Big Star

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

flexis have that thin, brittle sound we all love.
did anyone get that 3rd "test pressing" that came out on RSD a few years ago? http://www.discogs.com/Big-Star-Third-Test-Pressing-Edition/release/3234763
collector scum bait or actually worth hearing?

*shivers*
The new pressing was cut from the original assembly reel, on the same lathe at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis and by the very same engineers who cut it the first time, Larry Nix and John Fry. Pressed on high quality vinyl at RTI, this is the definitive version of this album.

Thee Correct track sequence, hallelujah!

prix archival reissue is coming out on vinyl. tommy hoehn + alex + chris.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GKHla--bjY

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/12019923_10153205040902503_7872205233980864499_n.jpg?oh=dad863f5b67968260fb1f52d9d574d79&oe=56C2622D

there was a japanese cd, but this new vinyl has extra stuff...

i have some enormous (and incredible) many-disc Big Star 'n' friends boot that has almost all that prix stuff (along with many other side projects, post-BS bands, solo Alex and Chris, etc. etc.). nice to see some of this get official release.

So what do the Prix trax sound like, are they good? I think of Tiven as a producer and sometime-songwriter, not a performer.

it sounds like tommy hoehn basically. which is a good thing. click the youtube link above.

chris bell played a big part in those sessions. producing and playing. so if you are a bell fan, you need that stuff.

i'm a hoehn fan. and a van duren fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBWj6mSyDhg

and a hot dogs fan...

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

Yep, Chilton and Prix trax on Ork box do sound fine.
New uniform for Ardent Studio staff:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbDcr0DUMAA16Ag.jpg

If that's gone, it's a pair of feet sporting custom Converses w Big Star logo on the hi-toppermost

you know Alex Chilton would have just loved that

Those $70 Shoes...

Those Pretty Wrongs feat. Jody Stephens of Big Star announces debut LP

STREAM: "Ordinary" -
Pitchfork / SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/those-pretty-wrongs/01-ordinary

Those Pretty Wrongs are Jody Stephens and Luther Russell, two old friends and veterans of the music scene in different ways.

Jody-as many people in rock and roll (and beyond) know-was the drummer for the legendary band Big Star. He went on to help run the equally legendary studio Ardent in Memphis and play with the endearing troop Golden Smog. Luther Russell was the leader of seminal roots-rock band The Freewheelers and went on to make several acclaimed solo records, as well as produce many important artists over the years. Together they have forged a sound that is brand new for both, yet begets a strangely familiar feeling...

It was the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me that brought Jody and Luther together creatively, when Jody asked Luther to join him for some promotional performances. A chemistry was immediately noticed. They began writing songs and performing them whenever possible, soon taking their name from the opening line of Shakespeare Sonnet 41, which they slipped into one of their first collaborations, "Fool Of Myself". A relationship was soon struck up with underground SoCal label (and two-man revolution) Burger Records when the first track they cut in Memphis, "Lucky Guy", was sent to Sean and Lee, who jumped at the chance to release it as a 7", along with the aforementioned "Fool Of Myself" for the flip side. There was an outpouring of support for the new music, which gave Jody and Luther the confidence to move forward. Regarding how this all came together, Jody declares: "In a word...serendipity. So many of the events that brought Luther and me together were just by chance and born out of the Big Star world. I actually thought we might write three or four songs together for an EP but we just kept writing beyond that. 'Another window opened up and through it' we became Those Pretty Wrongs."

Those Pretty Wrongs was tracked entirely to 2" tape at Ardent in Memphis, using much of the old Big Star gear, including Jody's original kit from Radio City and Third and Chris Bell's acoustic and electric guitars from #1 Record. The album was mixed by Luther Russell and Jason Hiller at Hiller's Electrosound Studios in Los Angeles, CA. Crucially, Jody is way out in front on this release-really for the first time ever-taking all lead vocals and co-writing all of the songs with Luther. The songs range from the elegiac "Lucky Guy"-which some have described as the boy from "Thirteen" all grown up-to the marimba-laced, circus-like "The Cube". Soaring, heart-felt ballads like "Start Again" and "The Heart" mingle with songs with an almost Merseybeat-like combination of simplicity and complexity, such as "I'm For Love" and "Never Goodbye"-a number on which they went for a "busking in the train-station" quality with brushes on the snare and cascading 12-string acoustic guitar. As with all the songs, airy, light harmonies abound, making for a bittersweet sound all their own. Besides tunes with these more self-evident touchstones, there is the baroque rocker "Thrown Away", mod-like jangler "Mystery Trip" and a moment of cinematic grandeur on the exotic, piano-driven "Empty City".

Opener "Ordinary" is really the statement of purpose for the duo. Regarding the song, Luther says: "For me, the song has a message that is very timely in today's age where everyone has to be 'special' and 'different'. It says its okay to be ordinary. That's a beautiful sentiment that Jody came up with...that the space between us all, that connection, is what is extraordinary." With it's shimmering, ascending/descending acoustics and sky-high clusters of harmonies, "Ordinary" was nearly the title-track to the LP, but they opted to self-title it, because it felt like the beginning of something. Through the words on this record Jody opens up about his life, which has been well-documented, but not in this very intimate way. Adds Stephens: "For me the lyrics are a walk through day-to-day emotions and experiences."

Luther lives in Los Angeles and Jody in Memphis, so the commitment had to be strong to persevere in composing these songs and cutting them until they were completely satisfied. Those Pretty Wrongs will be released in May in a unique partnering between the classic Ardent label and the burgeoning Burger Records. No one could be happier than Jody and Luther, who feel that this keeps a family-like feeling to the release. "Why stop now", remarks Luther. "We've wanted to keep this thing sounding and feeling personal from the start because it's extremely personal for both of us." Thus they've tailored every aspect of the project themselves: from producing, writing and playing much of the instrumentation to the design itself (Luther hand-draws the artwork). Those Pretty Wrongs is like a homespun arabesque with a pattern of many lyrical, melodic and harmonic lines to discover. Just like the handmade collage inside the LP, the record is akin to a series of snapshots: of lives present and past, and fleeting moments of simple joy and reflection.

"Those Pretty Wrongs is so much more than the two of us", states Jody affectionately. "We were jump-started by friends who produced the Big Star documentary. Friends have helped book and play with us live and in the studio...not to mention providing the studios. Friends also provided accommodations and encouragement by coming out to hear the music. They have cared. We are grateful for them and hope to make more."


TOUR DATES:

Mar-21 - Melbourne, Australia - Melbourne Recital Centre *
Mar-22 - Sydney, Australia - The Factory *
Mar-23 - Sydney, Australia - Petersham Bowling Club
Mar-24 - Melbourne, Australia - The Gasometer
Mar-26 - Tallarook, Australia - Boogie Festival

Ardent Studios: 50 years of Music History at The Grammy Museum in L.A.

discussion, performance??
Mot seeing specifics re participants yet yet, but can sign up for fbook updates, follow their twitter feed etc.:
http://www.axs.com/events/312478/ardent-studios-50-years-of-music-history-tickets?ref=edp_twpost

Can click on where that image of thee Converses w Big Star logo was originally posted, and seeee---but I'll try it again
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbDcr0DUMAA16Ag.jpg

Thought the revive would be about this: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/big-stars-classic-third-receives-massive-reissue-w434438