|
|
 |
Though Big Star's #1 RECORD (1972) received favorable press, distribution problems marred its release, making copies hard to find and keeping sales low. Chris Bell left the band after the release of #1 RECORD, apparently very depressed. His sad story is explained in I AM THE COSMOS' extensive liner notes, written by Bell's older brother. Apart from a few collaborations, including a couple of tracks for the second Big Star album, Chris Bell spent the six subsequent years recording music for a solo album. He fought both depression and heroin abuse before dying in a car accident in 1978.
I AM THE COSMOS is a flawless set of songs. Bell was heavily influenced by The Beatles, but his uniqueness shines through. The title track appears here in two versions, the second of which is slower and even more poignant than the first. "You & Your Sister" is also featured in several versions, all of them equally essential. "Though I Know She Lies" somehow sounds even sadder than it should, especially when the disc stops spinning, and the realization that the world was tragically robbed of one of its great songwriters is made all the more crushing.
Recorded at Chateau D'Heurville, France; Ardent Studios and Shoe Studios, Memphis, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by David Bell and Jeff Rougvie.
Personnel: Chris Bell (vocals, guitar); Alex Chilton (vocals, background vocals); Jim Dickinson (piano); Ken Woodley (organ); Richard Rosebrough (drums).
Liner Note Author: David Bell .
Recording information: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN; Château D'Herouville, Paris, France; Shoe Studios, Memphis, TN.
Photographer: David Bell .
Personnel: Chris Bell (vocals, guitar); Jim Dickinson (piano); Ken Woodley (bass); Richard Rosebrough (drums); Alex Chilton (background vocals).
Rolling Stone (3/19/92) - 3.5 Stars - Very Good - "...The mostly demo-quality songs are wonderful...a bevy of shimmering, angst-ridden pop..."
Spin (p.82) - "[T]his collection of demos and finished songs stretches over two remastered discs of brilliant melancholia."
Q (7/00, p.140) - Included in Q's "The Best Male Angst Albums Of All Time"
Q (May/92, p.86) - 3 Stars - Good - "...offers plenty of the patented ramshackle grandeur that Big Star fans find irresistable..."
Option (May-June/92, p.92) - "...one of pop music's great songwriters..."
Village Voice (3/2/93, p.5) - Ranked #23 in the Village Voice's list of the 40 Best Albums Of 1992.
Billboard (p.33) - "Almost all of it lives up to the legend."
Q (Magazine) (p.136) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "I AM THE COSMOS still has enough of Big Star's guitar-pop fragility and grandeur to make it worthwhile."
Mojo (Publisher) (3/01/04, p.55) - Included in Mojo's The 67 Lost Albums You Must Own! - "[E]xquisitely melodic, Lennon-esque songs..."
Record Collector (magazine) (pp.90-91) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Bell's part in Big Star's vibrant distillations of their anglophilic pop fixation is well-known and well-represented on tracks such as 'I Don't Know' and 'My Life Is Right'..."
Chris Guitar Bell / Big Star - I Am The Cosmos Songs
I Am The Cosmos Music Review
Average Rating: (4.5 out of 5 stars)    What a surprise!
Ok, where can I get such a great deal and great product all at the same place? CD Universe, that's where. I was enthralled by Chris Bell's I am the Cosmos cd's rawness and unbridled delirium. Great music from a wicked musician who had so much more to offer but alas... as with all of these maligned geniuses, they cannot sustain the prodding world we live in. Don't blame them. There are many great songs here that reminds the listener of what a lucky person I am to have discovered Big Star, and to further that with some solo stuff by these two geniuses, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. Rhythm section not too shabby either.
Submitted by philippe.leger (Ottawa, Canada) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 the chris bell record
this is a must for any big star fan. although the songs aren't as immediately catchy as the alex chilton stuff from this period, they have a more subtle strength. actually, i think the reason i enjoy this record so much is because it's not flawless. there's definitely a person behind the production. and, to the album's credit, most of the production works. it emulates the phil spector approach.. lots of reverb, etc. it's a great collection of songs from one of the seventie's most underlooked players. enjoy.
Submitted by arikdear (el norte, wisconsin)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
| Have you heard this album? |  |
Purchase I Am The Cosmos CD
To buy, Click on price to add to cart
|
|
|
|
|
Share this Product