Third/Sister Lovers

Nothing memorable

2.7 2x

Wow, hated that.

Kind of got bored… wasn’t horrible, but not feeling it.

I found this relentlessly boring. 2/10 Marginal

To this day, I'm just amazed that this was my first experience with Big Star back when I was a teenager and that I was bold enough to check out their other, more accessible albums. This is truly one of the ultimate self-sabotage albums of classic rock. Alex Chilton was a songwriting and guitar-playing genius, albeit unfairly treated and misunderstood amongst his peers at the time. His downfall into depression and anger is nothing short of a Greek tragedy at times. Angered by the commercial failure of the first two albums from his band, Chilton teamed up with a producer called Jim Dickinson who had an appetite for partying and doing drugs. So much of the weird feedback and odd overdubs and manipulation was his idea, with Chilton tagging along. There was also his turbulent relationship with local muse Lesa Aldridge, which made a big impact on these sessions (she sings on "Femme Fatale" as a snub). All of this allows for a beautiful mess of an album—and seeing as it made such an impact on me, I can't really describe it other than haunting, disturbing, beautiful, cynical, sincere, tragic, heartbreaking, and at times, hopeful. It taught me that music could be whatever you wanted it to be; that nothing was sacred. Chilton is truly falling apart here on this album and trying to understand what to make of his future. The labels had already screwed up the distribution of the first two albums, so what else did he have to lose? Strangely, this list doesn't include Radio City—only their first, polished commercial debut and this beautiful mess of an album. So, most people are going to be very confused without that perfect album where everything came together in the middle. I love this album, flaws and all, and have heard many versions, but the Rhino release is the best one. Give it a chance and it may seduce you as well. One of my favorite oddities ever released in the '70s on a commercial label.

I don't like his voice. It sounds slippery, if that makes sense. But the music as a whole is actually pretty good. I didn't really like how the album started, but it definitely got more interesting as it went. I still don't think the album itself is good. A couple songs in the middle are pretty solid, and a good listen. The rest of it, not so much. Favorite Song(s): Femme Fatale, Holocaust

It occasionally vibed, but never actually moved me. I'm dithering between a 2 or 3 for the rating.

I never really heard them before, but had heard Big Star was a big influence on REM, and heard Elliott Smith's cover of 13. But hearing a whole album I can hear those influences on them. It was ok to me, but didn't hit as much as I thought.

I've somehow always ignored Big Star, despite it always being listed in those kinds of lists that bands get listed in like that. I did have an Alex Chilton record on cassette at one point, though. But anyway, here goes. So this is all right. It's power pop, I guess, which was never my favorite genre. This record definitely has its good points; some of the tracks are blurry and interesting. But the cover of "Femme Fatale" made me long for the VU to be playing it instead, and some of the other tracks were so sleepy that I had to skip to the next one after the first 30 seconds or so. I guess I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate whatever it is about Big Star that the record reviewer lists think is important about this record, so I will continue ignoring them. 3 stars

Really, really good alt-rock. Very sweet cover of Nature Boy.

il manque un bon tier des musiques sur spotify ça améliore pas la note

6/10

2/10 Probably my least favorite album so far.

That Jesus song threw me for a loop.

Meh. Finished and instantly forgot all about it, instantly forgettable.

I already didn't really like big star's first album and this wasn't much of an improvement for me unfortunately

First time hearing this album and this band! It was good. Felt a little like musical theater at times. Probably won’t listen again.

From the wiki: "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's 2012 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"." My own mental state declined after listening to this album. It made me want to overdose on heroin behind a dumpster. I guess I’m not in this “cult.”

I get why this is squarely between two and three stars. These guys are not devoid of talent, they just never really put it together. Take a song like Nighttime, which has a lot of interesting and gorgeous sounds to it. Should make it a great song, right? But it just falls short as it is never complete, nor is it better than the sum of its parts. Pieces fit together poorly, and it leads to a track that is something which should be better. Also, lyrics like "get me out of here, get me out of here, I hate it here, get me out of here" are uninspired and underwhelming. 2 stars, as they have some talent. They just never hit upon a single great song and that leads to a poor album.

Lots of these albums sound similar. I’m starting to question who chose these and what their qualifications are.

Is this the Erasure of this generation? I didn't hate it. I loved the energy. I'm OK not to hear it again

"Holocaust" has been in steady rotation for me, but I never spent time exploring other stuff by Big Star. Not much else stood out listening through this album. Pretty standard piano heavy rock. Some of the tracks on Side B feel very Side B.

Many of these feel less like songs and more like song fragments, well-produced vertical slices of music that are maybe a verse and a chorus and some other bits, but that meander around for a while and ultimately don't go anywhere. It's apparently a famous unfinished album, and I can feel that. There was certainly some potential there, but as it is I'm not sure what makes this album so important.

This was alright. But nowhere near as good as the last one we got from these guys. 3

For some reason, I thought I had to be into Big Star when I was a blossoming wannabe teenage hipster (still a work in progress). And that reason was because of the song Alex Chilton by The Replacements. And because they would get mentioned on 120 Minutes and stuff. Listening to this very long album, I had the recurring thought that I must have owned this at one point in a used-cassette purchase or checked it out from the library because a lot of it sounded familiar. But there is a reason I didn't really recall listening to it and that reason is that much of it is boring, even if interesting songwriting and influential on all the 80s and 90s alternative popsters to come. Turns out I can travel far without a little Big Star.

I think this was a pretty good album. Holocaust was my favorite.

Sorry I just found this annoying 2/5

This album is a mess, sonically incoherent, with tracks that don't really fit together, and to hear it completly you have to dig. That being said, I did find great songs in there, and like that it is exploring different things, and doesn't sound too much like things I know. With a proper focus is and a better mixing, this had the legs to be great great, but that state it just doesn't feel finished.

70s foolk rock, not even on streaming. Cult album. Pleasant, good vibes.

I don't get it.

Two hours after listening, I couldn’t remember a single song. Literally forgettable.

