Big Star Live [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Big Star

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 1992)
• Original Release Date: February 21, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009OC
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,463 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Label
This live recording shows Big Star's combination of pop sensibilities with a disquieting undercurrent, still unmatched to this day. The band's in a loose and jovial mood, and seems more intent on having fun than playing a tight set. The live versions of "Daisy Glaze," "Mod Lang," and a pair of Alex Chilton's solo acoustic ballads yield a new insight into those songs. Particularly notable is a cover of Loudon Wainwright's "Motel Blues," an indication of the weariness and frustration that Chilton was already feeling as a young music industry veteran. Recorded for a WLIR broadcast in 1974 and never before commercially available, the album was mastered directly from the original two-track tapes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Legendary live recording finally reissued!, April 3, 2000

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

I can only think of two real criticisms of this disc, and it's really more a criticism of the tapes that Ryko had to work with than of the disc itself. First, the mix on the opening track ("September Gurls") is way off. The guitar is just about absent. Second, the interview segment in the middle of the disc is a pain. It's just not something I want to hear every time I play the disc. (And yes, you can program around it, but I don't want to have to remember to do so).

Of the 12 musical tracks here, I am, initially at least, more drawn to the acoustic performances, that has Chilton just singing along with his own guitar playing. "The Ballad of El Goodo" "Thirteen" "I'm in Love With a Girl" and the previously unreleased cover of Loudon Wainwright's "Motel Blues" all feature very emotional, affecting vocals. Chilton's vocals are all the more highlighted for the lack of the studio's backing voices. The segue back into the full band (with "In the Street") sounds a bit like a tape-edit, but it's still a very effective transition, from the light acoustic blues to the great intro electric lead.

What at first seemed like a very ragged band sound on the electric tracks has settled more in my ears. After having listened to the studio versions of these tracks for so many years, it's taking awhile to adjust to hearing them played and sung any differently. But it's worth it: they're the same songs I've known and love for a long time, yet they're different enough to be a new experience. Chilton's emotional emotion-charged vocals (e.g., on "You Get You Deserve", among others) really pushes the songs to a new place. Some of the musical breaks (like the extended guitar jam on "She's a Mover") also change the songs in unexpected ways.

I think part of Robert Gordon's liner notes capture the essence of this disc quite well:

"You find an old picture of your lover. It dates from before you'd met, and though you'd heard about this period in his or her life, seeing it adds a whole new dimension to the person who sits across from you at the breakfast table. You study the photograph and its wrinkles, looking for clues that might tell you more about this friend you know so well--can you see anything in the pockets of that jacket, can you read any book titles on the shelf in the background. You think about an archeologist's work. When you next see your lover, you're struck by things you'd never noticed. The skin tone, the facial radiance--though the lamps in your house are all the same and the sun does not appear to be undergoing a supernova, he or she carries a different light. As strikingly similar as the way your lover has always appeared, he or she is also that different. You shrug and smile. Whatever has happened, you like it.

"That's what this recording is about."

Good (FM in-studio quality) sound, a ragged but energetic performance, and great songs. Five big stars.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Made We Want To Have A Band Like This!!!, September 23, 2002

By	JOHN SPOKUS (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had read about Big Star in a magazine when this was released officially in '92(of course it was bootlegged from the original broadcast and traded among fans since the mid-seventies) and it sounded like a record I should take a chance on. Listening to it in the car on the way home from the record store I must say it changed my life and the perception of the type of band I wanted to play in. Chilton's guitar playing is amazing throughout this show and the band is just so tight. The intervew segment is classic as well, and typical of the way Alex comes off when you meet him (I have luckily done so twice, like a religious experience!!). Any aspiring indie guitar rocker needs this record, and everything by Big Star while you're at it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars CHILTON COMES ALIVE!, April 28, 2005

By	H. Snyder - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album is worth the price alone for Chilton's acoustic cover of Louden Wainwright's "Motel Blues," off of II. Infact the entire acoustic set (which is I think four or five songs) is great. But as for the rest, its mediocre at best. Big Star is know for being a sloppy live band. Chilton is a great guitar player, but he is far from tight, same goes for the rest of the band, but that is what i like about Big Star, it's almost punk, like they're bad ass and they don't care. The thing that i don't like about this though, is aside from the small interview, they have cut out the talking in between the songs. I wanna know what Chilton's stage presence was like, did he say anything profound? In my opinion that is what a live album is meant to do, elaborate on this great bands personality.
If you only pick one of the two live albums (at least that i'm aware of), buy "Nobody Can Dance." The quality is virtually the same, the band is tighter for the studio rehearsels and they leave in the banter. Plus they do a cover of T Rex's "Baby Strange" and The Box Top's "The Letter." Neither of them tops "Motel Blues" on this album, but It's a better over all collection of live stuff.
If you only have to pick one get "Nobody Can Dance" and download "Motel Blues."