Big Star #1 Record Views

General Goods

Radio City does contain Big Starars"s all time greatest song eld"September Gurlssrd" though, so how bad can it be? Actually there are a number of excellent tunes here, including ld"O My Soul,lrd" eld"Back Of A Car,.rd" and the ballad old"Way Out West.ard" The final song on the original record, the solo acoustic ld"Idrs"m In Love With A Girlord" sounds like nothing else Big Star did up to that point, and is exquisite.

Big Star's first album—1972's #1 Record—met with enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations and by the time a second album was completed in January 1974, both Bell and Hummel had left. Like #1 Record, Radio City received excellent reviews, but record company problems again thwarted sales—Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album was deemed too uncommercial for release and shelved before receiving a title, the band broke up late in 1974. Four years later, the first two Big Star LPs were released together as a double album. The band's third album was finally issued soon afterward; titled Third/Sister Lovers, it found limited commercial success. Shortly thereafter, Bell was killed in a car accident.

The frustration at #1 Record's obstructed sales contributed to tension within the band. There was physical fighting between members:[19] Bell, after being punched in the face by Hummel, retaliated by smashing Hummel's new bass guitar to pieces against the wall.[19] Hummel took revenge at a later date: finding Bell's acoustic guitar in the latter's unattended car, he repeatedly punched it with a screwdriver.[19] In November 1972, Bell quit the band. When work continued on songs for a second album, Bell rejoined, but further conflict soon erupted. A master tape of the new songs inexplicably went missing, and Bell, whose heavy drug intake was affecting his judgment, attacked Fry's parked car.[19] In late 1972, struggling with severe depression, Bell quit the band once more,[19] and by the end of the year Big Star disbanded.[19]

Fry and Dickinson flew to New York with promotional copies and met employees of a number of record labels, but could not generate interest in the album.[27] When a similar promotion attempt failed in California, the album was shelved as it was considered not commercial enough for release.[27] Fry recalled, We'd go in and play it and these guys would look at us like we were crazy .[27] In late 1974, before the album was even named, the band broke up, bringing Big Star's first era to its end.[27] Dickinson later said that he was nailed for indulging Alex on Big Star Third, but I think it is important that the artist is enabled to perform with integrity. What I did for Alex was literally remove the yoke of oppressive production that he had been under since the first time he ever uttered a word into a microphone, for good or ill.[29]