BIG STAR No 1 Record & Radio City Orig UK 1978 Stax 2LP Power Pop Alex Chilton

	£		67
	$		88

Big Star

No 1 Record & Radio City

Very Rare original UK 2LP released on Stax Records in 1978. 1st UK Stereo pressing in a fully laminated gatefold sleeve.

Matrix No's

Side One - STX 3021 A-1

Side Two - STX 3021 B-1

Side Three - STX 3022 A-1

Side Four - STX 3022 B-1

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 that 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.

#1 Record The roots of Big Star lie in the group Icewater (also known as Rock City), formed in 1971 by singer/guitarist Bell in association with guitarist Steve Ray, bassist Andy Hummel, and drummer Jody Stephens. Ray left the group a short time after its inception and was soon replaced by Chilton, the one-time Box Tops vocalist who was just 16 years old when the group topped the pop charts with their 1967 classic "The Letter." Chilton had recently returned to Memphis after attempting to mount a solo career in New York City; he had first played with Bell years earlier in a high school cover band, and with his arrival, Icewater rechristened itself Big Star, borrowing the name from a local supermarket chain. Recording soon commenced at the local Ardent Studios, where Bell occasionally worked as an engineer and session guitarist, but despite solid critical notice and some radio airplay, their brilliant 1972 debut, #1 Record, nevertheless fell prey to the distribution problems of the newly formed Ardent label's parent company Stax: more often than not, the album simply never made its way to retailers.
I Am the Cosmos In the meantime, Bell and Chilton continued to butt heads over Big Star's direction -- the former envisioned a primarily studio-oriented project, while the latter preferred performing live; moreover, Chilton's past success in the Box Tops guaranteed him the lion's share of attention from listeners and critics, minimizing Bell's own contributions in the process. In late 1972, Bell finally left the band. His subsequent attempts to mount a solo career proved largely fruitless, with only a spectacular solo single, "I Am the Cosmos," receiving official release prior to his untimely death in a 1978 car crash. (A posthumous solo compilation, also titled I Am the Cosmos, was finally issued to unanimous critical acclaim in 1992.) Following Bell's exit, Big Star briefly struggled on as a three-piece before disbanding, with Chilton returning to his stalled solo career; months later, he reteamed with Hummel and Stephens to play a local music writers' convention, and the performance was so well-received that they decided to make the reunion permanent.
Radio CityBig Star's second album, 1974's Radio City, remains their masterpiece -- ragged and raw guitar pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity. It also contains perhaps their best-known song, the oft-covered cult classic "September Gurls." (Another highlight, "Back of a Car," bears the unmistakable input of Chris Bell, although the duration and extent of his return to duty is unknown.) Distribution difficulties again undermined whatever hopes of commercial success existed, however, and Hummel soon announced his resignation. Chilton and Stephens recruited bassist John Lightman for a handful of East Coast live dates, including a WLIR radio broadcast later issued as Big Star Live. Work on a planned third album soon began, but the sessions proved disastrous as Chilton, reeling from years of music industry exploitation and frustration, effectively sabotaged his own music -- where Radio City teetered on the brink of collapse, the new songs tumbled over completely, culminating in one of the most harrowingly bleak pop records ever made. An album's worth of material was completed and shelved, and then Big Star was no more.

Tracks Are :-

Side One

1 Feel
2 The Ballad Of El Goodo
3 In The Street
4 Thirteen
5 Don't Lie To Me
6 The India Song

Side Two

1 When My Baby's Beside Me
2 My Life Is Right
3 Give Me Another Chance
4 Try Again
5 Watch The Sunrise
6 St 100/6

Side Three

1 Oh My Soul
2 Life Is White
3 Way Out West
4 What's Going Ahn
5 You Get What You Deserve

Side Four

1 Mod Lang
2 Back Of A Car
3 Daisy Glaze
4 She's A Mover
5 September Gurls
6 Morpha Too
7 I'm In Love With A Girl

• Released on Stax Records in 1978

• Catalogue Number SXSP 302

• Record is in Ex ++ condition (few super fine hairlines from the paper inner sleeves, Colse to NM)

• Sleeve is in Ex ++ condition (few laminate marks on the back, see pictures)

 ***All Items must be paid for within 7 days***