A shimmering, exciting record that captures pop's innocence, hints at rock's degradation, and mines melody for all it's worth, this is the gold standard by which all so-called power pop would be measured. The only group I know of to convincingly meld the Beatles, Byrds, and Rolling Stones to create something wholly new, this has been worshipped by hipsters for years and influenced countless great bands... but in a just world, the three original Big Star albums would be at least as famous as the aforementioned bands’ classics. Perhaps it's just too skewed to register in the popular psyche. The harmonies are unconventional, the guitar attack hard but never wanky, the ballads emotionally complex.
Big Star’s Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were music lovers above all, and wrote music that celebrates itself above all. Each song is distinct, filled out to the appropriate shape, never overstepping and never failing to follow a hook where it might go. It's the kind of debut album most groups would kill to have for a career’s greatest hits package. –Will
R.I.P. Alex Chilton (1950-2010)
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