Albums in 1972. The probable best album by all accounts was David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. You have Exile from the Stones. The top selling Harvest from Neil Young . . .
But still my favourite hidden gem by a Memphis mile, Big Star's #1 Record. Ziggy was an extension to something new, fresh and different from literally the most interesting artist of my lifetime and a classic in its own right that I refuse to dismiss. It's right there and I'm certainly not going to dismiss it. But Memphis musicians/songwriters Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were quite a pairing. Alex was the original anti-star - making the bands name a bit of a farce to begin with. The album captures the mood and essence of the late 60s. A bit of Stones, a bit of Byrds and a lot of Beatles but distinctly its own record and clearly 70s and edgy rock pop - when you consider Neil Young to be pop. The vocal harmonies are stunning. The lyrics at times joyous and other times ironic to sad - but always beautifully written - and directed to every single one of us. Proving to me that simple thought is always more meaningful. Every song standing perfectly on its own as its own expression of feeling in time.
"Feel" is the perfect opener - how great to start an album with the lyric "it's getting very near the end"about a relationship dying on the vine. Then there's the "Ballad of El Goodo"- a great song about individuality and dealing with your own faults. "Thirteen" is a big time favourite or nearly everyone that hears this album. A bit of sexy lyrical coaxing. "Won't you be an outlaw for my love?" It's the start of anything romantic really. Then "Don't Lie to Me" comes in with a harsh message to don't fuck with Alex's heart. Lol. How quickly the tides turn. Towards the end, the song "Watch the Sunrise" captures something for me that's hard to describe - that moment of sudden optimism after life's little disasters which we cyclically experience. "St 120/6" follows with such a heartfelt sigh - a simple sad plea - shortly stated. 57 seconds of perfect expressed desparation. A second more would have been a waste and simply intrusive. This is the ebb and flow of Big Star's first and greatest opus. And departing from much before it or after - each song clearly just intended to convey one simple thing - a feeling in a moment. Maybe the only thing that matters in life in many ways.
Highly acclaimed by the critics and even more so years later when artists like REM and the Replacements brought the album back to the forefront of the music world. Originally not available in stores, it sold less than 10,000 copies. Today, it sounds just as great as the first time I heard it and it strikes me in exactly the same way. If you are a fan of classic rock at all, this should be in your collection today. I'm still surprised how many people never heard of the band or this album. You should own it and, in fact, in more than one format. Spanning an era of media from 8 track to record to cassette to CD to MP3, you should have bought it at least 2 times -- assuming you could find it.
Recording footage: Big Star recording footage
No real videos available so how bout some Big Star covers for fun (from this album and others):
Elliot Smith Nighttime: Elliott Smith Nighttime
Elliott Smith Thirteen: Elliott Smith Thirteen
Wild Things 13: Wild Things Thirteen
Dum Dum Girls - September Gurls: Dum Dum Girls cover September Gurls
Adam Duritz - Ballad of El Goodo: Adam Duritz - El Goodo
Christopher Elam - Blue Moon: Christopher Elam - Blue Moon
Sivert Hoyam - Holocaust: Sivert Hoyem - Holocaust
The Autumn Defense - You Can't Have Me: Autumn Defense - Can't Have Me
Lovely Sparrows - Take Care: Lovely Sparrows - Take Care
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