Big Star – Live at Lafayette’s Music Room, Memphis, TN 2LP

Description

Originally released as disc four of Rhino’s 2009 box setKeep an Eye on the Sky,Live at Lafayette’s Music Roomcaptures performancesBig Stargave in January 1973 at Lafayette’s Music Room in their hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. This is the same site that hosted the band’s legendary show during the May 1973 Memphis Rock Writer’s Convention — a gig that was instrumental in building buzz forBig Star— so this comes tantalizingly close to replicating howBig Starmay have sounded on that storied date. During this first half of 1973,Big Starwere a band in transition, getting their sea legs after the departure ofChris Bell. His presence hangs heavy, withAlex Chiltonsinging songsBellsang on#1 Recordand his DNA evident on such newer songs as “Back of a Car” and “O My Soul,” but it’s also evident howBig Starare turning into a rangier, rougher outfit under the undisputed leadership ofAlex Chilton. The band feels tougher and funkier, particularly on the clutch of covers that conclude the album:Gram Parsons‘ bruised country-rock classic “Hot Burrito #2” becomes a swaggeringStonesy rocker; a version ofT. Rex‘s “Baby Strange” seems like the blueprint forthe Replacements, and the band drills down to the essential sleaze ofTodd Rundgren‘s “Sleaze.” This rawness, so absent onBig Star‘s two finished studio albums, is the reason whyLive at Lafayette’s Music Roomis worth hearing even for non-fanatics: It proves that this power pop group was also a rock & roll band. -All Music Guide