Nicht mein Geschmack. Aber interessant und abwechslungsreich.

3/5, tylko nie rozumiem dlaczego część utworów na spotify nie jest dostępnych.

pretty forgettable, first song had me thinking i'd really enjoy this one

I've never heard Big Star before but I can tell this album is the sound of the band disintegrating. You don't put out an album this messy & pained during the peak of disco, then keep going like nothing happened. You can't. How are you gonna follow it up, do it again? That's it. I didn't like this at first but the deeper I went into it, the more it grew on me. One day I think this might be a 5/5 from me. But I think I need to spend more time with it before that happens.

Doesn’t sound 70s at all Decent but not something I would go back to

Extremely painful to listen to. This album had one good song, "Thank you friends". The second track. After this, the vocalist continued to grate on me throughout the album. It got progressively worse. Without that second track, this would be one star. 1001 albums has this thing of recommending several albums from a single artist, when that artist really only has one or two exceptional albums. I understand Big Star have made genuinely exceptional music, but this album doesn't demonstrate this at all.

this was bad even before they started in with that Christian bullshit

I appreciate the undertaking the author took when creating this list. And I understand there would have been moments in time when they were over it and just wanted the project done with. I'll assume that's when this album was added to the list.

2 - not bad but forgettable

Surprising album. Sounds like it’s from the early 90’s not the mid 70’s. Notables include Thank You Friends, Big Black Car, Kanga Roo, Stroke It Noel, Nightime, Dream Lover.

Saved 2 songs but overal, not for me

An interesting album from a band I’ve never heard of. I thought it was a good ranged album with lots of different types of songs that flow together easily.

I liked this more than I expected from the album cover/year/first track. Nice little songs and slightly weirder drumless tracks which were right up my street. Lyricism is good. Pleasantly surprised

Irrelevant.

pre-listen: Really intrigued. I remember Big Star being the band that all my favorite bands hyped up, so I'm hyped but then looking at the average ratings is making me a little worried. post-listen: Not bad, I think its better than the reviews here would imply. Can definitely see how it would be influential for the indie bands that followed.

there was a time i was getting fed a bunch of big star on spotify - this was a good reminder to go back to it

Eh. Maybe it just missed me today.

Big Star's last gasp, the sound of a band breaking up. Big Star was way ahead of their time, not my favorite of their records but still a classic

2.5

Listened this morning and forgotten already

Dissonant. 2/5

yet another average 3 star album for me, ive been on a streak lately

this album is super cute

Väldigt blandat, men gillar överlag låtarna som är mer upptempo.

Rätt så sömnigt.

Jodå, trevligt!

Lyssnat på den säkert tre gånger nu men det sätter sig inte riktigt. En av många många 3or.

tenho uma lembrança meio forte de escutar esse completamente sob efeito do produto ™ em algum momento há uns 8-9 anos atrás é um negócio bem delicado, bem doloroso né musicalmente me pega demais

album não terminado de banda frustrada por não ser famosa, além dos membros deprimidos?? bão demais. power popzão boladíssimo da melhor forma, gostosinho no azeite!!

OK, didn't feel particularly memorable.

This was fine

Cant find this version of the album on iTunes so i’m listening to the 1978 release ‘Third’. Opening track is a cracking choon. Rocking dirty bass. Second track feels like its dates to the seventies (as it is) but other tracks could just be a jangle band playing anywhere, anytime. It bounces back and forth between those i feel. Dont mind the drummer here for a bit of tone and texture, until i hit Kanga Roo. Then i listen to dream lover and i like him again. Bit of a mixed bag but no bad tracks.

As the descriptions would attest, this is a flawed masterpiece from one of the most underrated bands of all time. There are moments of pop rock radio bliss tainted by Chilton's wobbly mental state, and utterly sublime songs like "Big Black Car" and "Kanga Roo" that defy any rock description. In the midst of a band clearly in decline, there's the roots of all indie rock to come. It's a struggle for sure, and it's got plenty of issues but when it's good it's absolutely sublime.

бтс альбома намного драматичней чем сам альбом. приятный мамблпоп, без доп инфо не отличила бы от современных инди)

3.5. Some interesting songs and a cool album in the genre that is this era.

This album feels fragile, messy, and extremely human in a way that’s both compelling and draining. It’s the kind of album that leaves you emotionally exhausted, not because of big dramatic moments, but because of how quietly it sits in its sadness. The raw production works in its favor most of the time, giving the melancholy this lived-in, bruised feeling, even if the strained vocals can be a bit much and some songs blur together tonally. Nothing immediately jumped out at me on first listen, but the overall mood is what lingers. By the end, I felt calm yet weirdly comforted, like the album had emptied itself out and left me in the quiet. It’s a pretty mess, one I respect more than I’m eager to return to.

I'm generally a fan of the band, but hadn't really listened to this record much, and I can see why. It didn't do much for me, and did not strike me as anything special or clever.

yo this is really great but why are half the songs unavailable

really fascinating band. A great intro for a rabbit hole of Big Star research

Not anything I'd heard of before. The linked version was missing quite a few songs, but I found a different version, just entitled Third. It seems to be the "favoured 1992 issue", according to Wiki. Sadly, I couldn't really get into it; it really wasn't bad, but I just wasn't inspired. I can sort of hear how the type of songs went on to influence bands like REM, but was underwhelmed by the music, personally. Maybe if I knew what had come from Big Star before, I'd have had more of a reaction, as I can see some people are acknowledging the band "falling apart" at this point.

It's garbage. Tediously slow moving and tedious to listen to. I didn't like this and really don't want to do it again. I don't know why this is on the list. It's not experimental, it's not groundbreaking, it just exists.

5/10 Some half decent songs, but some garbage too. Largely forgettable to my ear

Bro never have I rated this many albums so low in a row. Did not enjoy this at all. I might be the problem.

A life changing album for me. Definitely mislead me as to what the Big Star sound is. Perfect in every sad, decaying way possible.

