I’ve reviewed the other two; now it’s time for Radio City. Some people rank this as their favorite Big Star album. I see why; it’s full of great songs, and Alex Chilton is at the top of his game here. For me, it’s hard to decide, but I always liked #1 Record, their debut, a touch better because of Chris Bell’s influence. Chris would leave the band after the debut album. But this one puts up great competition. Big Star is one of the reasons I started to blog in the first place. I thought if I turned one person on to this band, then I did my job.
Radio City was released in 1974 on Ardent Records. With Chris Bell gone, Big Star was basically Alex Chilton, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens. The change can be heard. #1 Record had a polished sound with Bell and Chilton balancing each other. Radio City is a little rougher and looser around the edges. That isn’t a criticism. It gives the album its own personality.
The album starts with O My Soul, and right away you know this isn’t simply #1 Record Part Two. It has more rhythm and a little more Memphis. Then you get songs like Way Out West, Daisy Glaze, You Get What You Deserve, and Back of a Car. There isn’t much wasted space on this album. Andy Hummel also deserves a lot of credit. He was more than just the bass player; ko contributed to several songs. Jody Stephens’ drumming is also a huge part of the sound.
And then there is September Gurls. If there were any justice in the music business, that song would have been all over the radio in 1974. Everything that makes Big Star great is packed into less than three minutes. The guitars ring, the melody sticks with you, and Chilton sounds effortless. It has since become one of their best-known songs, but at the time it went nowhere.
That was the story of Big Star. They received great reviews, but distribution problems kept their records out of stores. Radio City suffered the same fate as #1 Record. The people who heard it loved it. The problem was getting people the chance to hear it. Years later, bands such as R.E.M., The Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, and many others would make sure Big Star’s name didn’t disappear.
One of my favorites is Back of a Car. It has everything I like about this band. Great guitar, melody, and that slightly ragged quality that keeps Big Star from sounding too perfect. Chris Bell was gone by this point, but he had been involved in the early writing of the song before leaving the band. In a way, it provides a small bridge between the Big Star of #1 Record and the band heard on Radio City.
The album closes with the short and simple I’m in Love with a Girl. After everything that comes before it, Chilton ends the record with little more than an acoustic guitar and a melody. That’s another thing I love about Big Star. They didn’t need to make everything complicated. Give them a guitar and a good melody, and that was enough.
I can go back and forth between #1 Record and Radio City. If I had to choose, #1 Record still wins by a very small margin because I love what Chris Bell brought to the band. But ask me while September Gurls or Life Is White is playing, and I might change my answer.
Big Star never got the audience they deserved when these records were new. The good news is that the records never went away. People kept discovering them and passing them along to somebody else.
That’s really what happened to me. And if this post gets one more person to listen to Radio City, then Big Star is still gaining fans one person at a time.
September Girls
September girls do so much
I was your Butch and you were touched
I loved you, well, never mind
I’ve been crying all the time
December boy’s got it bad
December boy’s got it bad
September girls, I don’t know why
How can I deny what’s inside
Even though I’ll keep away
They we’ll love all our days
December boy’s got it bad
December boy’s got it bad
When I get to bed, late at night
That’s the time she makes things right
Ooh when she makes love to me
September girls do so much
I was your Butch and you were touched
I loved you, well, never mind
I’ve been crying all the time
December boy’s got it bad
December boy’s got it bad
December boy’s got it bad, woo ooo
After the failure of their first album, singer/songwriter guitar player Chris Bell quit Big Star. Alex Chilton didn’t know if Big Star was going to make another album. He continued making demos because he could always do a solo album. The two other members, drummer Jody Stephens and bass player Andy Hummel weren’t sure either what was going to happen. They had talked about ending the band.
