Third/Sister Lovers
Big Star
1978
Album Summary
Third (reissued in 1985 as Third/Sister Lovers) is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 1975, a combination of financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the record, and lack of interest from singer Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens in continuing the project prevented the album from ever being properly finished or released at the time of its recording. It was eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records. After two commercially unsuccessful albums, Third documents the band's deterioration as well as the declining mental state of singer Alex Chilton. It has since gone on to become a cult album, and was placed at number 449 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2012 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. Its reputation growing with time, the album moved up to number 285 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2020 listing. The album is also included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
WikipediaThird is a record that has only grown in my estimation over the years. While previous Big Star records represent the pinnacle of 70s power pop, Third deconstructs their approach amid the band's disintegration. Third stands on its own, but lands much better in context of the band's previous work. It's loaded with the cynicism of a band with so much unmet potential ("Thank You Friends") and yet contains so many moments of broken beauty ("Big Black Car", "Nighttime", "Take Care"). This tender/caustic tension is at the heart of this record's power. Its influence is evident on artists from REM to Wilco and Yo La Tengo. In fact, I often think of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as a spiritual successor to this record. Their similarly fraught creation and off-kilter production follow much more pop-oriented efforts by each band. Favourite songs: "Big Black Car", "Kanga Roo", "You Can't Have Me", "Blue Moon", "Nightime"
Man, Big Star is that traditional rock band that you HAVEN'T heard of. Once you click, however, you'll stick.
Big Star were a fav among college friends. Mostly #1 record and radio city though. This one is a bit too sloppy and unfocused for me.
“Third/Sister Lovers” by Big Star (1978) Never heard this album nor this group, although I loved lead singer Alex Chilton’s #1 hit “The Letter” (1967) with the Box Tops when Chilton was only 16 years old (and I was only 12!). For an album produced in 1978, though, the recording and mix is not good. Too little separation, and primitive, unimaginative mixing. But musically, it is inventive. One can only imagine how much better this would have sounded if it were produced at Abbey Road, or The Hit Factory or even Muscle Shoals. Lyrics lack depth and originality. The suggestion is out there that “Thank You Friends” is a sarcastic condemnation of how badly Big Star was treated by the recording industry. Listened to from this perspective, it’s much better than if heard as a straightforward expression of gratitude. “Jesus Christ” is listed, but not playable, on Spotify. What’s up with that? The lyrics suggest a hymnic reflection on the singing of angels at the birth of Christ. It would be nice to hear it. One can get a taste of it in the twenty second sample on the iTunes Store. It’s not that impressive, chiefly because of the poor production. Too bad. “Femme Fatale” provides a good example of the band’s musical skills, and they are so-so. Alex Chilton’s simple lead vocal shows that he struggles with pitch at the softer end of his dynamic range, and the backing vocals (including his girlfriend Lesa Aldrege?) are even worse. Bass playing by Jim Dickinson is really good. His contribution to the band’s sound is probably a main reason for whatever success they had. “Holocaust” uses the systematic murder of six million Jews as a metaphor for the feelings of a woman whose mother just died a natural death. Yuck. This kind of pretentious appropriation is what gives much popular music a bad name. “Stroke It Noel” employs backing strings which are very poorly performed, and even more poorly recorded. I have keep reminding myself that this album was released in 1978. It would be a bad recording even if it had been released ten years earlier. Anyway, the lyrics on this song, the chorus of which is based on (uncredited) Bobby Freeman’s 1958 song “Do You Wanna Dance?”, are trite. The lines “Keeping an eye on the sky/Will they come, oh the bombs?” is anachronistic. By 1978, the fear of nuclear war was very much diminished from what we experienced in, say 1963, thanks to the U.S. effort in the Cold War, which is largely unappreciated today. (Full disclosure: I participated in the Cold War for the four years prior to this album’s release. But no hard feelings [smirk].) A pattern emerges here. Big Star takes hugely important issues and reduces them to triviality. This was ok in the 1950s and early 60s, but they seem to be lacking self awareness and compositional maturity in 1978. And for a band to call itself “Big Star” when it was anything but is, well, sad. Overall, I’m not sure why this is considered a cult classic, but cult defies justification anyway. Coulda died without this one. 1/5
Saved Prior: None Saved Off Rip: Stroke It Noel, Blue Moon, Till The End Of The Day Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Despite the fact that I didn't save a lot of songs, this was a cool listen. It puts the disintegration of a band and of a man front and center and you can hear that in the music. Is it for casual listening? Absolutely not. This is another album that I'll be returning to over the summer when I can really immerse myself in the world of the album. As it is now, I'll give it a 4 and keep it saved to my albums on Spotify.
