The most popular obscure rock band of the seventies
Chet Fakir | DC | 11/24/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"You know the story of Big Star is so compelling that the actual recordings are obscured by hyperbole and affectionate nostalgia. After all its a kind of hero's journey: from naive and sublimely talented pop rockers to burnt out husk, all in three albums. Here you get one and two. The first album #1 Record is an amazingly good one. This is a spirited band with one of the best debut albums of any in the seventies. Its pop rock played by guys who were really going for a hit record but did it without calculation, irony or success. These songs could have been written any time in the last 20 years and that's cool. The second record Radio City is without song writer, guitarist and singer Chris Bell. It rocks, but the subtleties that Chris brought to the music, the vocal harmonies and his brand of songwriting aren't there. This is Alex Chiltons' show. It's rawer and harder edged than the first album and its damn enjoyable if not as sublime. But it has an honest grit to it. There you have it, hyperbole and affectionate nostalgia aside, these are good, sometimes great, rock records. They're two for one and well worth the money."
The #1 RECORD that wasn't should have dominated RADIO CITY
J. Gunning | Midst the Oaks of SRH | 01/30/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"#1 RECORD is filled with perfectly crafted tunes any one of which could have been a Top 40 hit, if not a #1. CHRIS BELL then left BIG STAR, and RADIO CITY is perfect maybe because it's mostly ALEX CHILTON ?? #1 RECORD is treacly at times, particularly when it gets spiritual, YET its songcraft and winsomeness won't easily be shrugged off. BIG STAR's followup, RADIO CITY, on the other hand, Rocks much harder with a STONESy-Bluesy-Pop sensibility that was overlooked only because of BIG STAR's label's distribution problems. That must be the explanation... right? But most remarkable is that though the mindset between both albums is changed, the music has the same heart. This compilation brings together both of these great Pop Rock albums, and essentially the only complaint with them is that when they were new, they didn't sell. There's a reason these records are so highly regarded. They're damned fine Rock 'n' Roll."
Big star
L. Marx | ohio | 04/15/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"great compilation of a awesome band. I received it the same day Alex (the lead singer) passed. Which I find strange. I'm glad I found this band."