Album: #1 Record
Artist: Big Star
Born: Memphis, Tennessee
Released: June 1972
Genre: Power Pop
Influenced: REM, Teenage Fanclub, Afghan Whigs, Elliott Smith, This Mortal Coil
If the Beatles had any true successors in the 70s, it was Big Star. The songwriting and harmony partnership of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell is the closest that anyone got to the Lennon-McCartney axis, but sadly the relationship was short-lived. Chris Bell left before the release of follow-up album Radio City and by the time of the group's third release, Third, the personnel and sound had changed beyond all recognition from where it started. All three albums are brilliant in their own way, but the melodies and songwriting on #1 Record shine brightest for me. Sales were disastrous though. Partly the result of poor management by the group's label, Stax, which failed to market or distribute the records effectively, Big Star never got the commercial recognition that its talented members deserved. Only decades later would Big Star's cult status grow, as indie bands looked for new ways to distill the stellar pop sound of early Beatles, Byrds and Who records.
One of the tracks where the influence of the jingle-jangle guitar sound of the Byrds is felt most clearly is The Ballad Of El Goodo, enhanced by Chilton's dreamy singing and the song's cryptic but defiant lyrics. Of the many highlights on side 1, Thirteen is the standout track, perhaps the most stunning ode to adolescence ever recorded, summoning up that dangerous feeling of pursuing a girl against her parents' wishes ("would you be an outlaw for my love?"). Don't Lie To Me follows with a harder, almost glam rock sound that was more in tune with musical trends at the time, while Feel and In The Street reveal Chris Bell's perfect pop sensibilities, full of teenage yearning and effortless melodies. On side 2, the anguish deepens and the sound is less obviously power pop, with the wah-wah guitar and Bell's soulful vocals on When My Baby's Beside Me a clear attempt to sound more contemporary. Give Me Another Chance and Try Again are much more emotionally wrought, a mood that is eventually lightened by one of the album's best tracks, Watch The Sunrise. Big Star just weren't made for their times.
If the Beatles had any true successors in the 70s, it was Big Star. The songwriting and harmony partnership of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell is the closest that anyone got to the Lennon-McCartney axis, but sadly the relationship was short-lived. Chris Bell left before the release of follow-up album Radio City and by the time of the group's third release, Third, the personnel and sound had changed beyond all recognition from where it started. All three albums are brilliant in their own way, but the melodies and songwriting on #1 Record shine brightest for me. Sales were disastrous though. Partly the result of poor management by the group's label, Stax, which failed to market or distribute the records effectively, Big Star never got the commercial recognition that its talented members deserved. Only decades later would Big Star's cult status grow, as indie bands looked for new ways to distill the stellar pop sound of early Beatles, Byrds and Who records.
One of the tracks where the influence of the jingle-jangle guitar sound of the Byrds is felt most clearly is The Ballad Of El Goodo, enhanced by Chilton's dreamy singing and the song's cryptic but defiant lyrics. Of the many highlights on side 1, Thirteen is the standout track, perhaps the most stunning ode to adolescence ever recorded, summoning up that dangerous feeling of pursuing a girl against her parents' wishes ("would you be an outlaw for my love?"). Don't Lie To Me follows with a harder, almost glam rock sound that was more in tune with musical trends at the time, while Feel and In The Street reveal Chris Bell's perfect pop sensibilities, full of teenage yearning and effortless melodies. On side 2, the anguish deepens and the sound is less obviously power pop, with the wah-wah guitar and Bell's soulful vocals on When My Baby's Beside Me a clear attempt to sound more contemporary. Give Me Another Chance and Try Again are much more emotionally wrought, a mood that is eventually lightened by one of the album's best tracks, Watch The Sunrise. Big Star just weren't made for their times.
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