Big Star

Big Star – Radio City (Remastered 2024) (1974/2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:09 minutes | 1,38 GB | Genre: Power Pop, Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings

Big Star, considered to be among the founders of power pop, has been cited as an influence by many of the major alternative bands of the ’80s and ’90s, and continues to be a powerful presence in today’s musical landscape. Artists such as R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements (who famously penned the song “Alex Chilton”) and Wilco all enthusiastically tout the artistic impact of the group. Mike Mills recalls Big Star as “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound. A band who wrote all the songs, from flat-out rockers to achingly beautiful ballads that were still somehow rock songs.”

Radio City is the second album from Big Star. Released in 1974, Radio City includes “September Gurls” and “Back of a Car” which remain some of the most famous Big Star songs. The legacy of Radio City have far exceeded the original commercial letdowns of the album, which is now considered to be a milestone in the history of rock by critics and musicians alike. Both Radio City and #1 Record made it onto Rolling Stone‘s 500 “Greatest Albums of All Time” lists, while tracks from each album (“Thirteen” and “September Gurls”) are also among the magazine’s 500 “Greatest Songs of All Time”.

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Big Star – #1 Record (Remastered) (1972/2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 36:55 minutes | 1,42 GB | Genre: Power Pop, Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Stax

Big Star, considered to be among the founders of power pop, has been cited as an influence by many of the major alternative bands of the ’80s and ’90s, and continues to be a powerful presence in today’s musical landscape. Artists such as R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements (who famously penned the song “Alex Chilton”) and Wilco all enthusiastically tout the artistic impact of the group. Mike Mills recalls Big Star as “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound. A band who wrote all the songs, from flat-out rockers to achingly beautiful ballads that were still somehow rock songs.”

The legacy of #1 Record has far exceeded the original commercial letdowns of both albums (Radio City and #1 Record), which are now considered to be milestones in the history of rock by critics and musicians alike. The LP made it onto Rolling Stone‘s 500 “Greatest Albums of All Time” lists, and numerous artists (Elliott Smith, Beck and Jeff Buckley to name a few) have recorded covers of the band’s songs.

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Big Star – Radio City (1974/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:12 minutes | 760 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Concord Music Group

Radio City is the 1974 follow up to Big Star’s debut, #1 Record. The critically acclaimed, Memphis-based band is often credited with creating the power pop sound, and has become a cult favorite over the years. Remastered from the analog stereo masters, this reissue will allow fans to appreciate Radio City as a standalone CD—this is the first time in many years that the CD version of the album will be sold independently of #1 Record. Packaging includes new liner notes penned by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, who cites Big Star as one of his biggest influences.

One half of Big Star’s songwriting duo, Chris Bell, made the decision to leave the band following the 1972 release of #1 Record, which left Alex Chilton at the helm as primary songwriter on album number two. Chilton was able to use this opportunity to shine and prove himself to be an incredible songwriter on his own. Journalists noticed: bearing a tongue-in-cheek title, Radio City garnered rave reviews and produced several cult favorites, including “September Gurls,” which has been covered by everyone from The Bangles to Superdrag.

In his liner notes, Mike Mills writes, “On Radio City, Chilton confirms his place as one of the best songwriters in rock and roll. While ‘September Gurls’ may be the best-known song from this album, every other song here is one that I wish I’d written.”
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Big Star – #1 Record (1972/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 37:02 minutes | 807 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Stax Records

Originally released in 1972, #1 Record is the debut album from Big Star, a critically acclaimed, Memphis-based band which is often credited with creating the power pop sound. Remastered from the analog stereo masters, this reissue will allow fans to appreciate #1 Record as a standalone CD—this is the first time in many years that the CD version of the album will be sold independently of Big Star’s second album, Radio City. Packaging also includes liner notes penned by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, who cites Big Star as one of his biggest influences, and calls the album “a record of rich sonic textures, of declaration and vulnerability.”
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Big Star – Complete Columbia: Live at University of Missouri 4/25/93 (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:12:39 minutes | 865 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Volcano – Legacy

With the Posies’ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow standing in with Alex Chilton, on Jody Stephens’ recommendation, for the uninterested Andy Hummel and the deceased Chris Bell, the foursome run through a collection mostly drawn from #1 Record and Radio City. Chilton’s in good voice throughout, the blend of sweetness and melancholia of the band’s original days present and fine as ever. As a band, the quartet doesn’t let the legacy down a whit, from “Don’t Lie to Me” and its full passion to the bemused regret of “September Gurls.” Everyone else gets at least one vocal turn as well, a nice way of signaling the group effort that went into the show. Stephens handles “Way Out West” and “For You,” Auer sings Bell’s solo single “I Am the Cosmos,” while Stringfellow takes over on no less than three songs, “Back of a Car,” “Daisy Glaze,” and a smashing rip on “Feel.” A few interesting surprises are thrown in along the way, though anyone familiar with Chilton’s way around unexpected covers in performance won’t be too taken off-guard. T. Rex’s “Baby Strange” gets a straightforward take, glam sass fully intact and suiting the band perfectly, while Todd Rundgren’s “Slut” closes out the set with a final appropriate blast. Not the end of the world, just a great show from a legendary group. – AllMusic Review by Ned Raggett
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