The story behind the record is better than the record itself. Big Star had essentially broken up, Alex and Jody put this together with producer Jim Dickinson and record labels deemed it "not commercial enough" to release. It got shelved and later issued, reissued and issued again. The original intended track order or even name of the group on the record was never completely aligned to the vision the band had. At the end of it though, the record pretty much bored the hell out of me. It’s full-on art-rock navel gazing. There’s very few traces of the band or songwriter who put together the previous two records. I can definitely see why it was deemed not commercial enough to even release. Only in the minds of the critics is this a “great” anything. It’s boring and rambling and… not very good at all.

You can hear the Velvet Underground influence, and it's not a surprise after covering 'Femme'. Better than I thought it would be!

Er þessi plata til? Þurfti að hlusta á playlista á Spotify til fá "heildarpakkann", svo kannski er ég að dæma einhverja vitleysu. En þetta var þá fín vitleysa sem batnaði hvorki né versnaði við hlustun tvö, misáhugavert og solid þristur bara.

Never heard of them, but I liked this album and am sorry they never found more commercial success.

Pretty middle of the road power pop folk rock whatever with a really weak singer and songs that often sound unfinished.

My first hearing of this album and this band, it feels like emotional archaeology: delicate, important, and miserable to experience in real time. The songs are beautiful in a “please don’t make me feel this much on a weekday” way. Everything drifts, nothing lands, and the sadness is so tasteful it almost asks for applause. I respect it deeply. I am also bored and stressed. The master is bad, and not in a charming way. Even the Master Omnivore Test Pressing sounds like listening to a chamber orchestra through a half-open car window on the highway. The highs scrape, the mids are oddly hollow, and the lows feel like a rumor. Instruments coexist but do not acknowledge each other, like coworkers who only communicate via passive-aggressive emails. In the end, it’s a shit album with a legendary status that sounds like it’s actively resisting being played. An album you’re supposed to love, preserved in audio conditions that feel legally questionable. 5/10 (song writing is not even half-bad, tho)

This album does not exist! I listened to a version that is not the original. Terrible…there are other great albums by big star to listen to.. not this one!

It was alright. Did I care about music like that before? No. Do I care about music like that now that I've given it a listen? Still no.

Honestly, this is my type of shit right here. I k law it might be redundant and annoying to some but to me, it was a solid listen that could get you through a mediocre day. It’s not gonna blow your socks off but it’s good enough to play the background.

This album on a whole is kind of a mess. Very much presents a melancholic mood throughout and is very different from #1 Record. This feels like a precursor to the post-punk or Joy Division. Favorites were Thank You Friends, Holocaust, and You Can’t Have Me.

It was fine. Nothing jumped out at me as all that good or bad. I don’t understand at all why it’s on this list.

Love the band but not this slbum

Pretty good not great. Had no idea Lover Boy or Femme Fatale was from them

IDK man. Completely unremarkable in every way? 4/10

Favorite Track: Femme Fatale

This album is stark in comparison to their previous work. It's barely a Big Star album. It's an Alex Chilton album that was labelled as Big Star without his permission or input. Chris Bell and Andy Hummel had already left after the two previous (amazing) Big Star albums had bombed. The remaining members of Big Star (Alex Chilton & Jody Stephens) broke up after recording the record, and it was shelved for 4 years afterwards. I'd never heard of the band until the early mid-90s when Alex Chilton's name was dropped in an article about Counting Crows. This intrigued me enough to go to the music store (Music +? Wherehouse?) to look it up. My mind was blown and I've had copies for the last 30 years. It took decades, but this album finally has gotten the appraisal it deserves. While I never was able to see Big Star when Chilton was still alive, I'd seen performances by groups put together by drummer Jody Stephens, who now tour as "The Big Star Quintet." Favorite songs : Holocaust & Blue Moon Whether it's billed as Big Star or Alex Chilton, this album rules. Favorite songs: Blue Moon & Holocaust. (4/4)

I feel like some music critic 50 years ago decided these guys were good and we've just been kind of running with it. Never got the hype.

I was hoping for better. I knew this would be outside of my comfort zone, but I just couldn't stand it. Not sure why. Maybe another listen would help, I'm not sure.

This is a really good album. It's a bit basic, but I don't think it gets boring. There's nothing truly groundbreaking about it, but it's just some good music. The situation behind it's release is interesting. Altogether, yeah pretty good.

Jackpot! I hadn't heard of this album, or this band, and I should have. I want to listen to this some more. It might be one of the great albums.

кайфик, оч разнообразный рок альбом

People covering this band do much better job

Why is this on here

Easy listening for a Sunday morning. Nothing remarkable grabbed my attention as I went about my business.

Its surprising how artists have issues with their own work. If this had been released in 1974, it would have probably been ignored for many years until it was classed as a retrospective classic. Instead Chiltern didn't release it at the time and when it finally appeared years later it was classed as a classic.its a funny old world. I personally think it is an eclectic and solid album.

Enjoyed some of this but it really started to drag. 18 tracks is too many really

This was a weird cult like David Bowie feel.

very bad and boring album but i liked one song but not really liked it

kind of power pop

I have not heard of this band until today. It's great music and seems like it was ahead of it's time in 1978. When I first listened I thought it was a mid late 90's release. Really good music that is easy to listen to and kind of chilled out. The vocals are great and fit in perfectly. Nothing really stood out on the album because I enjoyed all the songs. Maybe that could be a criticism for some but I like the vibe of it.

Back in the 90s, many bands were claiming this was a massive inspiration but it didn’t sound great even then and it has not improved since.

It was good. Nothing really stand out for me. Some misses but some good ones as well.

Ended up enjoying this one!

ok

An interesting collection of songs that’s never really had a track list nailed down and the band doesn’t really claim it as a Big Star record. It really has the feel of a bootleg while not being a bootleg. Overall the music is unlike what can be found on #1 Record, mostly sounding like demos or having very sparse production. Favorite track by far is Holocaust.

Day749 - i’ve never heard this before but i pretty much love anything big star and alex chilton come up with

horny yearner

Nature Boy is a great song, other than that, not a memorable rock album. Just nothing too special.

