#1 Record

3.6

Probably one of the most forgettable albums so far, nothing caught my attention here at all, very mundane

Good album, sometimes the singer sounded like Elliott smith

Eén van de mooiste albums die in de muzikaal rijke jaren 70 werd uitgebracht

I wanted to like this, but it didn't spark much for me. I think you possibly have to be listening a little harder than I was to fully get into the songwriting- but, very pleasant, I have no beef with it.

Interesting album, I prefer this to the other album that was in the list (Third/Sister Lovers). Good songwriting and harmonies, you can hear the influence on American pop rock that was to come a few years later.

3.5

Easy listening with some good tunes. Does get rather generic though and doesn't grip me. 3/5

I'm a big star. I can't tell you my name cos then you'd all be like 'OMG did you hear that X hates Jazz?'

first listened to this a couple years back and liked it more this time around 4 stars

It's hard for me to not like this, influenced a lot of stuff I really enjoy. Good acoustic power pop rock. Rating: 8/10

Feel - 3.5/5 The Ballad of El Goodo - 4/5 In the Street - 4/5 Thirteen - 4/5 Don’t Lie to Me - 3.5/5 The India Song - 3.5/5 When My Baby's Beside Me - 4/5 My Life is Right - 3.5/5 Give Me Another Chance - 3.5/5 Try Again - 3.5/5 Watch the Sunrise - 4/5 ST100/6 - 3.5/5 I feel like there is something here that can be good with a few tweaks, but I can't really put my finger on what exactly needs changing. Maybe the second half where it's mostly ballads? But they're not the low points at any point so I have no idea. No wonder why this is a cult album, because someone will probably talk my ear off about how this could have been bigger or something. Overall: 3/5 Favorites: The Ballad of El Goodo, Thirteen

One of your favorite band’s favorite albums.

The Raspberries is the definitive Power Pop band, not Big Star.

Inoffensive, but quite bland

Big sounding rock with layered production and pop hooks. I really enjoyed this and it's got depth and far better than the previous record I had by them. First 2 tracks are belters.

Lovely vibes lovely instrumentals

Doesn’t hold up particularly well but not bad

Well-crafted songs.

Eh? I know I was busy and I'm sure it was seminal but it felt like standard stuff. I got to hear the original version of the That 70s Show theme I guess!

It's good stuff. On a second listen it may be even better.

7.5/10

extremely dynamic album wow!

Actually 3.5, more interesting than the other rock albums i got so far especially towards the end of the album. Would almost listen to again

Almost a 4. Classic 70's rock sound. That 70's show theme as well.

4.7/5 one of the best hidden gems second album might b my fav tho they flip flop

More like #601 record 6/10 Highlights: In the Street

Fun boomer rock! Totally something I would have loved in high school 3/5

Ganz cool 2.5-3/5

This was a perfectly fine album, but there was very little to get genuinely excited about.

Not bad. But absolutely not memorable, either.

Not especially interesting.

Never heard of them. Better than expected … but wasn’t expecting much

I was pretty excited about this because "Thirteen" is one of my favorite songs of all time. Little did I know they also do the theme for That 70's Show? So that was a little silly. Otherwise, this album left me a little bit unimpressed. There were a lot of good elements; I just think that the putting together of all of those elements wasn't as incredible as it could have been. The songwriting is excellent, but something about the rest of the instrumentation didn't totally land with me. A little chuggy at times and boring at others. I really wanted to love this, I swear!!! I'm going to hold out hope that this will hit after a few more listens. 3.5/5 rounded down Favorite tracks: Thirteen, When My Baby's Beside Me, Watch The Sunrise

Couldn’t get into it but I was in a bad state of mind today. So I will give it the benefit of the doubt

Enjoyable record, although not hugely memorable or distinctive. My favourite track was Thirteen - perhaps because the stripped back acoustic tune stood out from the rest of the 'power rock' of the album. 6/10

this was a surprising banger from a band I’ve never heard from before! This is also one of those albums where I like the first few songs alot more, and it makes me wonder if I’M the problem and I just get tired of the sound near the end. And then I check out the relative popularity of the songs to find that nope, it is indeed the first few songs that are the hits haha

норм, напомнило ЛЗ.

This is so bland it makes me think why even bother, it could be anyone from Reo Speedwagon to the Eagles.

