Search - Big Star :: Columbia: Live at Missouri University

America's Greatest Power Pop Band Resurrected for one day!

Scott Ellinwood | 04/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On _Columbia live at missouri university_, Big Star rocks out! The band features original members Alex Chilton on guitar and vocals, and Jody Stephens on drums and vocals. Original guitarist vocalist and group founder Chris Bell had died in 1978, and bassist Andy Hummel has left the music world behind for a day job. So the band is rounded out by Jon Auer on guitar and vocals and Ken Stringfellow on bass and vocals. Jon and Ken are normally members of the very excellent power pop band the Posies.The songs come out a little harder rocking live than they do on the original Big Star studio albums. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow sing most of the songs that Chris Bell originally sang though Alex Chilton does sing Bell's _In The Street_. Possibly because his voice has deepened with age, Chilton also allows the Posies to sing two songs that he originally sang, _Daisy Glaze_, and _Feel_.The highlights are: the rocking intro, _In The Street_; the almost Van Halenesque reworking of _Don't Lie To Me_; Jon Auer's excellent rendition of Chris Bell's _I Am The Cosmos_; Chilton's lovingly performed _Ballad Of El Goodo_; the raucous take of _Back Of A Car_ complete with nicely placed feedback; a very emotional version of _Daisy Glaze_; a Chuck Berryesque rocking cover of T-Rex's _Baby Strange_; a great and inventive, to compensate for lack of strings, version of _For You_; and a totally ballistic version of Todd Rundgren's _S-L-U-T. Once you get past the fact that it's not real glossed up and studio enhanced like Frampton _Comes Alive_ or one of the KISS _Alives_, you realise that this is a great and VERY REAL live album!..."

Amazing performance...BUY THIS CD!

Scott Ellinwood | Washington, D.C. | 11/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the many live shows I've seen and heard over the years, this is one of the best. Every song crackles with energy. Alex Chilton and Jon Auer's guitar sounds are a gorgeous mixture of Rickenbacker shimmer and Gibson crunch.



Many of the classic Big Star songs are well represented here: In The Street, Ballad of El Goodo, Back of a Car and September Gurls all sound fantastic and not at all dated. The band even gives a fitting tribute to the late Chris Bell, covering I Am The Cosmos, a song that fits seamlessly with the others. Covers of T. Rex's "Baby Strange" and Todd Rundgren's "Slut" in particular highlight the band's considerable live chops.



Don't get me wrong, I fully respect the original Big Star lineup with Bell and Andy Hummel, but without a doubt the addition of Posies Auer and Ken Stringfellow adds sufficient muscle to the performance. Alex Chilton's vocals are as good now as they were then and Jody Stephens is a highly underrated drummer.



Don't hesitate to buy this album. Almost any fan of rock music - from Neil Young to Teenage Fanclub will love this album."

My dog BLOCKHEAD was there...

R. K. Walsh | columbia,mo. | 06/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"...and so was I. Last encore number is not included on the disc ("Duke of Earl"). There was a ferris wheel....even Chilton eventually cracked a smile"