I found this boring.

Overall Rating - 2.17/5 (4.33/10). Most of this album sounds like anesthetic feels. A couple of good tunes, but more of a miss than a hit.

For the 70's, this sounded way ahead of its time for what would be alternative and indie

Couldn’t help but compare it to the Velvet Underground and it paled

Did not like. Some er and meh.

Really fun easy listen while working.

Nostalgic sound. Classic rock album but not too interesting.

5.5/10

There are some highs here - but the lows are VERY low. The highs come nowhere near their debut which is one of the best rock albums ever released...sigh

Sad and pathetic

They didn't care while making it. I didn't care while listening to it. Fair play all around.

I commend the string section for their professionalism, everything else here is obnoxious bullshit.

"you're a holocaust"

Wow. This was such a wierd album. The first 7 songs were actually ok and some of them good. Then I was hit with track nr. 8 which on my album was Kanga Roo. Holy shit. What the absolute madness happened here? I read that the singer and drummer lost interest on doing the album and you can really hear it here from the drummer. The next song was also bad. Then it went on to being ok and bad from till the end. This album could've been 2 or 3 even if someone would've actually paid antention to what goes on to the album. Shame. Best song... I don't know, if I have to pick I would say Till The End Of The Day or Holocaust.

3 out of 5. This was the first album I got confused about which version of the album to listen to. Not bad, would need more listens to really appreciate it more.

'I want to white out / I want to white out.' Deeply lyrical and messy thru and thru, Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers is the greatest, most touching collapse in rock history this side of Skip Spence's Oar. And to be fair, as much as I adhere to Oar, it's the more listenable affair, somehow, someway, still in a mode we could call 'pop.' 'W/o my friends I'd be / Swept up by the wind.' Alex Chilton doesn't just depend on a little help from his friends: he really fucking needs them. His soulful voice is here both soulful and ghostly, as he maintains a register of a weeping angel, i.e., 'Holocaust' is a haunting masterpiece like no other (except for maybe 'Kanga Roo'). You know when people refer to their all-timers as the 'Truth'? Well, this record is the Truth.

Disappointed as soon as it started

Very sleepy, kind of yawn inducing. Good for lullabies

I don't think this one is for me. 2 stars

Largely forgettable and badly produced in places

Everyone should try Big Star. Only three albums, maybe listen to one a day for a month. Totally worth it. Despite how it came about Third/Sister Lovers is as good as the first two.

I have heard this before, but which version. So many different versions with different track listings. Still an amazing album though, you hear its influence throughout the 80s and 90s. 4 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes: 42/170(24%) Will I get. Yes some sort of version

Most too slow but I did like 3 songs

Awful. Truly awful

Where was I in '78? Still hadn't left the bosom of CanRock and 1970's FM Radio result being, I missed a ton of music! Like Big Star... the album is spectacular at times then disjointed at others, still sounds good 47 years later. My young self would appreciate older me listening to this band more often.

I've heard it said, these guys were a great, unknown band. They should have stayed unknown. This wasn't great. It was kind of putrid. Very disappointing and can't redeem it.

i will never get the big star hype

I’m not sure what to make of this album. I couldn’t quite figure out if I was listening to the right thing as there seemed to be tons of different track listings online – and then loads of songs were also missing. Add to that, there’s multiple covers on here so I couldn’t be sure how much was original. Anyway I’m pretty up on this, particularly as I’d never heard of them before. I like their style. There’s lots of interesting arrangements and weird bits of instrumentation, and a bit of an experimental approach. The first track turns into a bit of a cacophony, with loads of stuff going on, and an explosion of keys – but I dig it. The slower tracks work slightly less well in my opinion but there’s still something about them. And the covers? Generally good covers! 3.5 rounded down.

A hard album to get into and to finish this time around. I didn't recognize any songs. I enjoyed aspects of songs, but this just wasn't the album for me.

Not a bad album by any means, but not a sound I would listen to often. I'm thinking a 6/10.

Very late 70s, not bad, not great

They’ve got two albums on the list. Neither is terrible, but neither will change your life. I liked their other album better. This one sounds like Kinks B-sides. I don’t hate it. I like the Kinks. But this is far from essential.

Interesting album, of its time for sure but would rather listen to their first album. Covers were also meh

2.75 only because of Nature Boy!! What a great song

Absoluut geen rotmuziek maar het is wel erg vergeetbaar. Van mij had het niet in de lijst gehoeven, maar we moeten ook niet doen alsof het verschrikkelijk is om dit een keer te luisteren. Verder helemaal niks over te melden. Ik hou het op 2 sterren.

erm... so, i am a sister lover, in which i mean that i am a real and actual sister lover. like, one of my favourite oasis song is "my sister lover". although my sister is actually my imaginary friend but i see her as my sister. one of my moots really like this album and he thinks that its really good at sounding extremely desolate. i get that feeling from some of their songs but still its not *that* for me. 3.5/5

A glorious mess of an album. Raw and compelling. The back story only elevates it.

Album from the link was missing tracks but there was another that had them all

Who are these guys? And why did they release this record in what seems like 12 different ways over the last 5 decades? Whichever version you have to listen to, it’s still too long. Another glaring example of “why did I have to listen to this before I died?”

This wasn't anything special. I can understand why it wasn't commercially viable.

Very incredibly meh. 2.5/5

Prior to this I had never heard of them. Wish I still hadn't. Yet another 1 start piece of trash from this list.

I could have died without listening to this

Somewhere, someone absolutely adores this album and I am happy for that person. Unfortunately that person is just not me. Some of the sounds on here were cool, but as a whole it felt sort of tedious. Some of the better were You Can't Have Me, Till The End of the Day, and Dream Lover. Otherwise, it all sort of runs together a bit. Certified meh: 2/5

Another album that wasn't the worst, but I was constantly waiting for it to end. Really nothing to be gained by listening to this one.

