Big Star

RIP -- definitely one of those things where i'd listened to "mod lang" and "she's a mover" for long time thinking Jody Stephens was such a cool drummer, and then reading the notes to find out that it was rosebrough on those tunes.
(not to say that stephens himself isn't a great drummer)

Who's the drummer on Oh My Soul? Such a good one.

that's stephens

in other big star news ...

Originally recorded for Big Star’s iconic Third, “Jesus Christ” has become a holiday staple. What better way to celebrate this time of year than to experience this classic track on vinyl — along with the gift of previously unissued material.

The very collectible 10" EP includes the Three Wise Men artwork from a 1973 Big Star promo poster, comes pressed on translucent blue vinyl, and contains a download card. In addition to the original album version of its namesake, the audio program features a demo of “Jesus Christ” that first appeared on the Grammy Award-winning box set, Keep an Eye on the Sky, as well as five previously unissued tracks.

Fans have been clamoring for an official release of “Another Time Another Place & You” for decades, and it makes is first ever appearance here, along with a TV mix of Third’s “Thank You Friends.” Two more unissued Chris Bell instrumentals join them. An unheard demo of “Big Black Car” (the studio version also appears on Third) provides a preview of the forthcoming box set Complete Third (coming 2016).

The legacy of Big Star continues to shine, and the Jesus Christ EP will add some true B-sides to fans’ collections that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks. It will provide them with not only what they’ve been searching for, but make them rejoice in what they’ve found.

kind of crazy there's a "complete Third" box set coming out... but i guess i'm interested.

What the holy hell sequence would they finally decide on?

i just assume it's going to be a bunch of sessions -- probably not even attempting another "definitive" sequence.

there's stuff that *wasn't* on the box set?!

The box was a little barrel-scrapey; I'd be surprised if the Third box contained anything more substantial than demos or alternate mixes.

I would assume so too, but I've never even heard of this “Another Time Another Place & You” song

Just wait 'til you hear the whole disc of Alex Chilton arguing with his girlfriend about whether or not to work on overdubs instead of going to TGI Friday's!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYWKU1Ysqb8

^^^ yeah love that -- what is the deal w/ it? is it actually a chris bell solo thing or ... ? been on various bootlegs for a while now...

How many times did they record a mellotron through a leslie?

Not many, but every one of those mellotrons formed a band.

kind of crazy there's a "complete Third" box set coming out... but i guess i'm interested.

― tylerw, Tuesday, October 20, 2015 12:55 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i like to imagine this will be like 46 CDs with exactly the same songs, but presented in nearly every possible running order

"wow, CD 15 puts 'thank you friends' as the first track! visionary!"

I would kinda like to hear Chilton and Dickinson building tracks, a few anyway (maybe there will be a box sampler). Also: Picking Posies, Big Star 2.0 live in '94, out Nov. 13.
From description on Amazon:

...Featuring a plethora of tracks from the golden age alongside a touching version of Chris Bell's solo classic 'I Am The Cosmos', and a rousing 'Baby Strange' from the pen of late British glam-rocker Marc Bolan, further covers include Todd Rundgren's 'Slut'- charmingly dedicated to Jody Stephens' wife (presumably an in joke), The Kinks' 'Till The End Of The Day' and, obscurity to the helm, a version of the 1966 b-side 'Patty Girl', a local hit from a trio of Ohioan siblings aged between 7 and 14. The show included on this CD, from Chicago's Cabaret Metro in June 1994, is an excellent example of the reformed band playing live, and of the strength and power of the Big Star catalogue. 21 tracks.

been listening to that numero group ork records thing, and the alex chilton tracks are the highlights for me.

yeah the ork EP is great -- the write up in the liners of its making is pretty harrowing though.
feel like they don't need to release any more posies/big star live things though ... not that they're bad, but all of those shows (that i've heard anyway) stuck close to the script.

yeah i don't think i would've wanted to hang around alex chilton in those days (or ever?)

yeah he seems like a deeply unpleasant person

I guess I'd like to hear the original "pop" version of Downs, if it exists

wonder if they'll include the super f-ed up chilton/stephens radio broadcast from 1975? quality's not good, but it definitely fits the third "vibe"

Aw man, not sure I want to mess with my Ryko "Third" CD sequence. It just feels 'correct' to me.

