Big Star - ThirteenAlbum: #1 Record [1972]
the first of many oldies i'll start putting up, this is one of the my personal favourites of the past and has been covered by the likes of wilco, land of talk, and elliott smith. the quintessential american power pop band, big star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. 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 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 commendable. despite solid critical notice and some radio airplay, their brilliant 1972 debut "#1 record" nevertheless fell prey to distribution problems - more often than not, the album simply never made its way to retailers. as time passed, the album's truly innovative qualities were lost because listeners probably encountered the work it influenced first - such is the problem with coming in late on an artwork lauded as "influential". thus, if you are hearing big star's debut album for the first time decades after its release (as, inevitably, most people must), you may be reminded of tom petty & the heartbreakers or R.E.M., who came after. what was remarkable about the album was that nobody except big star wanted to sound like this - simple, light pop with sweet harmonies and jangly guitars. since then, dozens of bands have rediscovered those pleasures. these are sturdy songs, feelingly performed, and once you get beyond the style to the content, you'll still be impressed.
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