Big Star has returned…sort of, with their first studio album in thirty years. The band, like the Velvet Underground before them, has had notable and lasting influence on future generations of musicians without record sales or popularity to show for it, and has continued to exist under the radar since their reformation in 1993 with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies.
IN SPACE shows that the band is back in action…again, sort of. It can’t be faulted for not sounding like vintage Big Star, since only two of the original four remain
(Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens), and decades after their 70’s inception, even The Ramones records evolved somewhat.
Although the sound four guys having fun playing pervades the LP, the songs vary considerably. The Posies-ish-from-Big-Star pop of the first few tracks, like “Dony” or “Best Chance” abruptly changes into cruise-ship mode with “Love Revolution” (and your guess is as good as mine as to whether ‘get your groove goin’, shake that funky thing’ is meant ironically or not). After that, IN SPACE is all over the map. “Mine Exclusively” rocks out in a total “Cool Jerk” kind of vibe, even featuring an old-school we’re-just-about-to-run-out-of-tape fade-out. “A Whole New Thing” jumps further back to the rock of pre-“In My Room” Beach Boys. “Aria, Largo” sounds like someone’s been practicing The Well Tempered Clavier in their spare time, followed by “Do You Want To Make It” which is more garage rock.
The most pleasing aspect of the LP probably is the fact that after having all these years to ruminate about the meaning and legacy of the band, Chilton and company manage to produce something that rocks in a really simple way, just a bunch of songs slapped down without trying to reinvent the wheel or rewrite history. Diehard fans may not appreciate this, but considered in this light, IN SPACE shouldn’t disappoint.
For those just getting into the band, 1972’s #1 RECORD and 1973’s RADIO CITY have been recently re-released on a since disc which, along with being excellent companion listening for IN SPACE, would create an instant Big Star section in one’s CD rack. |