After being mightily impressed with Big Star's other classic album, Radio City, back in March last year, I thought the band's debut album, Number 1 Record, would have a lot to live up to for me. However, upon listening to it it gave a reminder of when I first gave When The Kite String Pops by Acid Bath a first spin. No, there was no sludgy misanthropic riffs or demonic vocals, but it was more in the sense that I never thought the first album I heard by the band (Paegan Terrorism Tactics) could be beaten, yet the predecessor (in terms of my order of listening) totally blew the other album away. Even though I still rank Radio City as an awesome, awesome record, Big Star's first album manages to top it.
The song that got me into the band was September Gurls - an absolute rock classic, with gorgeous vocal melodies, catchy guitar lines and with a simple, to-the-point structure. Number 1 Record is full of these oh-so-succulent moments. If it wasn't for the bands commercial failure (blamed on their record labels poor promotion and distribution of the bands works), the songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell could've been the McCartney/Lennon partnership of American Power Pop. The songwriting oozes class and creativity - the twelve tracks on the album are both instantaneously appealing but won't get boring after repeated listenings, surely a sign of great music.
Within the album there's a lot of diversity, a fine sum of the greatness of 60's and 70's rock. Thirteen could be seen as a prototype for Skyway by The Replacements, one of many bands heavily influenced by Big Star, whilst the angsty Don't Lie To Me and the melodic delight of The Ballad of El Goodo are just more examples of the ecletic nature of the songs. I wonder even if Alice In Chains were influenced by the albums closer ST 100/6 - the vocal harmonies are surprisingly similar to what Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell became famous for in the early 90's with grunge titans Alice in Chains.
Each of the twelve tracks have their own merits. This is 70's pop-rock at its absolute best, an unmissable yet criminally underrated album. Buy without hesitation.
Highlights : The Ballad of El Goodo, Thirteen, My Life Is Right
See also - The Replacements - Skyway, The Ledge, Big Star - September Gurls
