Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide - Jason Ankeny
A two-fer combining Big Star's first and second albums, #1 Record/Radio City remains a definitive document of early-'70s American power pop and a virtual blueprint for much of the finest alternative rock that came after it. The lone Big Star record to merit the full participation of founder Chris Bell, the brightly produced #1 Record splits the songwriting credits evenly between him and Alex Chilton in the tradition of Lennon-McCartney. But from the beginning, the group is tearing apart at the seams: Bell and Chilton's relationship seems less a working partnership than a battle of wills, and each possesses his own distinctive vision. The purist, Bell crafts electrifying and melodic classic pop like "Feel" and "In the Street," while Chilton, the malcontent, pens luminous, melancholy ballads like "The Ballad of El Goodo" and "Thirteen." Ultimately, their tension makes #1 Record brilliant. However, Radio City shifts gears dramatically: Bell is largely absent though he guests, uncredited, on a few tracks, including the wonderful "Back of a Car", allowing Chilton's darker impulses free reign. From the raucous opener "O My Soul" onward, the new Big Star is noisier, edgier, and even more potent. Erratic mixing, spotty production, shaky performances -- by all rights, Radio City should be a failure, yet Chilton is at his best when poised on the brink of disaster, and the songs hang together seemingly on faith and conviction alone. Each track recalls pop's glory days, from the Kinks-ish snarl of "Mod Lang" to the Byrds-like guitar glow that adorns "Way Out West." The much-celebrated "September Gurls" is indeed a classic -- everything right and good about pop music distilled down to three minutes of pure genius.

Product Description

NUMBER 1 RECORD recorded at Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee in the Summer and Fall of 1972. Originally released on Ardent in 1972.

RADIO CITY recorded at Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee in the Fall of 1973. Originally released on Ardent in 1974.

Big Star can be ranked alongside the Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols as one of the major inspirations for the indie and alternative rock movements. The group's first two albums, collected here on one disc, have influenced everyone from R.E.M. to Teenage Fanclub to the Replacements to Nirvana. Their debut, #1 RECORD, combined the melodiousness and perfectly arranged feel of the mid-period Beatles with the raw rock kick of the early Kinks and the jangly country-rock beauty of the Byrds. "Feel," "Don't Lie To Me," and "When My Baby's Beside Me" feature stinging guitar licks, punchy rhythms, and hooks galore, and sound like someone discovering rock & roll for the first time. Alex Chilton's "Give Me Another Chance" and Chris Bell's "Try Again," on the other hand, are acoustic ballads with exquisitely beautiful, layered harmonies. Chilton's "13" and "The Ballad of El Goodo" are bright, unforgettable paeans to innocence.

RADIO CITY, the only other record released during Big Star's existence (BIG STAR'S THIRD, aka SISTER LOVERS, wasn't released for several years), is equally enthralling. Chilton wrote some of his finest proto-power-pop songs on this album, including "Mod Lang," "Back of a Car," and the sparkling, perfectly constructed "September Gurls," which has taken its place among the all-time rock song gems. Much has been made of Big Star's lack of commercial success, but the influence of #1 RECORD and RADIO CITY on rock history has been considerable, and the recordings sound as fresh and irresistibly listenable today as when they were released.

2 LPs on 2 CDs: NO. 1 RECORD (1972)/RADIO CITY (1974).

Big Star: Alex Chilton, Chris Bell (vocals, guitar); Andy Hummel (vocals, piano, bass); Jody Stephens (vocals, drums).

Additional personnel: Danny Jones, Richard Rosebrough.

Rolling Stone (2/1/73, p.44) - "...NO. 1 RECORD isn't revolutionary--the group works within the well-defined forms--it's just exceptionally good..."
Spin (p.119) - "Alex Chilton's peppy post-Box Tops combo finds the place where Memphis R&B howlers dress in '70s SoCal casual and life is right."
Q - 4 Stars - Excellent
Alternative Press (12/92, p.78) - "...Their perfect ballads and ecstatic white-hot pop were bright flames of inspired creation..."