|
|
Big StarAlbums Reviewed#1 Record (1972)Radio City (1973) Third/Sister Lovers (1975) I Am The Cosmos (1992) #1 Record(1972)Formed around Chris Bell and former Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton, Big Star existed for a brief period of time in the early 1970s and were spectacularly unsuccessful during their lifetime due to poor promotion and distribution. But their influence has spread far and wide - the group have earned a deserved cult profile due to their influence on 1980s and 1990s alternative bands such as R.E.M., The DBs, Jeff Buckley, and The Replacements. While their guitar based sound doesn't sound so revolutionary here, it was in the context of the early 1970s. While everyone else was in 1972 was off into prog-rock hyperspace or heavy metal decadence, #1 Record revisited the 1960s, musically bringing a slightly harder edge to 1960s groups such as The Beatles and The Byrds, but emphasising tunefulness and bringing back a wisful and youthful innocence to songs like 'Thirteen' and 'In The Street'. The production here is gorgeous, making the guitars and harmonies lush and appealing, especially in the softer songs. On #1 Record, Big Star have their softer side functioning well: 'Give Me Another Chance' and 'Watch The Sunrise' are laden with pretty acoustic guitars and warm harmonies, while standout track 'The Ballad of El Goodo' and 'My Life is Right' build from gentle verses into arresting climaxes.The short 'ST 100/6' does kind of waste a sparkling acoustic riff, but it's gorgeous nonetheless, while bassist Andy Hummel misfires with 'The India Song', a shockingly insipid and clumsy ballad. On the other hand, the rock oriented material isn't as convincing as that on their following record Radio City: 'Don't Lie To Me' is grating and predictable, while the opening 'Feel' never quite takes off. Adopted by television's That 70's Show, 'In The Street' is a poor representation of the group's work. As much as this album has plenty going for it, it is uncomfortably twee at times, and it does pale in comparison to its followup. 
 Radio City(1973)Big Star returned to the studio in 1973 without Chris Bell, who had felt threatened by Chilton's dominance of the group. While #1 Record displayed potential, Radio City shows the group subverting their influences into compelling and unique rock music. There are still moments of beauty and lovely harmonies, but they are augmented by a harder rock sound. Even the slower songs such as 'Daisy Glaze' build to a crescendo, while 'Mod Lang' and 'O My Soul' rock the whole way through. Chilton uses some first-rate vintage guitar tones, while Jody Stephens' drumming is superb. Bassist Andy Hummel co-wrote nearly half of the songs, and sings lead on the outstanding 'Way Out West'. 'September Gurls' and 'Back of a Car' should have been hit singles, while the nasty 'Life is White', an answer to 'My Life is Right' from #1 Record, is a wonderfully melodic rocker. As if the superb songs and performances are not enough, Radio City has further special qualities to set it apart from the pack - it's slightly messy and off kilter, which gives it an extra edge that sets it apart from the hordes of alternative rock that followed in Big Star's footsteps. In 'Life is White', a crazy piano solo comes out of nowhere, while the last two songs gain impact through their presentations as rough demos. Radio City hardly sounds dated, almost presaging the nineties alternative era with the heavy guitars and Chilton's insecure lyrics. If you have any interest in rock music you need to hunt this down; make sure that you grab the twofer with #1 Record as well.
Third/Sister Lovers(1975)By 1975 Big Star was reduced to the duo of Chilton and Stephens, while their record company was collapsing around them. Third/Sister Lovers was not released until 1978, while Chilton and producer Jim Dickinson were never able to agree on an official title, let alone a track sequence. Chilton set out to make Third/Sister Lovers his way and the result is shambolic: but mellow and drugged out rather than the messier version of Radio City that I anticipated. Importantly, unlike Neil Young's contemporary and similarly drugged out Tonight's The Night, Third/Sister Lovers is pretty. Alex Chilton's voice is far more pleasant than Young's, even when he's trying to deliberately sabotage the album by bad singing, while someone decided to plaster stunningly beautiful strings all over Third/Sister Lovers. The production and strings counterbalance the roughness apparent in the unpolished performances and the inconsistency of the songwriting. Although there is no obvious pattern to the songwriting, there are no obviously bad songs. Chilton writes a Christmas Carol ('Jesus Christ'), plenty of languid, despairing tunes ('Holocaust', 'Kanga Roo') and pretty, low key pieces ('Nighttime', 'Take Care'), and only an occasional moderate rocker ('You Can't Have Me', the irony-laced 'Thank You Friends'). But almost all of them work. Stephens scores his only individual writer credit with the soppy 'For You', which would sound lifeless without the strings. Bonus tracks include some sloppy covers (The Kinks' 'Till The End of the Day', Jerry Lee Lewis' 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On', and the bizarre 'Downs' which Chilton sabotaged by substituting a basketball for a snare drum. Third/Sister Lovers is a worthy addition to a collection; while it is sloppy, it's a compelling and surprisingly pleasant listen.
Chris BellI Am The Cosmos(1992)Forced out of Big Star following #1 Record, Chris Bell never released another full length record during his lifetime; his only release was the 'I Am The Cosmos'/'You And Your Sister' single which appeared in 1978. Later the same year, Bell drove into a tree on the way home from rehearsal with a new band, dying instantly. The I Am The Cosmos album was pieced together from miscellaneous sessions by his brother, finally appearing on CD in 1992 and forming a surprisingly coherent record. Hearing Bell separate from Chilton here, it's obvious which songs from #1 Record belong to Bell; Bell's voice is thinner and rougher than Chilton's and easily distinguishable. Compared to Chilton, he's also somewhat limited as a songwriter, sticking either to tender acoustic balladry or pounding, mid-tempo rockers, but this album also has a likeable spiritual aspect that's absent from his Big Star work in songs like the title track and 'There Was A Light'. In fact, I Am The Cosmos is one of the more overtly Christian albums to emerge from a mainstream rock act ("How I wish you knew Him/He's been waiting for so long/If you look up you'll see Him/You know we're all alone"), and it's quite possible that to Bell's troubled life was partially a result of trying to reconcile homosexuality and Christianity in the American south during the 1970s. The title track is the real classic here, launching straight into its heartrending opening statement ("Every night I tell myself/I am the cosmos/I am the wind/But that don't get you back again") before launching into a memorable guitar solo; the first half is so overloaded with greatness that the last couple of minutes are almost redundant, but it's a classic nonetheless. My other favourite is the closing 'Though I Know She Lies', with a delicate melody and even more delicate solo. Chilton guests on the pensive 'You And Your Sister', while 'Get Away' would have fitted beautifully onto #1 Record. As very much a two style record (tender acoustic balladry/pounding mid-tempo rockers), the lesser examples of each genre do stray close to mediocrity; from the former camp, the gentle, flute-laden 'Look Up' could almost pass as bad CCM, while 'I Got Kinda Lost' is a grating and repetitive rocker. On the other hand, 'There Was A Light' and 'Better Save Yourself' do bring some diversity to the record, with a pleasant gospel influence. Sure this record is limited in scope, but nonetheless it's the only solo recordings from a huge talent who was never really given the opportunity to shine as he deserved; more than just a tragic footnote to Big Star's commercial failure, it's a satisfying recording in its own right.
In Space(2005)A Big Star reunion album, with Chilton and Stephens joined by Jon Auer and Ken stringfellow from The Posies. |
|
|
|
Written 2001-2009, Graham Fyfe
