Big Star inspired a fevered allegiance among fans of power pop, giving rise to a cult of believers who spent decades spreading the gospel. Their enthusiasm turned this obscure Memphis pop band-one that got little airplay, sold few records, and only played a handful of times- into a remarkable rock and roll resurrection story. Big Star’s trek from obscure Memphis band to standard bearers for an entire genre of music has never been fully mapped-until now. Rhino presents the definitive look at the definitive power-pop band with a four-disc boxed set divided between key cuts from Big Star’s three studio albums and unreleased music. KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY is available now at Amazon
On a related note, Bruce Eaton has released a new book on the subject of Big Star titiled “Radio City (33 1/3).” In it he examines the key ingredients of Radio City’s lasting appeal- and through extensive interviews gets to the heart of the cult of Big Star. It explores the origins of classic songs like “September Gurls” and “Back of a Car” and has plenty of anecdotes of the recording process from people who were actually there. A must for Big Star devotees and Powerpopaholics. Bruce also has a blog with interesting tidbits about Big Star that didn’t make it in the book.
Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Really enjoyed it. There were a couple teensy technical glitches that must have gotten missed in post-production. But very nice, overall.