I liked the first album that we got by this group. But this one was cheeks

Jeez Holocaust might be one of the most depressing songs I've ever heard. Tbh nothing really stood out to me on this. I'm pretty indifferent to it but something just annoyed me about it.

It’s a vibe. Very mellow.

I remember when a college buddy introduced me to Neutral Milk Hotel and I thought Jeff Mangum was atrociously bad, but for some reason I wanted to keep listening. Fast forward a bit and I'd fallen completely in love with them. With the opening track of Third, I thought I’d hate this album due to the lead singer. But as I kept listening, I started to appreciate him and the music more and more. I really enjoyed their indie rock vibes, especially when the strings start appearing. I'll likely listen to this again, and probably check out some more of their stuff. As such it was a surprising near 5, and falls just short to a solid 4/5 for me.

It's ok

My wife really likes this band, but I found a lot of it boring. A bit wishy washy.

Big Yawn from me unfortunately

Nothing memorable on this album. Nothing stood out and nothing was awful.

Je pensais pas que ça serait aussi dur de passer à travers, tellement pénible je l’ai fini à genoux dans le metro en pleine heure de pointe

First off, I had trouble finding this album, so I just listened to Third and followed the Rate Your Music track listing, since it was different to the Spotify version. At the same time this album sounds ahead of its time and dated. On one hand it reminds me of what The Smiths would become, but then it also reminds me of like 60's garage rock, or something like The Kinks. That being said I don't think this album surpasses any of those bands. This isn't a bad album, but I don't think it is great. I think the singer really holds this band back, I just find his voice a little grating. I do really like all of the string parts though. I also appreciate that all their songs are about 2 and a half minutes, nothing overstays its welcome. I wrote this before finishing the album, but man the last couple of songs were a slog to get through despite the short run times. They are just so dreary and depressing, but not like interesting and artistic depressing, but like I am getting depressed because it was super boring. This is really close to a 2. low 3.

Great album with a vary of great songs of varying styles

interesting...good

Not for me. 1/5

This was another super generic 80s record that I know I listened to yesterday but remember nothing about. Like nothing at all. It was fine? I guess?

This is a very interesting sounding rock based album straddling the lines of country and folk with some sparse avant-garde shades. This album is all well played and recorded and the singing is unique. I’ve listened to their #1 Record a few times and remember enjoying it but I can’t seem to remember it. Same with this one. I’m enjoying listening to this but the songs aren’t sticking the first time around. The first time a song stood out I had to check and it turned out to be a Lou Reed song so I’m still looking for one of their own songs to click with me. I’ll have to listen to this more to fully understand it but for now I’m into it and definitely intrigued so I’m looking forward to the next spin.

Not great

148/1089 Went by the version of the album on AOTY.com rather than Spotify so had to search for it through Youtube which is a pain. it’s a completely fine meh album. At times it feels very Beatles-wannabe. The production/recording sound quality is pretty rough even for it’s time, very noticeably in Kanga Roo. This definitely falls a bit more in the “didn’t need to hear” category but not every album or style is gonna hit for me fave: O, Dana 23/100

Pretty slow 70s rock. I think there better stuff to listen to.

I’ve never understood the critical acclaim for Big Star.

A very good record! The raw character ist simply amazing.

Favourite Songs: Kanga Roo

6/10… baroque pop / power pop / *1978

An easy listen

Ok

I didn’t really get this. It wasn’t unpleasant I just didn’t particularly enjoy it.

Nice and sad (4 stars)

I've tried this one in the past when I reviewed another "must listen" list and found it to be average at best. Reading up on the band, it says they are a "quintessential American power pop band" and "remain one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". Ohhhkay. I keep reading that, yet I don't hear bands that came after them sounding like them or referring to them as an influence. I looked them up online and here's what AI spit out: "Bands critically acclaimed but commercially obscure often include cult favorites like Big Star, praised for influential power-pop but never huge sellers, or experimental acts like The Fall and LCD Soundsystem, adored by critics for innovation but not mainstream hits, fitting the "critic's darling, not chart-topper" mold". Weak vocals. Weak sound. Barely moving the needle on listens for an album this old ("Thank You Friends", "Blue Moon" and "Holocaust" are the only songs with over 1M listens). No hits, nothing on the radio, no covers that I'm aware of. This is a reviewer-darling album, one you want to say is cool, so you look smart, but really isn't. I guess The Fall is going to pop up on this list soon. I wasn't interested enough to completely finish a single song on the album. It was boring, meandering, average on every level and had no memorable guitar or vocal moment to salvage it. 2 stars is the best I'm willing to do.

An interesting, but flawed album, that has no definitive version (just look at the number of alternative tracklists on Wikipedia). I enjoyed it, but it felt a bit…..disconnected. I don’t know.

This is a cult classic and legendary. And like any good legend, there are multiple versions… Third/Sister Lovers is not one album but a sprawling legend to explore. My favorite songs are “Jesus Christ” and “For You.” Both appear to be worship songs not sure they worship the same person. “Jesus Christ” appears on one version of 3rd but not another…although “Thank You Friends” is the same basic tune - maybe Jesus was a good friend? “Femme Fatale” is a nice cover of the song by The Velvet Underground and Nico. But you still must prioritize Nico’s icy, teeth-clenched vocals. I like the sound and see why it’s a classic, if a messy and undefined one.

This album feels like something you pull out of a time capsule only to discover that pieces and parts are missing. Your brain kind of fills in the gaps and there is something vague and nostalgic asking you to hang on to it. Seriously, I have never listed to an album that feels complete and unfinished at the same time. And you're never quite sure whether the lead singer is about the emerge or call it quits. Even singing "Jesus Christ is born today, Jesus Christ is born" is worshipful and questionable at the same time. That is the mastery of this album. And this band doesn't run from it or mask it, it just is. In the same way, I should be able to give it a 1 or a 5, but a 3 is not right. So, 4 of 5 will have to do. It will have to do.

I had only heard one song by Big Star before listening to this album. It was a decent album but there wasn't a song that grabbed me.

Ordentliche Beats der 70er ohne Supersongs.

