795 Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers (1978)

 795 Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers (1978)

Album type - Power Pop



About the Act:

Big Star were an American Rock band from Memphis Tennessee. They existed from 1971-75 and then from 1993-2010. They have had 4 studio albums. They were apparently influential, but I hadn't heard of them.


About the Album:

So this was Big Star's third album, probably. It might be an Alex Chilton solo album (Alex was the singer). It also could conceivably be an album by "Sister Lovers" called "The Third Album". It was recorded, and promo copies were made but nobody took it up. That was 1975. Alex Chilton and the drummer, Jody Stephens, who were the only Big Star members involved, lost interest, but somehow it got released in two different formats on vinyl in 1975, and three different CD formats later, each with different track listings and orders and names. 


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

The version I listened to doesn't seem to coincide with any of the listings on Wikipedia, but contains most of the same tracks as most of them. What a mess.

That kind of sums up the album to be honest. The only interesting thing about it is that it sounds distinctly like it was recorded in 1995 not 1975 - it sounds like shoegaze and alternative rock from the 90s, but done without any real sense of direction. It's melancholy and slow and lacking in conviction. Some of the songs are quite good byt the overall effect is of an unfinished album, which is I guess what it was in fact. I guess the way it chimes with later developments might explain why some see it as a classic. 


Weak 5.5/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1rhYQnZdGMZAdo95fTgii8

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOJWuc3CN303QT7RnWuruRLJJxEnf6TUu

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third/Sister_Lovers



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