This was great power pop - both catchy and twisted. Reading the history of the band alongside is fascinating. Is this the definitive version of this album? What even is a definitive version? The production sounds so fresh.
Bibelmusik meint meine Frau. Inhaltlich nicht gecheckt aber irgendwie hat sie schon wieder recht
When this album started, I thought I was going to enjoy it. However, I found it a bit durgy and nothingy. I can't say it really.kept my attention
When there are 1001 albums on the list, there are bound to be several albums that I won't be able to explain why they are on the list. This was a first listen to a band I've never heard of. This isn't the worst album I've heard so far, but it didn't even make it to "okay".
Hindsight is a funny thing. Big Star's Third wasn't readily available to the public upon it's release, so it gained a big of a mysterious quality to fans, especially considering this record's defining quality was the disintegration of the band. What happened to make this the last Big Star record, and what made Alex Chilton abandon his band's signature sound only to wander the deserts of underground musical genres for the next 15 years. The production, while rough and borderline unfinished in places, have a real magical quality in the context of the band's history. They achieved pop perfection with songs like "September Gurls", but here we get a look behind the scenes, at the raw emotions Jody Stephens and Chilton were feeling. Their music had remained in the shadows, and that hurt and anguish is felt through an album that feels like it's being stitched together before your very eyes. I agree with Nick about this record having a huge impact on bands like Yo La Tengo, REM, Wilco, the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, etc. etc. I'm not always in the mood for the depths and tension in this album, but it's a masterpiece by my account. Fav tracks: Kanga Roo, Thank You Friends, Blue Moon, You Can't Have Me, For You, Big Black Car
I have to say, I'm surprised seeing how few 5 star ratings there are for this album, but I guess Big Star doesn't resonate with everyone. I've been obsessed with Big Star since discovering them in 1992 when Rykodisk put out the Live album and the Jim Dickinson version of this one. I'm not sure what it is that made them so magical - some combination of the music and the story I suppose. Of the material that they released, which was unfortunately not a lot, this is my favorite. The songs are incredibly beautiful, strange, dark, and fragile. They feel as if they could fall apart at any moment, and in some cases they do. A reflection of Alex Chilton's mental state at the time I guess. "Get me out of here, I hate it here," from Nightime breaks my heart every time. Since I already know this album inside and out, I took the opportunity today to listen to Complete Third, the 2016 Omnivore release that includes all the demo versions, rough takes, and ultimately the masters. It's 3 hours long, so it's a lot, but it's a treat to hear how beautiful these songs already were at the demo stage with just acoustic guitar (or piano in a couple of cases) and Alex's lilting falsetto, and then how they were fleshed gradually with strings and other instruments. It's also a treat hearing some of the cover versions he chose to play around with, in particular the Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale and the Beach Boys Don't Worry Baby, which can only be found on the Complete release. His voice was a beautiful fit for those songs. It's a shame that Alex turned his back on the type of music he was making at this point in his life. I've never been a big fan of his solo work, but he was who he was, and that's partly what makes him great. A musical genius for sure, and this album is the best evidence of that. 5 stars.
An album I've never listened to before now. And I've heard a lot of these songs before because they've been covered by bands I like (This Mortal Coil, Placebo, Jeff Buckley) or are covers themselves like Femme Fatale. A very interesting ramschackle of an album that seems to have had more success among musicians than it did commercially. And now listening to the entire album a 4th time it dawns on me why it is. My first listen was a decidedly 'meh'-experience. But it sure is growing, into an album I would listen to again and again, especially songs like Holocaust and Kanga Roo. It's dark, it's emotional it's terribly played. Absolutely amazing album. 4,5*
Often heard about them when reading REM interviews in the music press way back when, but pre-streaming/internet I would never hear them. So I guess now I'm going to hear them. The full album is on A***on Music, which trump's Spotify's pitiful offering of missing tracks. And, well, it's beautiful. Of course I was going to like this as a lifelong fan of REM, particularly their early stuff, of which this is most reminiscent, or vice versa. You can absolutely hear the Replacements too, and stuff like the Green Pajamas. Yes the production is loose as fuck, but for me thats all part of the charm. There's great tunes here, that vary between up tempo freak outs (You can't Have Me) and quietly devastating (Holocaust). Kanga Roo feels like a precursor to shoegaze in places and is absolutely wonderful. Anyway I'm a sucker for the mythology around 'lost' records like this, and 'Smile', with tracks scattered around all over the place, where noone can agree on the running order. Then someone finally does, decades later. Love it.
