, and the Verlaines. Along the way Knox amassed more than his share of fans around the world, too, and when news spread that he suffered a stroke last summer, support and sympathy arrived in equal measure to his stature. Still, that doesn't quite prepare you for the quantity and quality of A-list acts that appear on Merge's Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, a 2xCD tribute to the man and his music whose proceeds will go toward his recovery (Knox, 57, currently has limited speech and mobility). (Pre-orders are currently being accepted, and the record is out now digitally.) The sheer breadth and diversity of this recorded response almost begs disbelief, considering how quickly it came together, and really shows how far Knox's influence has reached, from several of his Kiwi peers to kindred spirits. The already much missed Jay Reatard starts off the set well-paired with the Toy Love nugget "Pull Down the Shades", "recorded in the bathroom of a hotel in Denmark on a 4-track," and the just plain missing Jeff Mangum, whose cover of the Tall Dwarfs' "Sign the Dotted Line" marks a rare recorded reappearance of the Neutral Milk Hotel mastermind, whose own lo-fi inclinations lined up well with Knox's....full text |
| Zaptownmag |
| Chalk it up to the warm weather and sunshine, Chris Knox taught us how to love and love life. Punk at heart, Knox discarded pop convention and made music his way that inspired many and helped secure a name for the New Zealand music scene. We experienced it through his band Tall Dwarfs and with his solo work. The dawn of the new millennium, Beat was the album that made U.S. audiences look up and pay attention with his powerfully personal approach. The song “It’s Love” also landed him in a Heineken commercial. The man who has spent years showing a happy face and saying that it’s all allright is putting his philosophy to task. Earlier in 2009, he was hospitalized for suffering a stroke. To help celebrate the musician, a genuine human being and to help raise and contribute money for his rehabilitation, Merge Records gathered a laundry list of artists to contribute covers of Knox’ music....full text |
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