For years, I had heard the name Big Star dropped, and by some pretty heavy hitters in the 80s, most notably REM. They were raved about, named as a huge influence by many alternative rockers. But I had never heard a single song from them. Their debut album, #1 Record, released in 1972, was nearly impossible to find.
Enter file sharing and Ryko releases, and in 2004 I finally had my copies of their first two albums. I think #1 Record is the superior release, and in big part because of Chris Bell, the founding member of Big Star.
Chris Bell left the band after the first album, reportedly crushed that it hadn't been a hit record. He began a solo career and a tortured personal life that ended in his untimely death in a car accident in 1978.
Listen to "I Am The Cosmos". It's as anguished a cry as ever committed to vinyl.
For more information laid out better than I am able, visit these two pages:
My Trusted MOGs
great track thanks for the links cheers
My Trusted MOGs
I think this may be the greatest track Chris ever wrote. I say "I think" because I'm ashamed to say that I do not have a copy of his solo CD, which was re-released a while ago. The Posies also do a beautiful, faithful cover of this song.
My Trusted MOGs
"It’s as anguished a cry as ever committed to vinyl." - I don't know, just thinking of Big Star,"Third/Sister Lovers" as a whole is pretty anguished-sounding. I still haven't picked up I am the Cosmos but I've liked all of the tracks I've heard.