Fun power pop. Kinda like cheap trick?

They have very melancholy sound to them. When I listen to Big Star I always find their music lovely, but somehow I never search them out. I sort of forget about them. I would give them 3.5 stars, but my good friend Peter really liked them and he passed away way too young, so in his honor I will probably round up.

This band has no hits (at all - on any of their 3 albums), and I am very skeptical of bands with "cult followings" and little to no commercial success. This is the project for such things, so I gave it an honest try. And I was terribly disappointed. This is a fine late '70s pop rock album by a fine late '70s pop rock band. And that's very simply all there is to say about it. Influence 3 (for reasons?). Hits 1. Quality 3. Intangibles 3. It's fine, I'll probably just never listen to a Big Star song again in my life 2.

Surprisingly enjoyable listen. Traditional 70's rock - more pop than hard rock. Some slower stuff as well including a cover of Velvet Underground's Femme Fatale.

Nothing astounding here. Just generic late '70's rock.

I tried really hard but none of it stuck.

Kinda eh. I liked their first album, it played to their strengths with the folk instrumentation. This is mostly just semi-boring pop rock. The first 2 songs are good, fun and dynamic. A few other alright moments here and there, but a lot of snoozers too unfortunately. Big Black Car especially puts me to sleep. In general I kinda found it to be uninteresting musically.

Rock, 1978 -> 3

Second Big Star album I've had on the list and this is just as ok as the first.

This is such a great album, and one of my favourites. Rough, fascinating, sad, the end of a great band, and hugely influential.

Crap

Big Star was an extremely talented group, but I always get the sense that they were only half committed to their songs and albums. Nothing you're likely to hate too much on this album, but also not likely to be anything overly memorable if you're listening to it for the first time.

# Album Name: Third/Sister Lovers # Artist: Big Star # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: was alright. nothing to shout home about # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Maybe

Ah Big Star, probably the most screwed over band ever. Their first record was amazing and should have been huge, but for some reason they only made 10k copies and nothing more. This album then is recorded in 1974 and not release for another 4 years, nor properly finished. And the album regardless prevails in quality. This record is impeccable

There are some annoying voices on this list but gah damn. And I liked their album #1 record. Hated this one though

Left this playing on repeat, didn't catch my ear 2

I heard the lead vocalist say something like take it away guitarist and I am taking at least one star off for that.

2.3 Got pleasently surprised by "Thank You Friends", then the album fell off. I can't give this 3+ stars cuz it cosplays as sophisticated music, but fails miserably. Not worthy to listen to a second time imho, but neither trashy enough to go into bottom (gear) tier. Solid is only the boredom I got from this.

I think the version I found had a couple tracks that had originally been left off or something. There was a solid album in there, and then a hand full of songs at the end that felt like they should have been cut. That being said, I'm not sure why I haven't heard of this band really before. I know they were the That 70s Show theme, but I feel like I should know them beyond that.

This is a weird one that needs a relisten. It was the first cold day of winter and I listen while walking my dog. Hard to pay attention when im getting frost bite. But its interesting for sure. There are some real cool dissonant passages. It seems like a kinda hate fueled thing too even though it doesn't immediately sound thay way. Like these guys are mad that they haven't made it yet. And honestly the should have. Their songs are pretty good. I dont know, I should like it but I need to hear it again. Gets by as a positive but maybe gets bumped up to a super positive look later

More interesting than I expected for a band that wasn’t interested in finishing the album themselves.

Very interesting; shoe-gaze musicians could learn from their choice to use real stringed instruments. Some days I would round up, but not today.

Meh.

Forgot i even heard this one day after

For the first album I got on 1001 Albums, this was not a strong start. It did have some great songs, like Kizza Me, Thank You Friends, and Jesus Christ. This album to me had poor mixing overall, and I feel that it started to lose energy near the end. However, the album was still pleasant to listen to.

Yeah I don't really get this one much. The string instrumentals are kinda nice I guess, but the whole thing feels very amateur and unpolished.

Only okay.

this was fine. might listen again.

The great comedian Jimmy Pardo calls Big Star the world's most overrated underrated band. It definitely feels like Required Fandom for indie cognoscenti, though others would be forgiven for wondering what the big small deal is. I saw a live tribute concert to this album at SXSW, and it was fine—just like this album. As the book notes, this is Big Star's "difficult" album, and its quiet restraint isn't grabby like their janglier, earlier work. ("Till the End of the Day" is closest and inexplicably has the fewest streams on this album). This is definitely a slow burn, and it probably rewards repeat listens on headphones. 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed this album of Big Star more than their other entry on this list. I was prepared to be bored, but this album gripped racket and held on until about the last three songs or so. Kind of blows my mind that they landed on this in 1974. It seems to portend a sound that would become popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s. I dig the epic sort of cinematic vibe that was established over the course of the album. I relished the variety of the song subjects, instrumentation, and songwriting experiments. It is a shame that this never came out in the 1970s, but I can see how the public was probably not ready for such a forward thinking album (in terms of production risk). There is so many artistic ideas and techniques that the listening public would have had to acclimate to before they would be equipped to enjoy something like this.

This one's a grower. The songs are solid. Some are weirdly melancholic. Good album with zero bites taken from the commercial apple.

I was going to give this a two out of spite because I think it is so completely not a great album, when I saw how influential it was. So it gets a three, but this is a big nothing burger to me.

At times I can hear the flickers of something I’d actually like, but mostly this is a chaotic mess. Other than You Can’t Have Me and Nighttime, it just spirals into weird-for-weird’s sake.

So that was something. I usually like the rock genre but i had to kinda force myself to finish this one. I haven’t heard of them before but my first impression was that the album was boring. Some songs like femme fatale, were okay.

Big Star is one of those great bands that just had bad luck and missed opportunity. They should have been huge. That being said, this, the third album is not as good as their first two. But it's still better than most of the material that was being released at the time. The songs are tight and well written.

