Big Star: Rhino "Box Set"*

Cool. Mine's ordered.

 

Don't be completely shocked if there's a slight delay. I was at a convention last week that included a Continuum display, and they didn't have the Big Star title available at that point (even though they had many 33 and 1/3 titles).

But it's got to be available in a couple of weeks at most. And you should get yours as soon as anyone!

 

The book might be good, but what's with the shot at Elton John and ELP in the description?
Uncool.

 

I don't know if it's reprinted or online anywhere (or even where my personal copy is now I've moved twice, come to that), but the definitive piece on Chilton by Chilton is Cub Koda's interview about 18ish years back. Can't remember any more if it's Goldmine or Discoveries) but lean towards Goldmine.

He liked and trusted Cub and was extremely open and communicative.

 

Where can I read this?

 

Ditto for wanting to read the Cub interview.

 

"Thank You Friends" -- unhappy title to use because the song was a back-handed non-compliment to music-industry people who Chilton felt screwed him over.

 

If you meant that this is an inappropriate title for the Ardent compilation, in some ways that reason might make the title quite appropriate, seeing as how Ardent more or less got screwed over by the same tragic set of circumstances that sunk the mighty Stax Organisation.

This ("Thank You Friends") hasn't been mooted as the title of the Big Star box set yet, has it?

It might just be my imagination, but when I hear Chilton sing "Thank You Friends" on Third/Sister Lovers, there's a definite sneer in his voice. But when he sings it for Columbia (the live reunion concert), I can swear he almost sounds sincerely grateful. Maybe it's just me...

 

Thank You, Friends is already the title of the Ardent records set that includes all kinds of Big Star rarities, though.

 

Dunno about that Cub Koda interview (add me to the list of wanna-read-that), but here's a cool one Chilton did in '87, and another one from '94.

 

Great finds DJMurphy, thanks! I found this part from the `94 interview fascinating:

Do you have a lot of unfinished ideas?
Yeah. And I finish a lot of things that I throw away or decide are not really for me to perform.I probably write ten things to every one that I want to use. It's easy for me to write something that's so poppy that it's wrong for me. If I was 22 years old...it's easy for me to write something that's less mature than I am or ought to be. I'm looking for something that acts my age. What suits me well is a good R&B tune. Coming from who I am, that's the best thing to do.

Probably the best explanation I've read yet for why Alex doesn't write in his more "poppy" Big Star-style anymore. Having said this, I bet his throw aways sound closer to that sound than even he would like to admit.

 

I can understand where Alex is coming from -- but at the same time, it's a shame he no longer wants to do something he does so incredibly well.

I'm sure there are many of us of a certain age who may sometimes stop to wonder at the contradiction of singing melodic pop songs about teenage love in a high register with girl group harmonies.

I'll admit that I have...but after careful consideration, I've concluded that it just feels so good that I don't give a damn what anybody else may think about it.

 

I read Todd Rundgren saying something very similar to that in the 80's. He just doesn't want to sing that stuff anymore.

 

Anyone heard anything else about this?

 

It's coming, it's four discs, there's going to be a significant amount of stuff folks haven't heard.

It might not have every single thing every single fan wants. But it's going to be awfully close. I have to say it's something I've wanted for decades and up until the last year or two I feared would never come to pass (for me unreleased Big Star is right up there with unreleased '60s Who and Beatles tracks). I trust the folks who're involved. It'll be like with the Beatles reissues, tho. Some of us care so passionately about this music we'll quibble (I know I'd like to see every single take of every single track, even unfinished instrumental backing tracks, but that's not and will never be commercially viable). What we will get will be very, very good. I'm fully confident of that.

That's all I can say. Be patient. All signs point to our seeing this before year's end. I don't know (and haven't asked) where things are on a legal/contractual basis (none of my business) but I do know the work on it is close to complete (my impression is that it's not too far from being ready for manufacture).

I would be surprised if there's not a press release and track listing by summer's end. That's just a guess, so we're clear here. Doesn't mean it won't slip into 2010, but I'm betting 2009.

Hope it doesn't compete for your $$ with the Beatles boxes. Geez, I typed that as a joke, but wouldn't it be ironic if Beatles remasters competed with many of the same consumers for the same money? Typical Big Star luck, for sure.

 

Hell to the yeah

If I have to choose between the Big Star box and Beatles remasters the Big Star box wins. Sorry Beatles.

 

Wow, that's great Kent! Glad to hear they're doing this the right way!

 

Thanks Kent.

 

Great news. Thanks for the update.

 

Just curious -- how many officially released Big Star tracks are unavailable on CD? Are there any unique single mixes or non-album b-sides?

 

Me too!

A box of unreleased Big Star trumps previously released (and dubiously mastered? ) Beatles that I already have in great abundance via prior masterings.

Craig(VC).

 

Somebody add to this if I'm forgetting anything, but the officially released vinyl stuff not on CD to date is this:

O My Soul (edited single version, which I for one love and will be sorely disappointed if not on the box)

O My Soul (in stereo, which was released on an Ardent sampler some years after the fact -- I've never even seen one personally, it's mega-rare)

September Gurls (mono single mix, which as far as I can tell is a dedicated mix and sounds terrific in mono)

I always thought When My Baby's Beside Me sounded better on the original single release than on the LP, but I can't say for sure that it's a different mix or remix.

As far as I know, everything else is the same on the singles (not counting the rerecorded version of In The Street which has now been officially released on CD twice, and which will appear a 3rd time on the box).

It would be nice to have Sister Lovers complete in it's 1975 mono mix (a few tracks were used on Alec Palao's Thank You Friends Ardent Story compilation).

 

There's a passel of previously unreleased Big Star stuff on "Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story," including the single version of "In The Street." I thought Terry Manning said that "O My Soul" was only recorded in mono. There may have been an alternate version in stereo, but the track we have wasn't done in stereo, no?

 

It was recorded in stereo, but they mixed it to mono and everyone liked the mono sound better, so that's how it was released (that's what Terry, Jody and Andy have told me).

The stereo mix (original one) came out somewhat after the release of the album on a promotional Ardent label sampler. I have a cassette of it somewhere, but never saw the actual sampler.