Cheesy as shit. No thanks

Temu Led Zeppelin. Had some blues-ey almost good songs.

The singer hasn't improved much since the last time I criticised him, but dammit, the music sure has. Great stuff. The opener, Feel, has some great instrumental parts – from the insistent saxes to the high jangly keyboards, to the dark, anticipatory tension in the pre-chorus. Beatlesque backing vocals always shine through in a song, and these are no exception. The Ballad Of El Goodo is a huge success, in no small part due to the vocals getting blotted out in the mix, with the gorgeous acoustic guitar and skilful drum fills easily overpowering any semblance of bad vocals. Also, Chilton simply sounds much better here. I don't know what happened between the previous track in this one, but they'd darn better keep it up. In The Street is just bizarre. Sort of like an upbeat Simon & Garfunkel track, but with cowbell(?!), more obnoxious singing, and a melody and structure that I reckon will take a few attempts to really understand. I unironically kind of enjoy it. Thirteen is simply better, though, and speaks to how powerful simple, acoustic guitar ballads can be amidst a field of deliberate strangeness. Nice backing vocals, with a weird slow vibrato effect that reassures us that, yes, this is still the same Big Star. I'm floored that Don't Lie To Me has the fewest streams thus far, given it's maybe the most radio-friendly (for 1972) and packs a hefty classic rock punch. Reminds me of The Gold It's In The... from Pink Floyd's Obscured By Clouds record. Finishing out side 1, The India Song has flutes and a very active jingly percussion part, but in terms of songwriting it doesn't much stand out. Still enjoyable though. Whoa! Did the band hire a vocal coach between recording sessions? When My Baby's Beside Me does a great job regarding singing, and also offers a bubbly, dynamic bassline and a fun "weird" guitar solo. I suspect My Life Is Right tries to do too much all at once – reminiscent of Jet on McCartney's Band On The Run album. Listen to all the stuff happening during the chorus. Hurried drum fills, jangly, spirited performance of at least three guitars, persistently harmonised vocals... The list goes on. It's the sort of song that is a fun listen and gets even more fun on repeat attempts. The next two tracks are a pair of examples, one successful and one failed, of Big Star doing a solo vocal+guitar piece. Try Again just barely makes up for its weak melody and limp delivery with a pretty decent contribution in the latter half by an electric guitar. Watch The Sunrise, though, outshines both. The bright, relatively complex performance makes the song sound like an acoustic Led Zeppelin track. I'll give St 110/6 my stamp of approval despite its brevity, simplicity, and silly title. Because it concludes an albums that is leaps and bounds ahead of their 1978 album (which also made the list, somehow). 4/5 Key tracks: The Ballad Of El Goodo, Don't Lie To Me, Watch The Sunrise

A hard rock record that embraces vulnerable love, Big Star's debut proved to future alternative rock bands that you can have your cake and eat it too.

This fits in with the mellower albums of the day by bands like Kansas and Styx, with decent harmonies and lots of acoustic guitar. I'm surprised I'd never heard of them. That said, I'm not sure it's that important of an album. "In the Street" is the origin of the theme to That 70's Show, so hopefully they earned a fair bit from that.

Day 52 I could quip but these guys had real potential. What a shame they were screwed over so hard Fav track: The Ballad of El Goodo

eu gosto bastante desse, tava na minha lista oficial de álbuns pra pegar estrada quando era um jovem motorista sem medo de nada (fora ficar sem combustível) tem umas horas que fica meio paradinho, mas de resto é pedrada

DO NADA A MÚSICA DA ABERTURA DE THAT '70S SHOW!!!!!!!!! to embasbacado. e a original é bem melhor que aquele cover rockzão xoxo da abertura, inclusive. enfim, ouvi duas vezes. dá pra ver a influência dos beatles de longe. porém, ainda eh bem original. power pop bem feito saudavel gostoso. bom demais.

Low-hanging fruit right here. It has been universally accepted that this is a most underappreciated masterpiece of an album. I don't necessarily love the music, but certainly respect its influence and legacy. Minus one half-star for "That 70's Show." I hated that program before it was cool to hate it.

