Big Star

after years of being familiar with the basketball-as-snare-drum+steel drums and drunken piano version of Downs its truly revelatory to hear him play it crystal clear on a 12-string like its just some pretty ditty. the sound of the demos is just fabulous, I agree with Tyler there... the other demo stuff made me hunt down his 1970 album, which is hit-or-miss but has a few tunes that are drop-dead gorgeous AM radio Big Star pop template sort of stuff ("Every Day As We Grow Closer", "EMI Song (Smile)" in particular)

I think its just striking to hear the songs-as-written with all the space and fragility already built into them - they're integral parts of the structure. whereas you hear 'em on Third and its easy to think all that stuff was a studio-trick afterthought.

i agree with you on some of the songs, now that i'm listening to more. esp. blue moon

yeah, i mean, i like that you can hear the craft that went into the songs a little clearer, rather than being carried away by the overall destructo mood of Sister Lovers. Like on "Holocaust" it *doesn't* sound that different -- it's a solo piano thing on the demo, but the structure is pretty similar, even the weird dissonant "free" part. You kind of imagine that being something that just "happened" in the studio as the result of drugged out performers, but it's clear that's how Chilton envisioned the song from the start. and there's something pleasing/relieving (and typically chilton-esque) about the comically doomy chord he hits right at the end. "man, what a sad song, right?"

booklet has some sick photos, too -- like the outtakes from the radio city shoot at TGI Friday's! TGI Friday's in Memphis in 1973 was where the party was!

actually i mostly wish they had more from chris bell's solo stuff, but i guess that all made it's way into the i am the cosmos disc/reissue

title song and especially you and your sister are breathtaking tracks.

yeah, i haven't gotten that ... has anyone else (the double disc i am the cosmos thing)? worth it?

the very FIRST TGIF, if I recall correctly

x-post

I only have the Ryko I Am the Cosmos, can't imagine there's all that much more...?

Big Star film stuff (ref'd in the Jovanovic book)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC0Wa3P_dO0

not sure there is more. wasn't even a proper album, was it? just singles and scattered stuff assembled after bell's death

xp

I AM THE COSMOS - DELUXE EDITION contains a remastered version of the original 1992 Ryko compilation on one disc, plus a second disc of rare and unreleased music recorded between 1970 and 1976. On the second disc, all but two of the 15 tracks are previously unreleased. Among the wealth of unissued recordings are eight alternate versions and mixes of album tracks, including "You And Your Sister" with Mellotron in place of the original's string arrangement, and a later version of "Get Away" featuring Big Star's Alex Chilton on guitar, Ken Woodley on bass and Richard Rosebrough on drums.

i'd probably get it if it wasn't so much $$$ -- as with all rhino handmade products. why is it that they can charge $40 for 2 discs?

the ryko discs on emusic are "deals," i.e., sale priced. that deluxe edition isn't available, tho.

as for the rest of the box set -- totally good. the alt mixes of #1 Record are not an improvement overall, but what the hell, I know that record inside and out, I may as well hear some different backing vocals. random note: Steve Cropper on "Femme Fatale" is soooo good. One take apparently? And he didn't even know the song? Haha. Dude is amazing.

the different mixes/versions of Watch the Sunrise are the best of the lot imho

is that chilton singing backing vox on "you & your sister", or am i just hearing things?

yeah, that's him

How many songs on the box set are the exactly same as previously released on the three albums (as on common CDs)? All the 3rd stuff I've heard now sounds remixed.

not too many are exactly the same, though the 3rd stuff is mostly the same (or at least it says it's the same). Dunno about remixing -- I know the Ryko release was "remixed" when it was released, so I don't know if Rhino is just using those versions or if they did their own remixing. Sounds *better* for sure, not sure if it sounds different.

Some intro's/outros are longer, 'You Can't Have Me' and the 'Manana' intro of 'Jesus Chist' is longer given it's own track. Certainly sounds like different mixes to me, but there's no annotated information up on Spotify for these tracks.

gonna have to listen to the Sister Lovers stuff on the box again. I thought the 1st and Radio City alt takes were breathtaking. But I wasn't really in a mood where Sister Lovers made sense at the time and so it kinda washed over me that listen through.

1970 is great---and great sounding thanks to Terry Manning. The cover of "Jumpin Jack Flash" is better than the original b/c Alex finds the funk Jagger/Richards sensed but didn't fully articulate.

apart from the extended stuff already mentioned 3rd/Sister Lovers tracks sound the same as the previous Ryko reissue to me. I'm sure its been remastered, but that's different.

TGI Friday's was indeed born in Memphis.

just looking at those pictures makes me feel a little bit drunk

and speaking of those pics, pretty awesome that it's eggleston playing piano on "nature boy" ... really beautiful recording -- chilton and him should've done a whole album of standards together.

The "Cheshire Cat smile" of Alex's mentioned in the Crawdaddy article, I have experienced it and indeed it is not pleasant.

yeah, from everything i've read, chilton is at the top of my list of artists i love who i'd never want to meet. him and lou reed, i guess.

TGI Friday's was indeed born in Memphis.

― Trip Maker, Friday, January 29, 2010 11:25 AM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

not according to wikipedia
The Friday's restaurant chain was founded in 1965 in New York City,
Their second location was established in 1970 in Memphis, Tennessee's Overton Square district; that location has since closed.

Shoot I don't know nothing. I always thought the Overton Square one was the OG.

http://www.bigstarstory.com/
Seems like a recipe for a lot of panning over photographs and talking heads, but, who knows, maybe they've unearthed some cool stuff ...

so wow uh RIP Andy Hummel:

http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/07/19/andy-hummel-dies-big-star/

see here: Alex Chilton RIP 2010

what the fuck

sad

r.i.p.

big star have a few nice songs. am i supposed to be impressed?

no, you're supposed to turn up your nose and post incredibly ill-timed messages on the internet about your failure to be dazzled

OMG! rip.

be impressed if you're impressed. they do have outstanding songs. in any event, the passing of chilton and hummel is rapid succession is very sad.

Magic Ksh:

Maybe it's cos I'm a 21st century lazy twat who's reliant on spotify and doesn't care about the context of a band's music, but I just don't get Big Star. And I want to like them, so I can be cool :(

Ugh I feel like a pretentious twat

Wait, I've only just noticed Hummel has passed away. My own fault for not reading the topic properly. Sorry :(

RIP

haha yeah i mean you're allowed your opinion, the timing was unfortunate was all but if that was totally unintentional don't sweat it

figured out "way out west" on the guitar tonight -- hummel didn't write a lot of songs, but hey, he wrote that one! RIP.

When is ksh coming back?

ksh has come back as user "CaptainLorax"

RIP Andy. What a shocker.

RIP.

It's kinda weird because I've been digging "Way Out West" a lot lately. A few weeks back someone I (sadly) still care too much for decamped for a month in LA. She'll be back in August, but it still made me sad. Our relationship hadn't played out like I hoped and the song captures that whole feeling particularly well.

Anyway, this morning I got an e-mail from her. The first in a few weeks, it was actually a form letter asking for help on a project she's starting once she gets back to Houston. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but you know it's just another chapter in whatever it is between us. And then right after I find out about Andy...news I really didn't want to hear.

Thanks for the music, man.

and though it's no one's (not even Hummel's) fave song on #1 Record, I had come around to really liking the India Song -- kind of adds a unique element to the album as a whole. in the Big Star book, Hummel said he was kinda embarrassed by it, but it's a pretty little thing -- kind of makes me think of the Incredible String Band.