#1 Star

My Big Star listening started way before it was hip or fashionable. I started listening to Big Star by accident and I still have not full recovered from the best Power Pop had to offer in 1972. I was exposed to it at sixteen years old I really thought all music should sound like this. The accident was the funny part because I did not expect to hear these albums get suggested to me by my bosses husband. He liked crap. Let's face it, he had Boston, Meat Loaf, 1980's Chicago, Bob Seger. Stuff I really did not care for. He did have a few gems in his collection though. I am sure it was not his choice nor my boss. She liked classical that was lame and most of all played when you went to a function as background music. The music in his collection that was good was, early 1970's Chicago, Beatles, Beach Boys and Big Star.

I grabbed the CD's from his music library one day and started reading the notes. I had to babysit his son because he was afraid that he would not behave on his own and cause trouble. I did not know what to make of this Big Star. The name Alex Chilton rang a bell with me because he wrote a song that I liked called "The Letter" that Joe Cocker covered on and I had the original and I liked to song he wrote.



When I saw these CD's in his collection I was surprised that the library where I worked did not have any of their CD's or for that matter any of their LP's. Maybe this stuff was just hard to find or just not available at the moment and they unearthed this gem. Needless to say, I asked if I could borrow the 2CD's that he had. I brought it home and again looked at these notes about how influential this band was. I put on the music as was floored on how great this music was and how the hell I did not hear it on the radio.

Their sound was unique enough for me to be very impressed, but their sound also had moments of Byrds, Beatles and the Raspberries. It was very good. The lyrics were tight and flowed very well with the music. I listened to them for a while. Then when I went back to college I picked up and listened to them. It was Jeff Buckley who said once on stage that Alex Chilton was one of his heroes. He would cover a few his songs on stage and each seemed to be perfect pieces of work. Since then, dozens of bands have rediscovered those pleasures. But in a way, that's an advantage because, whatever freshness is lost across the years, Big Star's craft is only confirmed. These are sturdy songs, feelingly performed, and once you get beyond the style to the content, you'll still be impressed.



So if your looking for something so fresh that your friends think you are listening to some Beatles or Byrds then I suggest you start here. It's one of the best debut albums I have the pleasure of owning. I think that Big Star is an amazing band and should be listened to for it's originality and for the song writing. I would tell you to listen to certain tracks, but the whole album is amazing and each song is a treasure. Enjoy!!