Totally generic pop album

O som deste álbum, em especial "The Ballad of El Goodo", transmite uma sensação nostálgica de um tempo que eu nunca vivi, sabe? Daqueles tempos áureos que dificilmente voltarão. Existem bandas dos anos 70 que parecem pegar você pela mão e dizer: "Ei, amigo, está tudo bem se sentir assim, ok?" Este é um álbum conforto, perfeito para aqueles dias em que faz falta um bom abraço.

Halb

Really fun album! The vocals reminded me a bit of Robert Plant at times and on the faster more energetic tracks it did feel similar to Led Zeppelin, where the more soft folksy tracks reminded me of The Byrds and similar acts. Anyway, a really solid record, with some great songs. Favourite songs: The Ballad of El Goodo, Thirteen, Give Me Another Chance, Watch The Sunrise

I had never heard of this band, but I liked it. I sent my Dad a text asking about it because this is something I could really see him liking back in the day.

There are spots in this album where it feels like it's in slow motion--like a 45 played at 33 1/3 (try that the next time you listen to Dolly Parton's "Jolene"). There are some good songs, some forgettable songs, but overall--it's fine. 6 keepers in 12 (50%).

Not unlistenable but just a bit generically bland

This album is like a sampling at the Baskin Robbins of Dad Rock. There’s a little of each flavor spread across the tracks. The trade off is that there’s not much repetition in any of the styles, so if there’s something you liked, you’re gonna be left wanting. Overall a pretty easy listen, even if a bit forgettable.

If this was on and playing I would not be bothered by it, heck I might not even notice it. But I also wouldn't ask my friend who this is an add anything to a Spotify list. They were just fine, okay, vanilla with a hint of almond. They sound good together, they have good guitar work, its all okay, good even. Overall they were just fine, okay, vanilla with a hint of almond, but they needed a little caramel or something to push them up to great.

This was solidly solid. It was cool to hear the OG version of That 70s Show theme.

Catchy pop

Boring and overrated.

great record

OK overall. Liked a few songs, but sounded similar throughout. Found the "That 70's Show" theme song on here which was a nice surprise. Not very memorable though. 3/5

Hatte einen netten 70er Rock Sound. Kannte die Band gar nicht

ganz nett

Ganz angenehmes Rockalbum

Rounding up from a 3.5, reminded me of the Beatles a bit.

I have never heard of these folks but I love the theme song from That 70s Show. This was overall a fun album and when I listened to it a second time I liked it even more. Great stuff and I recommend.

A descent classic rock album. Recognized more songs than I expected to.

Eh ... maybe this one should have stayed in obscurity!

Trying to watch a movie on an Etch A Sketch. Squint hard enough, and you might see something interesting. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - The Ballad of El Goodo - In the Street - Thirteen

pucha, me gustó una canción no más y justo la que reconocía.

Lacks the cohesion of some of the legendary albums of the era, but still pretty good. Hold up, is that the That 70's Show theme??

I see I've been beaten to the "children by the millions" comments so I'm gonna hit this one head-on and say - I don't get it? I can hear the very real influence on the 'Mats here. Some of the songwriting is really just beautiful. Some of it, however, feels like a joke. You've got Thirteen, which is incredible, but then you have The India Song, which sounds like a parody of the Beatles, and When My Baby's Beside Me which sounds like fuckin' Kiss. When it hits, it's really great, (and I love the proto-Replacements sound), but it's just too uneven.

The title is more correct than it isn't. 4.5/5

En klassiker så klart. Noterade ”September gurls”-gitarrer redan på detta album. En unik gitarrton. Egentligen inga svaga punkter, mer habilt och pålitligt rakt igenom. Någon låt skulle kunna ha varit en outtake från Beatles Get back-session.

A princípio achei bom, ouvirei mais

Maybe the greatest power pop album of all time. A masterpiece

bland! not sure why this is on the list

Favorite Song: Watch The Sunrise Least Favorite: Don’t Lie To Me

Enjoyed

This is fine, but nothing remarkable. I don't think anything really stands out.

Aptly named

Decent proto-pop punk, but it’s missing that special something to make it stand out for me. All of the pieces are there but they just don’t fit together.

>Called #1 Record >Sold less than 10,000 albums on it's initial release >Number 1 on the Billboard at the time was America by America >Certified Platinum Album These guys were very optimistic

Could be a 4.5 when compared to the other two albums (side 2 does drag a bit) but a 5 compared to anyone else

Generic. I wasn't expecting to hear the theme from That 70's show. But it makes sense.