This is one of those albums that is destined to remain within its cult status forever. The final album from Big Star as the group was imploding. There's maybe a sense of relief in knowing that they were calling it quits after this. The album would go unreleased from 1978 to 1985, existing only as hobbled together bootlegs for those years. Even the eventual official releases are all different with no one being able to agree on the right tracklisting. But there is a free and experimental feeling about this album. It kind of calls to the experimental feeling of the late 60s, recorded in the late 70s, and going on to influence the indie scene of the 80s, including REM. As of this writing, half of the tracks are missing from Spotify for unknown reasons, which just reenforces my belief that it can't go beyond being a cult album.

Doesn’t stand out much for me from every day rock , did enjoy the femme fetale cover

Wasn’t really feeling this at first but kind of warmed to it as it went on. If you’re looking for good vocals this is not the album for you lol but I ended up mostly enjoying it.

Stupendous!

A few of the songs were region blocked on Spotify, and I can't say I cared enough to seek them out and hear them after listening to the others. Enjoyable enough but ultimately forgettable.

There are some nice snatches of melody here if you listen hard enough. Cannot get past the vocals though which verge on the painful at times, I was physically cringing. This apparently influenced some good bands though so there’s that. 2.5

Just a bore

Ganz OK!

Another album where my opinion changed wildly upon additional listens. My first impression of Third that this is a portrait of band straining, or unravelling. Upon revisiting, I realized this strain is Alex Chilton pushing Big Star's sound to it's limits. Stylistically, Third is a very ambitious record. While the anthems that defined their previous records is suspiciously missing, that same pop sensibility can be found here, now played with a wild array of instruments. There are earworms galore for the open-minded, just don't expect another #1 Record.

2.5

Despondency on vinyl. I liked the other two Big Star albums so much that I was worried when it came to this one -- their "deterioration as a band" album. It's so damned good. Caught me by the second half of the first track. You can hear Chilton's struggles throughout. Just a really heartbreaking piece of work -- but one that rocks.

Moody and emotional, but actually really fun. I loved the cover of Femme Fatale. This was a really cool experience to listen to. Admittedly, I was doing housework while listening, but it was really engaging. Who would have thought piano music was cool? The jangle guitar was a nice touch. 5 stars.

This album is like a man who has just been dumped by the woman he thought he loved. He lies on the floor in his kitchen, feeling too hopeless to move. The sun is setting, and he knows he should get up and turn the lights on, then cook some dinner. Or at least get up and put some underpants on. Feeling sorry for himself, he lays there longer. The sun has set now, and he is shrouded in darkness.

Meh. Could have stayed unreleased and the world would have moved on. Nothing to excite. Just drags. Not sure what this inspired.

Very rock.

p405. 1978. 4 stars. Fabulous late 70s missing link between The Beatles and Crowded House. Gorgeous songs, sharp lyrics and a sense of melancholy. Point deducted for filler, but definitely on the replay list.

It was okay

2/10 - boring and unforgettable

I like it. Heard of before but did not investigate. Vibe of The Replacements-one of my faves.

Intressant die Musik. Kann Sie nicht einordnen und habe keinen Schimmer was das ist. Intressant, Nun ja, Nicht mein Style

Slow, melancholy rock that is ultimately a bit forgettable. I like the raw emotional vocals but the songs just didn't quite hook me in. Femme Fatale was a standout but maybe that's just because I remember the original Velvet Underground version.

One of my favorite albums of all time.

Didn't grab me as much as their other output. Could be because I'm sitting at work and not paying a huge amount of attention.

4.5

I'm glad I only listened to the previews of this song. A couple catchy ones but overall not a fan!

Everything about it is awful. How it's on here is beyond me?

Surprised I really liked it

This album I find to be incredibly infuriating. I’ll explain, the vast majority of the album does nothing for me. It’s too slow and the songs don’t get my attention in anyway. Honestly if it wasn’t for three specific songs I would’ve hated this album, easily would’ve given it a one star. But then there’s the three songs I really liked which were “Kizza Me”, “O, Dana”, and “Downs”. But the problem with these tracks is they do the opposite of redeem the album, they indict the album. The songs show how they could’ve made something I liked but instead went in an entirely different direction. “Downs” especially is so wildly different from everything else on the album and shows some crazy creativity and talent. It just really highlighted how much I hated everything else on the album.

This had to be found on YouTube but that happens sometimes. This made me think of a precursor to Radiohead. So I kind of like that.

This album has some highs and lows for me. Starts off just ok, gets pretty good in the middle with tracks like Kanga Roo (nice, haunting mellotron) and For You (great strings), and then goes back to just ok for me into the end of the album. History of the album is pretty interesting; it sounds like a bit of a schizophrenic recording session, and that comes through pretty clearly. Overall, I would come back to some tracks on here, but probably not the entire album. 2.75/5

Overall not too taken with this. Not bad, but also didn't make much of an impact. 2.5/5

Big Star is cute this album was fine

Some songs sound like Material Issue. Most sound like Elliot Smith. A good album to hear but not necessarily revisit.

Interesting, with a fun style.

Meh. It's a pretty easy album to listen to, but it's also pretty easily forgettable too. It doesn't really stand out much. 'Big Black Car' really really droned on. It was ridiculously stripped back, slow and depressing. Same with 'Holocaust' which to be fair had a slightly redeeming creepiness to it. It wasn't all bad. 'For You' was decent enough and I thought 'Femme Fatale' was actually a pretty beautiful track (which I've just found out was actually written by Lou Reed, so that is another negative for this band and album). I will say however, comparing the two, I actually slightly preferred the Big Star version. It's beautifully sung. Everything else I would say was pretty generic easy listening soft rock music. Wildly inconsistent, and it wasn't all on Spotify, so I decided if it was good enough, I'd seek our the missing tracks. Spoiler alert: I didn't seek out the missing tracks.