This is a great album but it required a couple of replays from me to fully appreciate it. Definitely not something to just put in the background. The listing is a mess and varies in each issue, which results in sudden change of moods and styles. I was listening to Spotify version with a few bonus tracks. I can definitely see how this band and the album (which I have never listened to prior) was so influential to (mainly) American alternative bands. There's a wide spectrum of genres that can be spotted on the album, from powerpop (O, Dana), baroque pop (For You), glam rock (You Can't Have Me) and more folky tunes (Big Black Car). My favorites are the ballads which go from extremely sad and depressing (Holocaust, Big Black Car) to sweet love songs (Blue Moon, For You). I also enjoyed a lot the bonus track - Till The End of The Day which sounds like the Beatles meets powerpop. I also love the fragile voice of the singer, at times on the verge of completely breaking down. The only thing I did not care for was the Holocaust analogy, I think its a bit over the top and unneccessary, sounded a bit juvenile. Overall, the album is not only relevant thanks to its later influences, but also is a great piece of music on its own.
Another album that defies classification. It contains elements of punk, new wave, symphonic pop, and experimental music. Lyrically, the album is dark and brooding which pairs well with the power pop underpinnings. Nothing about this album is straightforward. It is challenging but incredibly rewarding.
As much as I love Big Star, I don't listen to this album enough. I enjoy so much about it. In some ways, I really like that this album sees the band getting a little weirder, but that creates some inconsistency and uneven moments...minor complaints for an album I still love.
Extremely good. A solid album, and that cover of "Femme Fatale" is to die for!
This is fantastic. I've listened to Matthew Sweet and the dB's, which likely are closely related descendants. Til the End of the Day is wonderful blistering and the rest of the album is both strong lyrically and musically. Really enjoy the somewhat haphazard energy and delivery.
Most of this was enjoyable, I like the shoegazey before shoegazey was a thing-ness of Kangaroo but the happy-clappy Jesus song and the absolutely abysmal Velvet Underground cover? Not for me Clive.
Can really see how it influenced bands like the Replacements. Or specifically the Replacements. A little more moody esoteric than my preference but still good to listen to and culturally relevant.
I love to hear the origins of my favourite genres, and this is such a good example of early alt rock and power pop. Loved it, will likely listen again.
In my mind, Big Star are a new wave band from the mid-1980s so it consistently blows my mind that their peak creative period was actually the '70s. This album, be it Sister Lovers or Third, doesn't sound like a product of the late 70s. It has a much crisper sound, no doubt signalling how ahead of its time this band was. And behold the pop stylings!
4/5. The tracks that hit, hit dumb hard, but the ones that dont, kinda weak
I loved this. Its like OG emo. My favorite was "You Can't Have Me". The drums on that track were awesome.
Interesting missing piece in pop music history. Recorded in 1972 yet has a post-punk ethos. Direct influence on This Mortal Coil and Magazine. More poppy stuff seemed to have influenced early 80s new wave like China Crisis and Haircut 100. I Was shocked to find out that Holocaust and Kangaroo were not This Mortal Coil originals. The album itself is groundbreaking but uneven. (3.8)
Ragged and wan, as if everyone knew the end was nigh. Everything feels tossed off, but in a likable way. The iron-deficient “Femme Fatale” succeeds in seeming to approach a vanishing point. “Jesus Christ” is a bit more stable but with undercurrents of apathy and listlessness. The rockers are less effective, generally, not unlike Wilco (another of their esteemed progeny) in that sense. Did Big Star deserve better? It can be said, but they are perhaps flattered by their adherents.
When I first heard the third Big Star album, I wasn't impressed. The first two albums were brilliant, both definitely essential listening, but the Third didn't have the quality or consistency of the first two. The amount of covers surprised me, and the status and direction of the band was in dire straits. Years have passed and with repeated listenings, the album has grown on me and I've had a deeper appreciation for the record. Alex Chilton is a genius, but he hasn't produced anything nearly as good as the first three of Big Star album ( though he's had his moments). A cult favorite or a misunderstood classic?