Boring

How have these fuckers got 2 albums in this list?! They're the musical definition of bang average! It's not tha these are bd songs, they're fine but is this the best we have?!

Such a great listen. Thirteen is a magical song.

Massive points for having the theme song for that 70s show. Put an instant smile on my face and gave me a wave of nostalgia. Otherwise just okay, not much stood out.

For the more pumped up days at the pub.

Very slow guitar music.

I can see how this influenced a lot of the music that I love but that doesnt mean I ever care to purposely listen to this again. This is a clear case of Big Star took the first steps down a path where others learned to run. On a 5 star system: 5-I NEED this in my life, about as perfect as an album can be. 4-REALLY good, this is going to be in my heavy rotation. 3-Its good, not great. 2.5-This is neither good nor bad. I have no real feeling about this and dont care that it exists. 2-OK, now this isnt good. I dont care for this at all. 1-This is watery shit. This album is a solid 2.5 for me. Heres the catch, I dont care of one of the singers that sings lead seemingly every other song (though he works well as background melodies in the other songs). Also, this leans a little too much into the Cheap Trick territory for me and I abhor Cheap Trick. so with the flawed 5 star system this sinks to 2 stars.

I really liked this album. It had a gritty hard edge in places, but the vocals and general musical styles reminded me a lot of Billy Joel, Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, and Springsteen in places. I listened to it twice -- five stars.

Big Star, Big Snore. I just looked at some other reviews and I wish I’d listened to that album

eh

this is another one i've never heard of in my life. it's possible i thought i was familiar with more of the list than i actually am my immediate first impression is that this is 60s70srockandroll.mp3 but that's maybe unfair. and also not necessarily a sentiment of dislike. oh i like the saxophone coming in though The Ballad Of El Goodo is a bit stinky i'm sorry. i'm coming in hot on this one i don't know if this is fair lmao oh.... the cowbell......... oh my god Thirteen is so fucking bad oh my god. on every level. bro. i'm sorry if you're gonna do a song about pedophilia it's got to at least be as much of a banger as Oingo Boingo's Little Girls. this is just sad. and not beating the 60s70srockandroll.mp3 allegations Don't Lie To Me is deeply lame but at least fun. this one's not bad. vaguely unrelated footnote: i have never really been a fan of songs fading out, and i can't really explain why. i rarely feel like it works. this is not a place where i think it works, but that's also true of quite a few songs i really like; i'm not holding it against them i think i'd like The India Song in a different context but next to Thirteen we're creating a kind of hilarious tableau sorry Help Me I Am In Ballad Hell okay ironically i really like St 110/6! but it is only 56 seconds long. that's a real shame lmao i'm feeling whiffs of what i did with the Traffic selftitled where i feel like i've heard 'better' versions of all of this. and i still don't think that's fair, but i also decided that i was going to do these ratings at least partly non-objectively. (if for no other reason than i think i'd end up giving out mostly 5s, because art is subjective and i think most of it has SOME merit even if i don't like it. and there's not a lot of music that i actively want to turn off.) the wikipedia article suggests this is notable for having some prototypical alternative/garage sound in it, and i.... mostly don't hear it, honestly? maybe a little, and certainly not beyond what other acts were doing at the time. i'm trying to keep an open mind and listen for stuff that's notable with the idea things are on the list for a reason, because what the fuck is the point of doing this otherwise, but ultimately the final score multiplier here is 'do i like this or not'. and i did not like this. i think it's mostly listenable, with several tracks i actively dislike, and ultimately very forgettable. i would probably give it a 2 but Thirteen made me involuntarily do a jackoff motion and roll my eyes and it was all downhill from there. i respect Oingo Boingo and you, sir, are no Oingo Boingo

Pretty solid. I didn't expect to get hit with the original That 70s Show theme.

just some pleasant 70's rock'n'roll. i don't think it pulls any moves that are too crazy, and it slows down a bit on the latter half. i do like how they mix up the sound somewhat. favorite song is When My Baby's Beside Me, but hearing In The Street in it's native habitat is cool. soft 3

Rating: 6/10 Even though I didn't love the record, I thought Big Star's Third had an ahead of its time quality but I don't really find that to be the case here. Fairly straightforward typical 70's pop rock songs that feel inspired by the direction of the genre post-Beatles. It was decent