Big Star - Thank You Friends (1975)

The story of Big Star is pretty well known as a perfect example of a great band who slogged away to little or no commercial recognition until they gave up and disbanded, and then suddenly everyone wanted to know them. They were formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel, and initially the band's musical style drew on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Byrds, but they also produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980's and 1990's. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations", in the words of Rolling Stone. They were one of the quintessential American power pop bands, becoming one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll, and yet they couldn't catch a break while they were producing this seminal music. Their first album, 1972's '#1 Record', was met by enthusiastic reviews, but ineffective marketing by Stax Records and limited distribution stunted its commercial success. Frustration took its toll on band relations, and Bell left not long after the first record's commercial progress stalled, and Hummel left to finish his college education after their second album 'Radio City' was completed in December 1973. Like '#1 Record', it received excellent reviews, but label issues again thwarted sales, as Columbia Records, which had assumed control of the Stax catalog, effectively vetoed its distribution. After a third album, recorded in the fall of 1974, was deemed commercially unviable 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 in the UK as a double album, and their third album was given the title of 'Third/Sister Lovers' and finally issued soon afterward, and although it found limited commercial success at the time, it has since become a cult classic. Chris Bell never got to experience the acclaim that the band achieved after their break-up, however, as he was killed in a car accident at the age of 27. During the group's hiatus in the 1980's, the Big Star discography drew renewed attention when R.E.M. and the Replacements, as well as other popular bands, cited the group as an influence. In 1992, interest was further stimulated by Rykodisc's reissues of the band's albums, complemented by a collection of Bell's solo work, and this led to Chilton and Stephens reforming Big Star in 1993, with recruits Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, and they gave a concert at the University of Missouri. The band remained active, performing tours in Europe and Japan, and they released a new studio album, 'In Space', in 2005. Chilton died in March 2010 after suffering from heart problems, and Hummel died of cancer four months later, but at least they lived long enough to see Big Star achieve the critical acclaim that they so richly deserved, although it all too late for Bell. The recent 4-CD retrospective unearthed a number of demos and unreleased recordings, and almost anything by Bell or Chilton is worth hearing, so I've extracted the best of them for this post, as the final 'fourth' album by the band.

Track listing 

01 There Was A light (Bell) (demo)
02 Jesus Christ (Chilton) (demo)
03 Holocaust (Chilton) (demo)
04 Big Black Car (Chilton, Gage) (demo)
05 Manana (Chilton) (previously unreleased)
06 What's Going Ahn (Chilton, Hummel) (demo)
07 Blue Moon (Chilton) (demo)
08 I Got Kinda Lost (Bell) (demo)
09 Thank You Friends (Chilton) (demo)
10 Femme Fatale (Lou Reed) (demo)
11 Lovely Day (Chilton) (previously unreleased)
12 Nightime (Chilton) (demo)
13 Back Of A Car (Chilton, Hummel) (demo)
14 Take Care (Chilton) (demo)
15 You Get What You Deserve (Chilton) (demo)
16 Motel Blues (Loudon Wainright III) (demo)