Rich Malloy
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2000
- Messages
- 3,998
As reported today in High Fidelity Review:
It still surprises me how little this band is known. Here's the intro to their AMG Bio, in the hopes that it elicits some interest:
"The quintessential American power pop band, Big Star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. Originally led by the singing and songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, the Memphis-based group fused the strongest elements of the British Invasion era — the melodic invention of the Beatles, the whiplash guitars of the Who, and the radiant harmonies of the Byrds — into a ramshackle but poignantly beautiful sound which recaptured the spirit of pop's past even as it pointed the way toward the music's future. Although creative tensions, haphazard distribution, and marketplace indifference conspired to ensure Big Star's brief existence and commercial failure, the group's three studio albums nevertheless remain unqualified classics, and their impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground."
IMO, these are there two best albums (on one SACD!), though I know there are some big "Third/Sister Lovers" fans. Hopefully, we'll hear that one in hi-res soon, too!
It still surprises me how little this band is known. Here's the intro to their AMG Bio, in the hopes that it elicits some interest:
"The quintessential American power pop band, Big Star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. Originally led by the singing and songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, the Memphis-based group fused the strongest elements of the British Invasion era — the melodic invention of the Beatles, the whiplash guitars of the Who, and the radiant harmonies of the Byrds — into a ramshackle but poignantly beautiful sound which recaptured the spirit of pop's past even as it pointed the way toward the music's future. Although creative tensions, haphazard distribution, and marketplace indifference conspired to ensure Big Star's brief existence and commercial failure, the group's three studio albums nevertheless remain unqualified classics, and their impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground."
IMO, these are there two best albums (on one SACD!), though I know there are some big "Third/Sister Lovers" fans. Hopefully, we'll hear that one in hi-res soon, too!