The first time I heard "September Gurls" was the Bangles' cover on Different Light. "In The Street" is the theme song to That 70's Show. "Thirteen" is a classic and I really like the song "Feel." So, I understand the influence of Big Star. However, those songs are all on the first two Big Star albums which were packaged as a double LP and, quite probably, purchased at a discount. However, Third/Sister Lovers contains no songs of note and should not appear in anyone's top 500, 1,001, or 5,000 albums.

some folks seem to hold this album in pretty high regard... for reasons that continue to baffle and elude to me. please believe me when i say that i tried to listen to this in good faith to understand what the appeal is: knowing that big star was influential to R.E.M. made me think this was going to be sonically miles away from where it actually landed. how can you call this "a shambling wreck of an album" and give it 5 stars??? where is the "haphazard brilliance"??? all i hear is the "haphazard" part - are we listening to the same album??? ??? highlights - for you

It's fine, I guess.

Let out a huge sigh as this started, wasn't ready for more white guy rock. Not sure how much that impacted the experience but did enjoy a couple of songs on the back end. Fav tracks: Nightime, Blue Moon Saved a song: Y RYM: N

★★★½

Meh, nothing to write home about. Many songs that i only somewhat remebered. Fav = Downs

Didn’t draw me in, didn’t listen to the whole thing.

Wildly inconsistent. Feels like an odds and sods collection. A couple of good tracks.

Too many dragging tracks on this to really recommend it, but there’s a handful of songs that are worth it.

Uneven, weird, sad, frustrating, beautiful

Fantastic, legends, they didn't become famous because they were talented for real. Also they mentioned Jesus Christ in a song, which is not even available on Spotify, and apparently that's unacceptable for the demons that run the music industry. Big Star what a nice surprise. 4.5/5 Favorite Tracks: Femme Fatale For You Nightime Take Care

6/10

Good

Fav Song: Thank You Friends

- One song that's christmas music? Sorta? - Some sounds pretty good, very calm. - Femme Fatale was wildly unexpected! Had to check who the original artist was. Listening interrupted to relisten to original. - wacky - tabacky - most reviews seem to describe the album as portraying the end of Big Star, and the singer's sanity. gotta agree (based on absolutely nothign but vibes) - will relisten, but not soon.

Beatles, fragile, sad, deterioration. Unfinished, assorted. Raw. Melodic. Frail vocals. Mix of tempos.

Very uninteresting album - couldn't tell you what a single song sounds like. In terms of musicianship I've heard better pub bands.

As a teenager my favourite record store for second hand CD shopping (and new releases, but couldn't afford many of those) was Big Star records in Rundle Street. I didn't pick up on the reference at the time. Big Star is now one of my best pickups from the 1001, can see their influence in so much of the music I love.

I was conflicted initially, Oddly Christmas themed at times, and that Femme Fatale cover was not particularly great, but it won me over by the end.

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

What in the world is this? I could see why there could be a big cult following for this band, but I didn't feel it. Some weird covers, some other tracks that are okay on its own.

Imagine an album of music made by people who are bored and irritated by the whole process and each other. This album from 1974 is exactly that and sounds as you might expect, a shambolic, rambling mess that was wisely shelved at the time. For some reason it attained a semi-mythical status through bootlegged tapes and was eventually released four years later. They really shouldn’t have bothered.

I'm struggling to understand what I've just listened. Is this a scam? Is this brilliant? Is this bloated and arrogant? Is this all of the above? For sure, there are some brilliance in it, there as also some passably boring tracks; sounds like it's either really good or terribly bad, no middle ground. I guess that's the seventies... with a band that digested its influences from the 60s, explored and might have thrown bridges to the independent/alt rock of the 80s. Goo(ba)d stuff.

La vibra del álbum es muy nostálgica, me sentí acostada en la arena como las chicas de la portada

I’m not sure what to think of Kizza Me, at times it sounds good, especially the guitar, at others like musicians banging away on out of tune instruments. Jesus Christ! Is an apt response to Jesus Christ. Lacking of any lyrical progression or anything to actually say. My apple music seemed very reluctant at times to play some of the tracks and to be honest that was a blessing. Not a fan of the vocals or most of the music here but struggling to pinpoint why.

I have absolutely nothing to say about this - it was that boring.

It's probably a bad sign that the two songs I liked best were covers. And yes I can see how Big Star influenced R.E.M., but frankly I'd rather just listen to R.E.M.. It's fine, just nothing really jumped out at me musically other than Down which I didn't like, but is absolutely bonkers. Lyrically, parts are really not good listening to this in 2025 (calling a song about a dying parent Holocaust, is... yeah, just no). 2/5

It was okay

Not for me

Excellent power pop music. I appreciate the more orchestral tracks, as well as some of the harder edged material. The noise tracks don't land as well for me, probably because of the amount of subsequent noise bands I've listened to. I'd be curious to know how they would have impacted my listening experience without having engaged with bands like Sonic Youth, Flipper and the Jesus Lizard. Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed this, and look forward to digging into Big Star's back catalog.

Mid

What do we got here...some 70's rock. Never heard of this band. At least I don't think so. Meh, not the vibe I want right now. But 3 stars.

Sooo lsngweilig

More of a depressing album that I initially thought. Power pop definitely evolved to become more lighter-sounding from here, whilst keeping the themes of despair & yearning. The fragile words from the late lead man Alex Chilton are melancholic and impactful, but the album as a whole lends itself to being somewhat bland is it kind of stays in one gear throughout.

Solidly mid for me, started off a bit discordant but the back end was for more interesting to me. Odd as I usually like this sound.

Big Star was a much better band when it had Chris Bell in it but some of this is kind of interesting too I guess

I enjoy some of Big Stars stuff…. This wasn’t it

Ratings: 5: I will happily play this album anytime 4: I may occasionally play this album of my own free will 3: I will happily listen to this if someone plays it in the background 2: I will tolerate this if it is playing in the background 1: I will leave the room if someone plays this in the background As someone who will be giving #1 Record / Radio City 5 stars when we get there....I find this album to be too sprawling / unfinished / weak. It does have some decent moments, and Holocaust is absolutely haunting, but this one gets a 3.

Long run time combined with really monotone material makes for a rough listen.