This album was all over the place in a good way, really inventive for the time, shame they didn't have more success.
I’d never heard of or listened to these before. Sounded so much before it’s time, plenty of nice surprises in this too including a decent cover of Femme Fatale. It’s only with the hindsight of listening to it you can hear how many bands they influenced (heard a few glimpses of Teenage Fanclub and Wilco throughout). Their sound is even more impressive given the landscape of music at the time.
Well well what an interesting surprise - kind of Proto-indie what nice moody atmospheric songs in among a sprawling record. It’s a really good album despite it feels a little unfinished - which in itself makes it interesting as well. Some great tracks here.
A lot of connective tissue here linking to 80's and 90's stuff. You have to assume Wilco was taking notes here (especially Holocaust), plus a bunch of other folks. Big Black Car is my favorite song.
Big Star is the most Britishish American band I've heard in a long while. Coming right out of Radio City, I was left wanting a bit of energy: The disjointed sequencing certainly doesn't help Third cohere. But the stripping down is highly compelling.
This is why I signed up for 1001 albums. I had hoped to discover new music to enjoy. Big Star confused me at first. I couldn't figure out why I had never heard of them since this came out during a time when I was all about album rock and assorted other related vices. There were one or two misses, but on the whole, they were great songs that were well played. I ended up pulling up their other two albums to listen to. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.
Je compte arrêter de distribuer les quatre sur cinq à tout va après cet album, vous êtes prévenus.
One of most refined cult bands in history. Only three records, each of them a masterpiece in its own terms. This one's the last, the most mature, melancholic, musical, complex of them three. Sometimes it is so beautiful it hurts
Big Black Car. I love the dreamy vibe. That's a great drum solo on Nighttime. Really competent. Fairly eclectic, particularly for the time. I enjoyed it.
Really nice pop-rock with an alt-country twist that goes down easy. Some heavy stuff here (in subject matter) but all really easy to listen to. I've been meaning to dig deeper into Big Star so I'm glad this popped up.
Different from what I expected, and im not 100% sure how I feel about it yet. Ill probably end up coming back to it. Surprisingly sad
Eight different versions of this album have been released. Eight! The book tells me that the 1992 edition is the definitive track listing, and I couldn't find that one in Spotify, so I had to create a list with all of the tracks in the correct order in order to listen. I'm not sure it was worth the trouble. The lyrics read like they were scrawled on a wrinkled piece of paper during lunch right before they were due in 7th period, and the instrumentation doesn't really elevate them enough for me. Chilton's voice is poppy and pleasant, and I suspect this is why this album has developed a following. Best track: O, Dana.
Eerst wat opvalt is de mastering, alles clean en niks overheerst. Muzikaal ook interessante compositie met diverse instrumenten, die ook nog eens lekker in stereo zijn gemixt. Niet helemaal mijn muziek smaak, maar kan het wel waarderen.
Interesting background but the music didn’t stand out to me, Especially for late 70’s
Not bad, I knew the song "Holocaust" which is probably my favorite but... calling someone a Holocaust is maybe a bit much in respect to the actual Holocaust. 3.5 down to 3. I kinda like the singers voice but it doesn't go beyond that for me much.
This mag be unfair but these songs sound like they are trying to be deep and profound but it sounds insincere or inauthentic to me. Was surprised to find out they are American, they sounded super British to me. Given the timeframe they were ahead of their time in terms of the Britpop and Altrock stuff that became super prevalent in the 90's. Reading that this album was shelved due to its lack of commercial appeal and released years later makes me a little more sympathetic knowing they were underdogs.
