{"id":790,"date":"2014-05-03T18:24:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T18:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=790"},"modified":"2014-07-03T21:58:08","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T21:58:08","slug":"rs-405-big-star-radio-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/batterymedia.com\/blog\/?p=790","title":{"rendered":"RS #405: Big Star- Radio City"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#405<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Big Star,\u00a0Radio City<\/h3>\n
Release Date:<\/span>\u00a01974<\/div>\n
Previously Owned:<\/span>\u00a0Yes<\/div>\n
First Time Listen:<\/span>\u00a0No<\/div>\n
\"IMG_0323\"
Love this cover. No idea why.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impressions:<\/span>\u00a0I’ve made no secret of my worshipping at the altar of Big Star and their picture-perfect first album. It’s too bad their legend\u00a0has mostly swallowed up their songs, but let’s put this one on and do the best we can… That funky, attention-grabbing guitar opening for “O My Soul” almost has an r&b sound. The herky jerky\u00a0all-over-the-place drumming from Jody Stevens makes the tune feel\u00a0like it’s in danger of spitting\u00a0apart at the seams, but somehow it still stays together. On the surface, most of these songs sound basically like the hooky ’60s inspired guitar-pop and shining melodies of #1 Record<\/em><\/a>\u00a0but it’s as if the music has become\u00a0a little\u00a0curdled with a dollop of ’70s cynicism. Without Chris Bell to offset Chilton’s sourness, this album loses a shade\u00a0of the compulsive listenablity of their debut, but, in other ways, becomes more fascinating. The pressure to make hits, the record company frustrations, and Bell’s defection\u00a0started to make\u00a0Chilton\u00a0sound a little, uh, unstable<\/em>\u00a0(although not as completely out-there as Third\/Sister Lovers.<\/em>) Songs like the\u00a0weird, stomping “Life is White,” the off-kilter piano “Morpha Too,” and the druggy guitar drone of “Daisy Glaze” are\u00a0both catchy and unnerving, and display\u00a0a band at\u00a0odds with itself. \u00a0Still, this album came out before Chilton completely went into his shell, so it dutifully features\u00a0his\u00a0last stab at writing hits\u00a0with perfect pop should-have-been-singles like the ringing\u00a0“Back of a Car”, “You Get What You Deserve”, \u00a0and the titanic classic “September Gurls.” A rollercoaster to be sure and ends with the simple, fragile acoustic ballad “I’m In Love With A Girl,” almost as heartbreaking as “Thirteen,” but ends so abruptly and\u00a0points to the band moving in a\u00a0even more unsettling\u00a0direction on the\u00a0Third\/Sister Lovers<\/em>\u00a0<\/a>album.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starred Songs:<\/span>\u00a0“O My Soul,”\u00a0“Back of a Car”, “You Get What You Deserve”, “September Gurls”
\n<\/span>Sneaky Track:\u00a0<\/span>“Way Out West”
\nShould this be on the list:<\/span>\u00a0Yes
\nWill You Listen To This Album Again:<\/span>\u00a0Yes<\/span><\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0<\/span>Not quite as\u00a0catchy or sunny\u00a0as their debut, Alex Chilton takes over and the band becomes more\u00a0unhinged\u00a0simulatanously while somehow managing to unload\u00a0some classic guitar pop hits that never were.<\/div>\n
Rating:<\/span>\u00a0\u2605\u2605\u2605\u26053\/4<\/div>\n
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