I guess I can't blame them for all this barrel-scraping. Given how awesome to "Keep And Eye On The Sky" box turned out, I'll keep an open mind.

The PVC issue's tracklisting always made the most sense to me:

Side A:

Stroke It Noel
For You
Kizza Me
You Can't Have Me
Nightime
Blue Moon
Take Care

Side B:

Jesus Christ
Femme Fatale
O, Dana
Big Black Car
Holocaust
Kanga Roo
Thank You Friends

It was the first sequence I heard, but the Ryko one seemed to miss the essence of the record.

But then, I also always thought "Black Angel's Death Song" worked best as the second song (and "Waiting for the Man" the 10th song) on VU & Nico as per the 80s cassette I dubbed from.

The Ryko version might or might not do better with some shuffling and skips/deletes; never tried it, but would greatly miss "Till The End of The Day."

cannot imagine any version that doesn't end with "Take Care"

How many times did they record a mellotron through a leslie?

Not many, but every one of those mellotrons formed a band.

This post didn't get enough love.

And no "Dream Lover" or "Nature Boy"

I like having Kizza Me at the start, it's such a sore thumb song, better having it tucked away at the beginning.

Never been a fan of "You Can't Have Me" and the chorus of "O, Dana" is a bit annoying, but otherwise there's nothing I'd get rid of. "Whole Lotta" is a good segue into the rest of Alex Chilton's career, plus it would be weird if the record ended on "Downs".

the take on "I Will Always Love You" from that 1975 radio thing is the best song ever

haha, yeah it is pretty great.
i'm used to the ryko Third, but i have accepted that there really is no true version of this album.

I can't imagine getting used to version other than the Ryko one.

the 4menwithbeards vinyl reissue is officially my official third. i had the pvc one and the ryko cd and it is the best i've ever heard. sound-wise, it wipes the floor with the ryko one. and the the flow is nice.

actually i think the 4menwithbeards tracklist is the same as the pvc and the pvc was the first i ever heard.

(and i always hated the bonus tracks at the end of the ryko cd. should have put them on another cd. but i'm kinda anti-bonus tracks at the end of a cd...)

have had the line records 2cd with all three albums since i was a teen. this is my third/sister-lovers:

1 Kizza Me
2 You Can't Have Me
3 Jesus Christ
4 Downs
5 Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
6 Thank You Friends
7 O, Dana
8 Femme Fatale
9 Stroke It, Noel
10 Holocaust
11 Nightime
12 Kanga Roo
13 For You
14 Take Care
15 Blue Moon
16 Dream Lover
17 Big Black Car

see, that looks crazy to me! but i accept it.

separating Nighttime from Take Care & Blue Moon is a Sister Lovers I would not want to hear

that's a Third I would start at track 7 every time. though I don't get ending with "Big Black Car", why not put it after "Femme Fatale" and go into "Holocaust", moving "Stroke It, Noel" after "Kanga Roo" ? But maybe I'm just reimagining the Ryko version, my version.

Starting Third with anything other than "Stroke it, Noel" is like starting Sgt. Pepper with "Sgt. Pepper (reprise)."

sez the guy who doesn't want "Waiting for the Man" as the 2nd track of VU & Nico! (i kid, i kid)

I love that there's no agreed upon order.

xp haha, I know

I love that there's no agreed upon order.

― campreverb, Wednesday, October 21, 2015 11:51 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what if there was, like, some recording technology where you could, like, program an album to play in any order you wanted? and you could effortlessly skip back and forth among the songs?

i daren't dream...

there's something akin to that in live performances but the performers always get irrationally angry when you tell them which song comes up next in their set

in my version of "third" i've retained the pvc track order but i swapped the first and second verses of "o, dana."

no one has a CD player anymore, amateurist, it's all cassettes and vinyls

You can still do shuffle/programming with vinyl. Since vinyl purists like to talk about how fun it is to get up and turn over the record, it stands to reason that getting up every 3-4 minutes to put the needle on a different song would be even more fun.

no one has a CD player anymore, amateurist, it's all cassettes and vinyls

― tylerw, Wednesday, October 21, 2015 3:16 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

actually, i'm an all-flexidisc household these days