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There's a reason these records are so highly regarded. But most remarkable is that though the mindset is changed, the music has the same heart.
CHRIS BELL then left BIG STAR, and RADIO CITY is perfect maybe because it's mostly ALEX CHILTON. #1 RECORD is treacly at times, particularly when it gets spiritual, YET its songcraft and winsomeness won't easily be shrugged off.
#1 RECORD is filled with perfectly crafted tunes any one of which could have been a Top 40 hit, if not a #1. right.
BIG STAR's followup, RADIO CITY, on the other hand, Rocks much harder with a STONESy-Bluesy-Pop sensibility that was overlooked only because of BIG STAR's label's distribution problems. That must be the explanation.
This compilation brings together both of these great Pop Rock albums, and essentially the only complaint with them is that when they were new, they didn't sell. They're damned fine Rock 'n' Roll.
Here you get one and two. It rocks, but the subtleties that Chris brought to the music, the vocal harmonies and his brand of songwriting aren't there. You know the story of Big Star is so compelling that the actual recordings are obscured by hyperbole and affectionate nostalgia. Its pop rock played by guys who were really going for a hit record but did it without calculation, irony or success. There you have it, hyperbole and affectionate nostalgia aside, these are good, sometimes great, rock records. The first album #1 Record is an amazingly good one. The second record Radio City is without song writer, guitarist and singer Chris Bell.
It's rawer and harder edged than the first album and its damn enjoyable if not as sublime. After all its a kind of hero's journey: from naive and sublimely talented pop rockers to burnt out husk, all in three albums. This is Alex Chiltons' show. This is a spirited band with one of the best debut albums of any in the seventies. These songs could have been written any time in the last 20 years and that's cool. But it has an honest grit to it. They're two for one and well worth the money.
Happy to find Big Star at Amazon.com > > > A great band , not that easy to find their material. Some people may not know that guitarist * Alex Chilton * was the singer in the band the Boxtops with the big hit song the Letter. " Lonely days are gone , I'm a coming home , my baby she wrote me a letter ".
"Feel" is the perfect album opener, epic in scope.2. "When My Baby's Beside Me": Pure classic.8. Then the song picks up like one of the best multipart Beatles songs.9. "Back Of A Car": Genius.8. "My Life Is Right": A ballad that doesn't reach as high as the others.9. "Life Is White": Rocks in the best way possible, slow but with strength.3.
"Don't Lie To Me": More of a rocker, and while it is alright, The Raspberries (Another band you should check out) give this song competition.6. Great song by the bassist Andy Hummel who wrote "India Song" on the #1 Record, definitely better and one of my favorites on Radio City.4. "Give Me Another Chance": Powerful.10. "In The Street" was made famous by being the theme song for That 70s show, which may be the greatest accomplishment for the show, as the show introduced people to a great band they had never heard before.4. "Feel" it is not.2.
"Thirteen" is on Rolling Stone's list of greatest songs of all time, and beautiful.5. The band in between couldn't fit in for either side, but if they had come out just five years earlier during the heyday of the British Invasion they would've been giants.There are many highlights on the album, with Chris Bell and Alex Chilton being an amazing songwriting team.1. "Mod Lang": Instead of Beatles here there is a Stones influence, heaviest song on the album.7. It's unbelievable that #1 Record wasn't more popular, but then again this was around the same time that Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin were ruling the rock airwaves along with James Taylor. "Way Out West": The band has the same British Invasion flavors, but this song shows a voice evolving. "India Song": Alright but one I usually skip over.7. "September Gurls": If you haven't heard this song before, you'll be blown away. "Watch The Sunrise": A long instrumental before a song that is nice but not as good as the two before.12.
The name of the band ended up being one of the worst ironies in music history, because when #1 Record came out the band were anything but a "Big Star". "What's Going Ahn": Similar to the ballads on #1 Record, but different with a great repeating guitar line.5. "You Get What You Deserve": Won't make you cry, instead is a beautiful frustration filled song that rocks, Lennon would be proud.6. "Daisy Glaze": Could easily be a later period Beatles song, can almost see a haze rising up. "St 100/6": Almost like "Because" by The Beatles, but with an acoustic guitar in the background."Radio City" was clearly made after the band was abandoned, and the absence of Chris Bell is visible at points.1. If you have, you'll look forward to hearing it again.11. "Ballad of El Goodo" is a ballad, one of the first that starts to bring tears to your eyes.3. "Morpha Too": A piano song for the first time on the record, another slow ballad with great harmonies.12.
"Try Again": While "Give Me Another Chance" brings you half the way there, "Try Again" completes it.11. "O My Soul": Okay, but not great. "She's A Mover": The Beatles theme continues, reminds me of "Taxman" at the beginning.10. "I'm In Love With A Girl": The perfect closer, acoustic and longing like many of the songs on #1 Record.Great albums that anyone should own, too bad more people don't.
2 historically important records for the price of one. Some "American Idol" clown should adopt some of these songs - they would sound as good today as they did 35 years ago. Some great stuffhere and some truly mediocre junk too. You can see the potential in theseguys and its too bad Chris Bell died young and their record label was a bumbling bunch of idiots. This CD comes with a lengthy insert that is worth it just for the historylesson. For further reading check out the internet article titled "TheSad Life & Death of Chris Bell" - very poignant and well-written.O my soul, my life is right, when my baby's beside me.
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