Not really my thing, but you can hear the influence they had on a lot of later bands
Nazwa plyty badz bandy nie przynosi mi nic na mysl, slychac rokowanie, ktore stara sie byc przystepne dla sluchacza, wiec taki rokowy pop, discog okresla albumik jako power pop, pop z moca gitarek rokowych, brzmi calkiem solidnie, pierwsze zaskoczenie to czwarty track, zatytulowany jesus christ, brzmi jak przykladowa piosenka chrzescijanskiego roka, ale skad ona sie wziela na tym albumie w takim miejscu, nie jestem w stanie tego zrozumiec, sprawdzilem czy album nie byl wypuszczony na swieta, nie bo w marcu, rozwiazalo to kolejna zagadke czemu brzmi tak wczesno rokowo, choc to 78 wydanie, ale nagrywane od 74, tylko z wypuszczeniem plyty byly jakies klopoty, nastepny kawalek kolejna niespodzianka, femme fatale, czyli cover klasycznego velvet undergroundowego kawalka, calkiem przypadl mi do gustu ten trak z meskim wokalem, bo jednak niko nigdy nie byla najlepszym elementem welwetow, z kolejnych numerow rowniez czuc inspiracje velvetami, traki na plejliste to wspomniany cover i thank you friends
Is this the second big star record on here? I'm not sure I understand that. This album is ok, but certainly not worthy of ALSO hearing in 1001 alongside #1 Record. But it was good pop rock. The Femme Fatale cover was nice, nighttime was touching, some other charming moments. could see this being a favorite had I grown up with it. maybe 10 years down the road I will, idk
I think I should have heard of them? I haven't and maybe their influences are all known to me from others. But this album didn't move me.
ok better be good cause its the longest album i got so far lol. reissue is not on spotify but og album has all songs minus the bonus track so i could look that one up on youtube if i care enough. its whatever so far. dont hate it yet. its nice enough bg music at least, there's enough variety in sound and song themes that im not bored yet. im surprised im okay with it still 8 tracks in. no standout songs though, maybe stroke it noel. nature boy, till the end of the day, dream lover was a nice 3 song streak. looked up the bonus track on spotify it was on a different comp album or something. its the most different song to the others i actually prefer the album without it. i kinda liked the album overall? not sure id go back to it but i did save the tracks i mentioned.
Started a little odd, wasn't vibing with it too much. Suddenly I'm 10 songs in and tapping my foot along, not bad.
I love these weird albums. The vocals and echoing instruments draw me reminscent of psychedelia. My favorite track is "Kanga Roo" but there are several highlights like the "Femme Fatale" cover, "Stroke it Noel", and "For You" . My problem is that the album just isn't weird ENOUGH. As in, the ideas feel raw. With a good production team, you could make an album that sounds just as amazing as Pet Sounds. But without it, there's too much pressure on the vocals, which I find to be a bit monotonous.
Fun if somewhat slight power pop. Really elevated by the lyrics though.
I didn't like all of the songs, but the songs I did like were very enjoyable to listen to. I can't say I'd really ever revisit this album again properly, maybe just a couple of songs. 3/5 stars.
3.8 - Given all the acclaim surrounding this album I was expecting so much more. I enjoy some of the slapdash swagger that's underpinned with sumptuous orchestral arrangements. At times it sounds like the band is about to implode and can only move forward with the support of backing studio players. It's like they hired a string ensemble at great expense and the players arrived to the studio on time with their instruments tuned and their parts well-rehearsed, but the the band itself was visibly absent. Several hours later the band finally shuffles in, still clearly loaded from an all night bender, smelling ripe and needing a shave. They announce that they're ready to start recording and proceed to noodle through the first verse before nodding off into the chorus. Their cover of "Femme Fatale" is particularly confusing - it sounds like a mike check? "Holocaust" is like something from a high school talent show written and sung by that one girl who cuts herself. To its credit, there's a roiling, unsettled atmosphere the likes of which I've heard on no other record. I certainly cannot write it off but having listened to it twice today just to torture myself to write these words on what I think I just heard, I don't foresee returning soon.
Some of this album sounded a lot like classic '70s rock - the Byrds, Bread. But other parts sounded like less instrumentally complex DeVotchKa or REM. While listening certain parts of songs reminded me both of bands that probably influenced Big Star and bands probably influenced by Big Star. I can understand why this was included despite not having heard of the band.
Reading up on this album made it a more compelling story, but I still didn't care much for the sound outside of the more experimental tracks. 6/10
Didn’t particularly care for anything about this but it wasn’t offensive 5/10
It's interesting. Like, is it good? I don't know. It seems like a critique of music of the time maybe? As it goes on, it becomes folkier and more melancholy. The sleeper hit of the album is the much less whiny Nature Boy with its melodic piano and haunting vocals. Good - Til the End of the Night, Blue Moon, Nature Boy Art - I like it, but it's also weird that there's the two images in different resolutions.
Reminds me of Dylan, T-Rex and Bowie. At times is its own thing too. Can be heartfelt at times. Like Blue Moon, etc.