"I never travel far....without a little Big Star." (Paul Westerberg--The Replacements)

Chris Bell is the often forgotten member of Big Star, as integral to the influence and strength of the group as the better-known Alex Chilton was.

Those that had an ear for Big Star realized they were moving one step up the musical ladder, reclaiming the best sonic elements and keen songwriting skills that the Beatles (and other British bands too numerous to mention) had built upon the roots of American music. It's probably not a coincidence that the band was from Memphis: they just refiltered the music in the same environment that it had originated, refining it more as an American art form. It is difficult to quantify the influence the music had on others that heard it: almost everyone dedicated to the "do-it-yourself", indie philosophy that heralded the best elements of the New Wave/power pop renaissance that followed will cite them as an influence.

Bell left Big Star after the first album, "#1 Record", and thereafter had a somewhat chaotic life and career. The songs on this album were written and recorded episodically after leaving Big Star in 1973 until his death in a car accident in 1978. This sad event not only robbed him of the greater recognition that he deserved as a fine musician, but also for his uniquely personal songwriting that articulated beauty and pain within the same brushstroke. (Pete Ham of Badfinger comes to mind as an able comparison.)

The title song of this album is one of the most beautiful yet poignant songs of despair amidst lost love that I've ever heard.

"I Am The Cosmos", never as powerful when lyrically separated from the music, leaves most Big Star fans breathless when faced with Bell's epiphany that:

Every night I tell myself I am the cosmos
I am the wind
...but that don't get you back again

Just when I was starting to feel OK
you're on the phone

I never want to be alone

...My feelings always have been something I
couldn't hide

I can confide
(I) don't know what's goin' on inside...


(fade)

I never want to see you again
I really want to see you again


Throw in the "yeah yeah yeah" refrains that sound like they were dragged across a palette of human anguish, and you end up with some of the most heartbreaking music you've ever heard.

The remainder of the album includes highlights such as:

"Better Save Yourself" (a spiritual song laced with foreboding; great guitar work, Lennonesque slapback echo)

"Speed of Sound" (well recorded work addressing the bitterness of a failed relationship...."my love grows....yours is gone")

"Get Away", "I Don't Know", and "I Got Kinda Lost" (Big Star-like electric guitar rave-ups)

"You And Your Sister" (beautiful acoustic guitar work with Alex Chilton as background vocalist)

"Look Up" (well recorded guitar/Mellotron arrangement....Bell's "My Sweet Lord"...melodic, spiritual)

"Though I Know She Lies" (well written vocal/electric piano/acoustic guitar piece, fine slide work. A gem.)


Bell was a gifted guy who was just barely beginning to be recognized before he died in 1978: since then, Big Star's music has become legendary. He knew he was on to something big, but couldn't reach the public at large. Fortunately, he reached other musicians that extended his influence far beyond what he probably thought was possible.

Hopefully he'll reach you, the listener, in just the same way.




Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying