Third/Sister Lovers

sounds modern and i liked the vocals but somehow it didn't stick

The dismantling of dreams is a rough path to undertake. Even more so if you just so happen to be in a band that was once hyped up as an American Beatles. Big Star is the textbook example of "what if" in rock. #1 Record was one of the great albums of the early 70s, as was Radio City. Third/Sister Lovers is equally great even if it doesn't scale the heights of those records. Which was probably the point, the remainder of the band (Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens) were in the dumps and didn't care if there were two sides to wax poetic about it. The sprawling structure of Third/Sister Lovers can be a bit daunting and the occasional stabs at sounds that came prior can be seen as defeating and pining but it doesn't take away from its shambolic brilliance. If only they were planted in a later time...

Slightly shook when “Nature Boy” as heard in Moulin Rogue came on. Overall, solid album.

Didn’t love this as much as I’d expected given how much I love #1 album. But maybe I am just taking Chilton’s songwriting for granted.

That was not a good album for me... Seen everything this band did from others, only better.

Did not dislike. Did not really leave an impression on me. Listening was scattered. Some aspects I liked, some i didn't

Would probably not listen to again, but decent music.

Includes a couple of covers no-one asked for. Meh

heard this already maybe a month ago. i would go song by song to rate this but tbh nearly every song ranged between a 2/5 or a 3/5 it's not bad, but it's not great either. i think 3 stars is a generous enough rating

Seemed fine, I didn't really pay close attention to it and it didn't feel that interesting.

Album is fine. Some songs at the beginning felt like worse versions of John Denver to me. I really liked the strings on the songs they were on, whether they were violins or chellos, I felt they added a lot to some kinda mid songs. Downs was at least a little interesting. Overall not super impressed, Spotify started auto playing after and I liked all those songs better than the ones on this album.

Bruh wut the boof was this?! I skimmed through it. Didn’t like. Didn’t care. Not interesting. Not for me.

It was really interesting but I didn't love it. Seems like they were pretty close to making something really cool but not quite there. Kind of caught in a middle ground between 60s pop and the velvet underground. I like a lot of the sounds but the songs kinda just meander.

There's some incredible proto dream pop here, but also a bunch of meandering and weird covers.

Decent

This album feels pretty different from their first two. It doesn’t have that familiar jangle sound. Instead, it takes a more experimental path. It might not sound overtly experimental at first, but the unpolished production, fragmented arrangements, and emotional instability push it in that direction. The blend of baroque elements with disjointed soundscapes creates a mood that’s vulnerable and unpredictable, giving it a subtle edge beyond typical pop rock polish. I don’t think the baroque touches were intentional; they just naturally came through as part of the album’s experimental vibe.

Weirdly sexual, boring, uninspired

I have taken everything into account, including this albums background/inspiration, as well as how well I’ve been actively listening & engaging with albums this year — and I just want to say: They named the band after the rating this album gets.

This album feels pretty different from their first two. It doesn’t have that familiar jangle sound. Instead, it takes a more experimental path. It might not sound overtly experimental at first, but the unpolished production, fragmented arrangements, and emotional instability push it in that direction. The blend of baroque elements with disjointed soundscapes creates a mood that’s vulnerable and unpredictable, giving it a subtle edge beyond typical pop rock polish. I don’t think the baroque touches were intentional; they just naturally came through as part of the album’s experimental vibe.

Another great album. The surprising explorative efforts shine. A class of their own. Just delightful. Laid back to the point of sleepiness, but the eeriness keeps your attention. Chilton perfect for the vibe (sadly). Til the End of the Day is the only regular-style pop, serves as a reminder how downbeat everything else is.

If you didn’t know the difficulties behind this it would seem like a sweet album. Femme Fatale was a competent cover but unnecessary. Hands up if you missed Nico on vocals. I quite liked the insecure, wobbly vocals but it didn’t quite hit.

Third time's the ... meh. I loved Big Star's debut (gave it 5 stars!). On Scott's recommendation, I listened to their second album and didn't like it as much. It was good, but didn't hit me like the first. This one? For diehard fans only. It plays more like a demo. Or sketches. But a complete "you NEED to listen to this!" record? C'mon, man. I know a 2 star is a little cruel, but there was nothing I loved on this record.

Wow, this one blew me away today. I've been a Big Star fan for decades, but this album never did it for me. It was too depressing and the mix was awful. Today, I started listening to the standard release and was bemoaning how awful it sounded. But then I did a little digging and discovered the Complete Third version (which came out in 2016) and hot damn what a difference that made. Finally, a release that gave life to these bizarre, self-destructive, often-beautiful, and sometimes-unfinished songs. I recommend starting on track 50 and letting it rip. The sequencing isn't the best, but that's a small price to pay. (Actually, my only issue is placing Downs so early on.) What Smile is to the Beach Boys, Third is to Big Star. It's not the best place to start your Big Star journey as it sounds nothing like the power pop band that put out Number One Record and Radio City. But if you want to hear some incredible songs that influenced a generation of musicians, this is a must-listen.

There’s always a debate on popular singers who don’t have beautiful voices but do have good music. (Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, etc). For the most part I like those artists. But Big Star has their lead song out of tune and it drives me nuts. 2.5/5

Holocaust Kanga Roo

01) Kizza Me - 7,0 02) Thank You Friends - 6,5 03) Big Black Car - 7,0 04) Femme Fatale - 7,0 05) Holocaust - 7,0 06) Stroke It Noel - 7,0 07) For You - 6,5 08) Nightime - 6,0 09) Blue Moon - 6,0 10) Take Care - 6,5 11) Nature Boy - 7,0 12) Till The End Of The Day - 6,5 13) Dream Lover - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,65 (67/100) Current ranking: 344/493

Overall: 3/10 I got Big Star's first album a while back and gave it a 7/10 (4 stars) but it's since became the album I've soured on the most. I decided to go with it since that was my original impression. With that being said, I don't really like this one much. I find the vocals infuriating and the music ranges from bland to insufferable. A couple of tracks were okay but there's so much great music out there and I think this could have been removed for something more interesting. The one thing I will praise is the lyrics, but they would work better as poetry. Fav Song: Kizza Me Least Fav Song: Big Black Car

This is #day223 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... however incredibly long, it was fine for the most part. But I can’t stand when songs are blocked on Spotify, or worse, when the whole album isn't available. Then I have to switch to YouTube Music and hope for the best. I didn’t care to figure out which version of the album I was listening to and whether it was a Big Star album or more of an Alex Chilton solo project, as they say. This is a 2 out of 5. "Holocaust" is a highlight, as are some of the more stripped-down songs. Looking forward to #day224.

I just didn’t get this one. It sucks in a way that I often find appealing, but it didnt connect with me in this case. Other than a few exceptions, The songs aren’t memorable, the hooks weren’t catchy, the playing feels amateurish, the production is questionable, and the overal sound just isn’t that interesting. Not irritating but completely forgettable.

Did nothing for me, pretty dull, and i found the vocals annoying.

I hadn't heard of Big Star at all. Slightly raw and chaotic, with slightly ramshackle vocals and weird experimental recording techniques just poking through. But even before the Femme Fatale cover I was thinking: this does sound a lot like velvet underground with less songs about heroin, and it just gets stronger as the album goes on. Not bad, but I'd rather be listening to the real thing.

Double album energy. A beautiful mess that I'll admit has been hard to get into. Though, it's ballad heavy and the experimentation can be jarring, it just works in a strange inexplicable way.

I find no redeeming virtue herein. None. Zero. Nada.

A little darker/more depressing than I expected, but didn't hate it.

4.5

Ok I did relisten to *Third/Sister Lovers* and reviewing the first 14 tracks (which according to producer Jim Dickerson is the intended order). I don't know if it's the track arrangement, or I've warmed up to the material since yesterday but this hit me much better (This actually has the same 14 tracks included in the original '78 US release, just drastically reordered.) Opening with "Kizza Me" and "Thank You Friend" really starts off with an overall great feel, then sliding into "Big Black Car" to start a nice weave of emotion through out the album. Side one is perfect... wouldn't change a thing, ending in "Holocaust". The slight dip for me would be the first two tracks of side two "Kanga Roo" and "Stroke It Noel" which i noted as my least favorites from the last listen. But the run from "For You" to "Take Care" was a great way to end the album felt like a closure. (8.5) ★★★★

Especially like the acoustic tracks, which reminds me of early Belle and Sebastian. Not as high on the electric ones. 4.5 stars

This is an all-timer for me. I first heard it in the early 2000s. I was vaguely aware of Big Star, but hadn't really heard any of their music, so I ended up checking out their first three albums from the library (be thankful for streaming, kids). This was an immediate favorite. Where #1 Record clearly sounds like a product of the 70s, I this is super timeless. It doesn't sound like much else from it's time and if you told me it came out last week, I might not question it. It strikes a nice balance between experimentation and great songwriting. Too many highlights to choose, but "Thank You Friends", "Jesus Christ", "Stroke it Noel", and "Holocaust" are all pretty amazing. I think the "Femme Fatale" cover also eclipses the VU version. I love the French backing vocals courtesy of Chilton's girlfriend Lesa Aldridge (one half of the titular Sister Lovers -- Jody Stephens was dating her sister). 5 stars.

3.5

Big jumble of a Third record from Big Star. Some pretty neato and exquisite angsty baroque pop elements that lend proper hefty R.E.M Sweetness Follows vibes. Also some cruddier tracks as well - a super weak Femme Fatale with its annoying backing vocals. There’s Kanga Roo as a highlight but no Winnie The Pooh or Tigger too so ultimately this record is something of a disappointment and it’s easy to see why the band disintegrated during the making of it. Should have gone all in on a Winnie The Pooh concept record.

Depression embodied in music. It’s poignant.

Kind of boring. Not that interesting. 2/5 Won’t listen again

Pretty vibey, but sometimes a little on the whiny side

Its fine, its whatever, I wont be going back to any of this but I didn't dislike it. Meh.

😴 2/5

Interesting. Kinda dark obscure classic rock. Not sure I'd give a relisten.

Not as good as #1 record/radio city

yeah... ok! I liked a couple of these. I could get behind this.

Heard of the band before but somehow never listened to them. Oh boy, this album is just background music. Literally nothing interesting or exciting going on musically 1/5

Dang, Third/Sister Lovers. I friggin love Radio City and #1 Record, and I have to assume those are on this list somewhere. But this one is tough. It's a sad, half-cooked mess. With Chris Bell and Andy Hummell gone, this was a different band than those two records, and it almost seemed like Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens had one foot in, one foot out on these sessions... and even they didn't exactly see it as a Big Star record at the time. There's some good stuff here, but if you didn't have the first two albums under your belt, I'd bet you'd wonder what the hell the big deal was about this band. Stroke It Noel, For You, Blue Moon, Thank You Friends, Kizza Me, these all work for me. Mostly nothing else really does, even as "difficult art". Even the semi-catchy single "Jesus Christ" is like... really? Is this a Christian band? WTF is happening here? There's nothing happy about the Big Star story, other than a) Alex Chilton was celebrated 15+ years after Big Star broke up by the Replacements, and had a subsequent reappraisal and could do some victory laps before he passed away, rather than languish in obscurity, and b) that Jody Stephens is (2023-2025) doing gigs as "Those Pretty Wrongs" and writing decent songs. But most of their legacy is based on the first two records, not this one.

Very similar style like Rolling Stones but a little bit borring.

I don't know. nothing to look at here. Move on

really solid album and enjoyable and varied to listen to. the greatest thing you’ll ever learn / is just to love and be loved in return ❤️

3/18, 17%

Liked this a lot. Would like to explore their other stuff as wasn’t aware of them at all before. Nice eclectic range of tracks means never gets boring.

Wow, the first song on this album is absolutely awful. The next couple aren't great either, but it picks up starting with the Lou Reed/Nico cover and salvages it a bit. Still didn't like it overall, but it felt like an easy 1-star halfway through "Kizza Me". 2.5 stars (After listening, I realized the Spotify version is not the same as the intended album. It's close though and I really don't feel like listening to the real thing after this)

some of the original indie-pop/whispy voice.

I feel like this record is celebrated mainly because it was made during a low point in Alex Chilton's somewhat unfulfilled artistic life and that people like to romanticize his struggles, sort of like admiring Bukowski for his drinking. People want to hear something punk or avant garde in this record but really I think it's just an incomplete project that the record company pieced together after the musicians abandoned it. I'm not sure it's even appropriate to call it a Big Star album - I think that was something the record company did for marketing purposes. Ok, now that all of that is out of my system, I'm listening to this more today than I ever had combined up until now and enjoying it. I wonder why Chilton abandoned it and what it would have sounded like if he hadn't. The songwriting feels unfocused and maybe uninspired - hence the numerous covers, I suspect. I do like "Take Care" a lot, though. That's one of those haunting tunes where I feel like I heard it and loved it before but have no idea when or where. A cover by someone else, or the cosmic unconsciousness, or maybe I've listened to this record before and forgotten about it? Alex Chilton's an odd cat. A sort of a cautionary tale to me - there is an expression in the business world, "value will out," meaning that eventually, if something overlooked is valuable, it will eventually get discovered and get its due. Not so with art. Art is contingent. The cemeteries are full of potentially great artists we've never heard of, because of the circumstances they were born into or perhaps because their own self-destructive tendencies got the better of them before they could fully express themselves. Or other reasons. Who knows, but as they say the bird is on the wing, so I must stop procrastinating and end this review and get back to whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing.

Although I wouldn't have ever guessed it from the album's songs themselves (except maybe "Big black car" and "Holocaust", which sound so much like something from the 90s ironically), it's pretty clear from the Wikipedia entry that this was a truly tortured album in the making, and an increasing mental instability by Alex Chilton made the production experience equally tortured. Unfortunately, that intrigue doesn't really make this album any more interesting, at least to my tastes, although I do appreciate the sort of indie/alt-rock sound from long before that was a genre or term. (I do wish they hadn't tried to do that "Femme Fatale" cover, though.) However, I'm honestly not sure why I needed to hear this before I die (especially since we have another Big Star album in this collection), but I have, so that's a relief. (And I remain baffled by the "1001 albums" book's conclusion that "It is not to be missed.")

Wow. Kizza Me was really bad and then Jesus Christ was both awesome and bad and then the Femme Fatale cover makes you want to kick this guy's ass. It's like hearing Bread do VU. My day is enriched for having listened to this album but, yeah, it's gonna be a no from me, Simon

Meh

Solamente pude rescatar Holocaust, que me dio para pensar y volver a escuchar. El resto, una garompa. Nota: 2.8

I dont get the Big Star love. Pretty dull stuff

I kind of hated this one, it sounded like half the album was a protracted fade-out. I know the history. But other reviews have called it something great. I’m going to give another listen; for now, it doesn’t work for me.

This was a fun album. Soft songs, rock songs, love songs. Its really sentimental, but also also has really cool sounds and movements. I've been kind of bored by Big Star in the past, but this one kind of did it for me.

Ach, das Stimmli isch dänn dünn. Sorry, sicher gueti Musiker, aber es begeischtered mi nöd.

kizza me isch afoch en rock song. paar cooli idee. isch jesus christ ironisch?? wenn nöd ischs insaaane arschhh find etz au femme fatale gaar nüt bsunders. o dana no cool zum teil aber ich bin mich wüüürklich am langwile irgendwie? kanga roo isch au meeega langsam und het knapp en puls. wüüüürkli nai. ha etz die letste paar songs afoch über mich ergoh loh und s isch s meiste seeehr lahm. würkli GAR kei spass gha. die dudes sind anschinend mega gross ide USA und ich check nöd ganz wiso. es isch afoch rock. i ao fäll checki dass lüt sich ufreged dases z viel rock het uf dere liste.

soo mal luegeee I want to feel you deep inside 👍 hahaha nei finds eig na cool hmm big black car und jesus christ findi langwilig femme fatale no en bangeeer OHHHH DANAA, OOOOH DANAAA hahahah joaaa d begeisterig het sich wieder gleit, spötistens bi kanga roo HAHAH wie meinsch bi you can't have me es 3 sekündigs drumsolo mitme fade-out?? take care hani jz eig nomal seehr schön gfunde ah wow scho fertig? o, dana, take care und femme fatale hani no cool gfunde, alles andere isch aber weird oder langwilig :( und luca du hesch scho au recht, weiss au nöd wiso dass das sött uf de liste sii. wiedermal es protest 2?

A bit boring really. The story around the album is more interesting.

Third/Sister Lovers is a fascinating mess—more a document of Alex Chilton’s unraveling than a fully realized album. The songs veer between hauntingly beautiful (Nighttime, Take Care) and outright disjointed (Kanga Roo, Downs), with the production often feeling half-finished, as if the band lost interest halfway through recording. While moments of brilliance shine through, the album’s lack of cohesion and its bleak, meandering nature make it a difficult listen. There’s an undeniable rawness here, but rather than feeling like an intentional artistic statement, it comes off more as a band falling apart in real time. A cult curiosity for sure, but not an easy or particularly rewarding experience.

The best band I’ve never heard of

some records are best defined by their coherence, how well everything fits together into an understandable package. this couldn't be further from the truth for "3rd" by Big Star. arguably, it's not even finished, only released initially as a last ditch attempt to keep the band together as it was in the process of dissolving, it was mastered and put out as a white label in 1975; at that point neither Alex Chilton nor Jody Stephens were interested in doing a proper release because absolutely no heads or tails could be made of all the tracks made for the project. three years later, PVC Records, a TVT-type sketchy ass label bought the songs and put out a record titled "3rd". the actual thing didn't even have a proper name; "Sisters Lovers" (as seen on the Rykodisc re-release) was probably a joke that they used as a placeholder name when they were actually gonna release it. numerous guttersnipe reissue labels managed to get ahold of the rights and put it together in a some other order than the original, with a million different covers and a million different flows. as a result, "3rd" is not so much a record by Big Star than it is a vinyl playlist of a forgotten dream. this is not an album, it's a concept. it's a bit like Smile. i say a bit like SMiLE because its ephemerality is its sole shared quality. SMiLE may have "Fire" and "Surf's Up", but there's still rollicking good time tracks like "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes and Villains". there is nothing fun or free wheeling on "3rd" -- emotions range from melancholy to downright suicidal. it makes sense; contextually, the album is a document of a artistic partnership slowly collapsing. the song about little baby Jesus feels less joyful and more manic, like a sobbing breakdown during Christmas. "O, Dana" could be the album's "rocker", but it ends with the sound of the orchestra deflating, like the singer just sort of gave up on Dana and went home. "Holocaust" feels like if someone tried to make a version of Gloomy Sunday (The Famous Hungarian Suicide Song) / I'm in a Low Down Groove that actually made you want to kill yourself -- it's a song with the power to ruin your day. even the ending song, what could be be seen as a bittersweet farewell lyrically, has some snark underneath the first three words. "thank youuu, frrrriends." nothing was made possible, just made able to be moved on from. dry your eyes, blow your nose, and walk out. it's not my favorite Big Star "album" -- both because i prefer Radio City and because i can hardly call it an album -- but there are moments where i can see why it would be someone's favorite Big Star thing. it's the sound of a beautiful mansion on the coast burning down, as it was always meant to. it can't be helped.

Perfect album.. Femme Fatale is nice. Nature Boy is perfect. There are several interesting tracks also.

Really enjoyed this one. Clearly a huge influence on alot of the bands I grew up with listening to in the 90s. Glad to have discovered them.

A hot mess of an album that would probably be good for someone whose life was also a hot mess. No real faves but Femme Fatale was recognisable.

Hmmmm, don't like this as much as "#1 Record" - seems to have a lower energy level, be a bit of a mess. Reading up on it a little, I can see why. Dunno, perhaps if I were in a different mood this would click for me. Fave track - let's say "Kangaroo" 🦘

A great musical history footnote and likely an influence of all my favourite bands from the 80's. But also pretty long and at times medicore. Some songs are just amazingly written and I hear them and say this would be great to cover. But as an album meh.

There just isn't much to it.

Ook zo'n band die leeft in zijn eigen universum, met zijn eigen tijdsframe. Tuurlijk hoor je veel invloeden, en vooral veel beïnvloedingen, maar Big Star is one of a kind. Het verbindt rock 'n roll van de 50s, zoetsappige pop-tunes van de 60s, de kwetsbaarheid van een Lou Reed of een Gram Parsons, en de orkestraties van een Brian Wilson en een Harry Nilsson. En het resultaat is een nieuwe invalshoek in de alternative rock/pop scene die je zo sterk terug hoort in de indie-muziek van de 90s en later ('Big Black Car' had zo van Slowdive kunnen zijn). Het sugar pop-gehalte is wat minder op dit album vergeleken met eerder werk, mede omdat het al eventjes niet zo lekker ging met het fenomeen achter de knoppen, Alex Chilton. Maar de hartige - en soms echt bittere - snacks smaken er niet minder om. Het album mist misschien wat complexiteit, wat Chris Bell toevoegde op het debuutalbum, maar daar zit de schoonheid wellicht ook wel in. Die kilheid is overweldigend, en nummers 'Holocaust', 'Kanga Roo' en 'Take Care' vinden toch schoonheid in de sombere toon. En alhoewel dat de overwegende toon op het album is, zijn de wat luchtigere songs als 'Thank You Friends', 'O, Dana' en 'You Can't Have Me' perfect verdeeld over het album, zodat het geen geploeter wordt door de 'troubled mind' van Alex. En dat afsluitende duo man, dat is echt de moddervette kers - of moet ik zeggen bitter stuk grapefruit - op de taart. 'Blue Moon' is één van de mooiste nummers uit Alex' pen. En 'Take Care' is een waardig (voorlopig) einde van de band, wat ook bezongen wordt. Het bezegelt de deal wat mij betreft, een 9. 9/10 Highlights: Big Black Car O, Dana Holocaust Blue Moon Take Care

Wat een depressief plaatje dit zeg. Ik ken Big Star van hun hits al Thirteen en September Gurls. En dan is Third geen toegankelijk albumpje. De cult-status van het album had mij nog niet bereikt maar vind ik wel een vette toevoeging aan de luisterervaring. Een uit elkaar vallende band met issues die tegen beter weten in een plaat weten te maken wordt tegen hun zin in uitgebracht onder de naam Big Star. Van een band was tegen die tijd al helemaal geen sprake meer. En dan de muziek. Ik vind de stem van Alex Chilton altijd heel chill. Zeer herkenbaar en uniek en heeft een soort geruststellend effect. Ook op de wat grimmige nummers (noem bijvoorbeeld het nummer Holocaust) komt zijn stem goed uit de verf. De muziek eromheen is gedistantieerd en hebben ze heel moeizaam laten klinken, zoals bijvoorbeeld in Take Care of Kanga Roo. Taaie kost. Maar die worden afgewisseld door lekker rechtoerechtaan powerpop (Till the End of the Day). Verdiend nog een luisterbeurt, zeker gezien de cultstatus. Voor nu... 7/10 Highlights Femme Fatal You Can't have Me Till the End of the Day

"After two commercially unsuccessful albums, Third documents the band's deterioration... " A deterioration from the efforts that resulted in two commercially unsuccessful albums pretty much sums up this album perfectly. It's boring, aggressively unmemorable, it has an apathetic/unimaginative title and pretty crappy vocals. There's also some truly awful songs. This could easily be a 1 star album but it wasn't quite bad enough to stir up hate.

2,5

Awww hell yeah. Gonna guess a sub 3 general rating. Wrong again nerds. Especially the top review guy; bet that guy likes the eagles.

This person is WAY off key.

Big Star are a band that regularly get cited by some of the pop-rock-indie greats, like Teenage Fanclub, B&S and so on. I'd never really engaged with them, but this is absolutely great. It definitely sags in the middle, from a peak of the brilliant Velvets cover, but it ends really strongly. He's got a fascinating voice, that really gets emotion across, and the instrumentation is nice and gentle without being too sparse. Very up my street.

surprisingly enjoyable. 3/5

Just kind of boring

Good songwriting, but old-timey mixing made it sound boring to me

crazy no

Day 29: Third/Sister Lovers - Big Star. Big Star Album 1/2. This album feels bloated, and somewhat unmemorable. At first, I thought that I would need to use YouTube to listen to the album, until I realized that it is on Spotify. Something about the listening experience of this album is just so oddly confusing. Their album "#1 Record" is a fun power pop album. Third/Sister Lovers seems uninteresting. However, upon reading several reviews of this album, it appears that this is simply an album that you either get, or don't get. I mean, a lot of albums are already like that anyway. I think that the cover of Femme Fatale from this album is quite interesting. Gosh, I probably just didn't get a good listen from this album. I feel like I'm missing something from it. I'm reviewing this album at 9PM. Okay, three stars it is. Sorry. Personal Enjoyment: 3/5. How Much It Belongs Here: 4/5.

Voilà une pièce de choix, un de ces disques mythiques, précédé par sa réputation comme un char funèbre par une procession de pleureuses. Big Star avec l'album "Third" ou "Sister Lovers", comme on l'appelle aussi. Rien que le titre double, incertain, annonce la couleur : ce disque est un merdier, un fantôme, un truc qui n'aurait peut-être jamais dû exister et qui, pourtant, est devenu une pierre angulaire pour des générations de musiciens qui cherchaient comment mettre en musique la beauté du désastre. Quand je suis tombé dessus la première fois, dans les années 90, en plein dans ma période disquaire, ce n'était qu'une légende. Une de ces pochettes que tu commandais en import en espérant la recevoir un jour, un disque dont parlaient les R.E.M., les Replacements, tous ces groupes qui avaient compris que la pop music n'était pas obligée d'être propre et bien coiffée. On en parlait à voix basse, comme d'un secret. Un chef-d'oeuvre maudit. Pour comprendre ce disque, il faut oublier tout ce que vous savez sur ce qu'est un album. Ce n'est pas un produit fini. C'est un document, le procès-verbal d'une implosion. Celle d'un groupe, ou de ce qu'il en restait, et surtout celle de son leader, Alex Chilton. Le mec avait connu la gloire à 16 ans avec les Box Tops et leur tube planétaire "The Letter". Un génie précoce de la pop. Et là, quelques années plus tard, le voilà à Memphis, paumé, ravagé par les doutes, les excès et les tensions. Big Star avait déjà sorti deux albums de power pop absolument parfaits, deux échecs commerciaux retentissants qui auraient dû les propulser au sommet. Au lieu de ça, le groupe s'est disloqué. Chris Bell, l'autre tête pensante, est parti et Andy Hummel, le bassiste, aussi. Il ne restait que Chilton et le batteur Jody Stephens, deux âmes en peine dans les studios Ardent, essayant de recoller les morceaux d'un truc déjà brisé. Le résultat, c'est "Third", un disque enregistré dans la douleur, la confusion, et probablement une bonne dose de substances diverses. On sent que chaque note est arrachée à l'éther, que chaque harmonie est sur le point de s'effondrer. Ce n'est plus un groupe qui joue, c'est un homme qui se met à nu, qui expose ses plaies à vif, sans filtre. L'album est un champ de ruines sublime. Une collection de fragments, de chansons à moitié finies, de ballades d'une tristesse à fendre le coeur et d'expérimentations soniques qui semblent sorties de nulle part. Chilton déconstruit tout, la structure des morceaux, les arrangements, sa propre voix. Il passe d'une pop orchestrale déglinguée ("Kizza Me") à une comptine funèbre qui vous glace le sang ("Holocaust"). Les cordes ne sont pas là pour embellir, elles sont là pour souligner le malaise, pour grincer, pour ajouter une couche de désespoir. C'est baroque, c'est bancal, c'est magnifique. Les textes sont des poèmes introspectifs, cryptiques, qui parlent d'amour perdu, de solitude, de mort, de la fin de l'innocence. C'est l'album d'un homme qui a compris que le rêve était terminé et qui contemple les débris avec une lucidité terrifiante. C'est d'une noirceur abyssale, mais traversé par des éclairs de beauté pure, comme si une fleur fragile poussait sur un tas de décombres. On sent Chilton en pleine crise existentielle et artistique, en train de tout foutre en l'air pour voir ce qu'il reste. Et ce qu'il reste, c'est l'essentiel : l'émotion brute. Évidemment, à sa sortie, le grand public n'a rien capté. Un bide commercial, un de plus. Le genre de disque qui finit sa vie dans les bacs à soldes avant de renaître de ses cendres des années plus tard, porté par tous les musiciens qu'il a influencés. Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, toute la scène indie américaine des années 80 et 90 a une dette colossale envers ce disque. C'est l'album qui a donné la permission d'être fragile, d'être imparfait, de faire de ses failles une force créatrice. Alors, pourquoi un 4 sur 5 et pas la note maximale ? Parce que "Third" n'est pas un album parfait, c'est même l'antithèse de la perfection. Il est inégal, parfois difficile d'accès, et il peut laisser l'auditeur sur le carreau, épuisé par tant de noirceur. Ce n'est pas le disque que tu mets un dimanche matin pour te sentir bien. C'est un disque qui se mérite, qui demande un effort. Mais la récompense est à la hauteur de l'épreuve. Ce n'est pas une simple collection de chansons, c'est une expérience. L'écoute d'un génie en train de se saborder avec une grâce infinie. Et rien que pour ça, sa place dans les "1001 albums" est tout sauf volée. C'est un passage obligé, une cicatrice nécessaire dans le parcours de tout amateur de musique qui se respecte. Un putain de grand disque malade.

Genius within the cracks

It's not terrible, I think - I guess? It's just incredibly dull and uneventful. If it was a 30 minute album rather than an hour maybe I'd have given it a 2, but it has no right to take up that much time whilst being one of the most boring albums I've ever listened too His vocals suck too

Bewildered by the fact that Big Star has more than one album on this list, Third is more interesting than their debut. This also means that there are some misses and unfocused songs on the record, and ultimately I won't be revisiting the album nor the band.

More experimental and daring than the debut. The fact that so many versions of this album have been released proves just how revered it is so some. I still don’t get the hype of Big Star after this one though. It’s fine but is it really THAT good?

Couldn’t listen not available

This was fine, but I don’t understand why it became a cult album

The first Big Star album that came up was a bit of revelation. Probably the first I gave five stars to without having already listened to in the past. I hadn’t, in fact, even heard of the band. This didn’t live up to that promise. Simpsons: No

Really bored me.

Like the other albums here, there's nothing to brag about, but it could have been worse.

I got nothing from this album

Pretty good album

Insipid, a bit dul in parts.

I kinda like it but then again I'm lame so don't listen to me 🤔

Kind of boring.

A lot of good jams on here. I could listen to it again

I have a problem with Big Star. I know I'm supposed to love them. So much of the music I love is supposed to be inspired by them, if it's anything indie rock, power pop, emo, punk. But they just suck. I mean, I love the Replacements, they love Big Star, how come I don't like Big Star? I don't get it. The production is somehow both empty and muddy. The singing is annoying. The guitar tone is bleh and the riffs are not interesting at all. The songs are boring, muddling along. I don't know if the band even cares about them. Some of them are even worse then boring, they're downright annoying. What are those weird chicken picking riffs in Femme Fatale? And the weird croon? Is it attempt at a dig against the Velvet Underground somehow? urgh, even the covers on this album are soooo bad, really showcasing how this is just a very bad band. I just don't get it. It's not even the type of not getting where I can get why other people like them, or why they are good at what they do. I think it's just bad and overhyped for some weird reason. One star (and not even a big one).

Very easy listening but they butchered Femme Fatale 😔

Not getting much from this. 2.

This was an album Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5

2.5 Early blueprint for 2000s alt-indie, but just isn't there yet and not really standing out on its own.

Aika kevyttä rokkia, missä oli kantrivaikutteita. Moni kappaleista rauhallinen ja hidastempoinen. Tuli vähän jopa Bob Dylan mieleen joistakin kappaleista. Parhaat: Femme Fatale, Blue Moon

eh

Pretty solid but I wasn't wowed by anything. I though Big Black Car and Jesus Christ were good tracks. Not really any bad tracks here but just not much that stood out

eh, no notes.

"And children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round They sing, "I'm in love, what's that song? Yeah, I'm in love with that song" I hear so many of my favorite bands from the 80s and 90s on this album. That alone is worth 2 stars. A band that influenced bands I love deserves credit. I also really like this album. Darker than the other stuff by Big Star that i am familiar with. Which might make it even better. I'll have to listen to all 3 albums in a row to figure it out.

Quirky chamber pop/rock of heartbreak and love. Needs a couple of listens I think. Feels a bis disparate.

Not quite as good as their first album but still a strong showing.

Kinda weak

Weird sad rock, not for me.

worth more of a listen

Good listen, good pace, a nice relaxing album from a band I was not familiar with, but they sound right up my alley.

7.82

In a nutshell: messy and apathetic This is not the same band who made #1 Record, literally and figuratively. It's experimental in a haphazard way. Stark strings, covers and lots of weird arrangements. It's soulless. I can hear the defeat and insouciance in Alex's voice. It sounds like no-one wanted to record this album. The band had so much faith in themselves from the beginning and truly thought they had a great debut album. With Third (aka Third/Sister Lovers), the love is gone. Overall: 1/10

Didn't hate it but didn't like it either

12/26/24. Just okay.

This one surprised me with some really interesting moody vibes I wasn't expecting. Of course I've known about Big Star. Just remembered I saw Alex Chilton open for Robyn Hitchcock in 1992. Didn't really get it at the time but maybe with age I'm starting to understand.

This is my Christmas album this year… just saying, Jesus Christ at least fits that, I love #1 record but this just isn’t that good, kizza me Is dreadful, holocaust is probably the best track and that’s just dreary. They even fucked up femme fatale!!! Maybe it’s the fact it’s on Christmas Day so I’m pissed but I’m gonna make this my biggest ratings disparity I could possibly do 1/5, it might be more of a 2 but fuck it minus one, the album’s on my naughty list… fuck fuck fuck

pretty

I know very little about Big Star. In fact, I think the only thing I know about them is from The Replacements’ “Alex Chilton,” which is an all-time banger (also, how is Pleased To Meet Me not on this list? Way better than Let It Be). I know that their debut album is supposed to be really good, but I’ve never heard about this one. I’m excited to check it out and see what Big Star is all about! (I listened to the Aura Records UK LP from 1978) I thought this album was pretty bland. I went into this album pretty blind, but reading that Big Star was a big influence on power pop, I expected something with really catchy hooks and mass appeal, but I thought this album was a bit of a snooze for the most part. The thing that Big Star did best on this album was the slower, moodier songs, like “Holocaust,” “Nighttime,” and “Kanga Roo.” Those songs all had some really great string arrangements, and I would have loved to have heard more stuff like that on this album. I didn’t find the songwriting or singing to be particularly noteworthy, with the exception of the three songs that I already mentioned. I did think their version of Lou Reed’s “Femme Fatale” was pretty good though, and they did a good job of keeping the original feel to the song, while still putting their own touch on it. Maybe their debut album will be better, but if this is any indicator, I can’t see myself becoming a fan of Big Star. This album is a three for me, but it’s probably the lowest three I’ve given out, and all of those stars were earned by the songs on side 2 of the version that I listened to.

Bland but listenable.

I thought #1 Record was a good listen. This album though interesting, feels disjointed. Upon reading about the production of the album, it makes sense considering Chilton was really going thru it mentally and you can really hear it in the vocals. The string arrangements on Third are quite good and Holocaust is a fantastic haunting tune. It's a fine piece of messy work. 3 stars

En algunas partes me recordaron a The Clientele, una banda que definitivamente debería estar en esta lista.

Sad and chaotic, a surprise for me... Holocaust is overwhelming.

Kind of dated, but not terrible. I kind of enjoyed it.

I like nature boy, but there's better versions out there

I can see some influences on future bands I would listen to but I couldn’t really get into it, kind of dragged. Quite surprised to find a song in there covered later by the mighty The Family Cat but not sure that was a good enough reason to raise the rating to 3 stars.

Only heard of this band as they are mentioned in a Spiritualized song! I somehow pictured them to be better than this, but sadly none of these songs grabbed me. Maybe it’s a grower?

A rare turn-off mid-album for me on this one. Awful durge.

Ah, the supposed godfathers of melodic indie pop. I’ve listened to them plenty of times to see ‘if I get it yet’. While their first album is kind of OK when they do a sort of thing that sounds like a slowed down Status Quo (which has subsequently been done better e.g. Bandwagonesque). This album pretty much entirely ditched that sound and let’s be honest, this album drags. Not a great vocalist singing some quite dull songs over some dull guitars, and adding a few strings does not shine the turd.

They had lost it by this album, confused as to why it's here. Hopefully earlier stuff appears otherwise it's a travesty

It took me two listens, but I ultimate enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. I think I just like alt rock from 1975-1980. This is filled with personality and feels very genuine. Thank You Friends hammers that feeling home. I enjoyed several tunes here, including Big Black Car, Kizza Me, and Nightime. Good stuff.

Not very interesting

Listened to it, forgot most of it instantly

good rock classic stuff

This group was not on my radar. Unusual and hard to classify, somewhere in the rock / folk spectrum. I like.

这声音真的，一听就杨威

8/12/24 The album was okay.

I listened to this once yesterday and struggled as it seemed really bland. I now have to write a review and cannot remember a single note of it which tells you all you need to know.

very nearly a lost album, which would have been a real shame

I just can't. This was a rough one.

very surprising album with lots of good tracks. I couldn't tune out of the top 6 in the disk, although, the quality for me drops off at around th 10th song. after that it to me sounds quite repetitive

This was a little scatterbrained, but okay I guess. I found myself humming along on some tracks, but others were just like meh. Three stars.

I can tell this one will grow on me with repeated listenings. Already great. 4/5

Primeiras impressões é de que falta a pitada de algo no som. Falta balanço. Já nas segundas impressões, tome cuidado para não dormir... zzz.

Boooooooooooriiiiiiiing

This is one of those records, going in cold, where it takes a while to discern what the vibe is supposed to be. It starts out kind of raunchy and absurd, then rolls into Velvet Underground, and so on to easygoing bell bottom Americana. Ultimately a sleeper cult classic and tremendous influence on some other bands whence I ought to have intrinsically perceived - they were all over REM and Lonely is an Eyesore (4AD). Anyway, very pleasant. By the end I felt like I was hanging around with them jangle-jamming on a lightly attended open-mic night.

These tags should work for me, but they don't. The songwriting is really weak, the vocals are tepid and uninspiring and the instrumentals put me to sleep. Still, glad to be more cultured on my favourite genre of music by listening to this (alternative rock)

There are albums on this list that are sheer masterpieces and deserve all the acclaim. There are albums on this list that hold cultural and/or historical significance and deserve to be recognized. This album is neither of those things. And, I'm not suggesting it's a bad album because it doesn't meet those criteria. On the contrary, I quite enjoyed this album for the most part. But I'm perplexed by it. According to Wikipedia neither this particular album nor the band had much significance in anything, and this album wasn't even well received upon its release. Instead it achieved cult status later on. Heck, even the Spotify top 5 most popular songs from this band doesn't include a single song from this album. It seems like this is one of those albums that the creator of this list fancied and felt like it should be included. The problem I have with this is there are dozens of albums that I could include based on my own personal preferences, but that are not "albums you must hear" I'm thankful I checked this album out. I definitely appreciated it more than a lot of the stuff I've heard on this list that are supposedly all time greats. It reminded me a lot of The Velvet Underground. However, this feels more like a "hey check out this album" suggestion then an essential listen. Overall this album would probably get 4 stars from me if I had stopped in the first half. The last half really drags, and while some of the slower tunes are nicely done, pacing is all messed up. Not to mention, the more you strip down the tracks and hear the vocals more prominently and clearly, the more you can hear how he really isn't a good singer. The warbly vocals work with the more upbeat, alt-rock songs that begin the album but it's pretty glaring and hard to listen to with the more folksy, slow stuff.

One of the big influences on a lot of the early music I recorded was The Replacements. I loved the scrappiness of their music, and the way that they were ably to equally address the silliness of life, as well as the seriousness. Most Punk bands did the latter, but not the former and The Mat’s devotion to both is a bog part of why I think Let It Be is the best document of the adolescent experience in popular music. As such, finding out that The Replacements were big fans of Big Star, I bought a CD that had a copy of their first two albums and, I’m ashamed to say, didn’t get the hype. I was put off almost immediately by Chris Bell’s vocals on Feel, and so never managed to appreciate Big Star’s influence on one of my favourite bands. Having listened to Third/Sister Lovers, I’m further ashamed that I wasn’t able to push past that barrier, because this is fantastic. Ramshackle, confessional, and Baroque in parts yet full of a beautiful simplicity and clarity of melody and thought. The context of being practically unfinished because of the breakdown of the band gives this a strangely ephemeral feel, as if the album is breaking down in front of your… ears? and creates a sense of melancholy that I find really appealing. I want to drink to this album, then go walking around the city and just watch the people, like the narrator of Nightime. So, that’s how I’m gonna spend my Saturday Night sorted, thank you Alex Chilton

Didn’t finish, didn’t particularly like

Interesting listen. Some good tunes, but more interesting in context of who it was and when/how it came to be. 3/5

Man I liked this a lot. could have been recorded a lot more recently than it was. Fuck knows if i listened to the right version though

I thought this was an indie album from the 2010s. Nice enough.

Didn't do much for me.

Power pop you say? Loved by REM you say? *fires up excitedly" Oh.

makes me wanna check out even more big star

Occasionally adding strings/piano/woodwinds to crappy alternative music does very little to make the final product good. The uninspired cover if femme fatale and the fact that there are a ton of different versions of this album with the tracklist shuffled along makes me question the integrity of this as an album-listening experience. Not great. 2/5

This album didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Up until this point, I was only familiar with their song used for That 70s Show. As the album progressed, I thought wow I think maybe I like some of this slower stuff more. And by the end I couldn’t wait to get through the slower stuff. It wasn’t terrible but I’m not sure I really liked any of it.

Great discovery. I suspect it's going to grow in me.

songs mit singer/songwriter-charme, viel piano.. schlussendlich dann aber kein highlight, welches bleibt.

Schöne Popmusik mit interessanten Ecken.Relaxed und hörbar.

Not sure

I was quite disappointed by this album. Never even heard of Big Star. The first song was garbage. A few gems saves this album from being a total disaster. Looks like I’ll be forgetting this album. 2 stars for “Third/Sister Lovers”.

Uhh interesting I guess? Apparently some people love this album a lot and I just don't get it.

Something of a surprise. The slower tracks much better than the rock ones.

Kicks of a little middling but warms up to be an enjoyable affair

Musical equivalent of beige - moving on

Some good songs, others were pretty boring Standout songs: Femme Fatale Holocaust Take Care

Three great albums from this band. Never travel far without a little Big Star.

One of the biggest surprises I've had so far

Man, whatever the heck this is. Its sad boy brit singer songwriter but make it F A N C Y. Some good tracks, but really not anything I resonated with in any way. "Play it for me, guitarist" is about how I feel about this whole thing.

Another mixed bag from Big Star. I appreciate them more for their influence on Paul Westerberg than their actual music. I guess it's a 3.

3*

Bizarre christian stuff I don't get it. Also, if you're going to cover the Velvet Underground do something interesting.

Couldn’t get into this at all, slow folksy crap

Putting me to sleep

Hmm. I don't know what to say about this one. I just wasn't feeling it. I listened to the version with 19 tracks, but I don't believe I'd like the shorter tracklist any better. The lyrics cheesed me out far too often. Even on the song I liked best, Nightime, we have "Glanced in your eyes and fell through the skies" which is lovely, but then there's "And when I set my eyes on you, you look like a kitty" which - blech. Enjoyed the uncredited SpongeBob feature at the end of Thank You Friends.

I’m writing this the next day, and I don’t really remember the album. It was okay, some of it was good. There was a cover of femme fatale which was okay. Standouts: Thank You Friends, Holocaust, Blue Moon, and Take Care.

Mukiinmenevää vanhaa poppia. Ok! 3/5

Melko löysä levy, en juurikaan tykännyt. 2/5

like if the beatles were worse...still fine

Big Star is not great. There is a reason they weren't a big band.

Normalete, nosta mal pero no muy memorable

My reaction to this album might be negative because of other things going on in my life, bur this guy’s voice really grinds my gears.

LEGAL

It's music

NOW THIS is a good album showcasing deteriorating mental health. Suck it Fiona Apple. The perspective of their Big Star's other music is important to hear the fading, hallucinatory translation to this style. It's a band album that was really just the lost recordings of Chilton losing it with strings and drums baked up. Even the band members that participated feel that way. While the emotion does change sometimes rather starkly, the whole album feels ethereal at times

Getting bogged down by dull lyrics and poor mixing seems like just the surface for this one. It’s full of mostly boring, generic 70s rock besides the last couple of tracks which seemingly save it a bit. Regardless of which came first, this feels like it walked so Bread and the likes could run. There’s so many other albums of this era with a similar sound that do it better.

The group seemed to throw shade at this album, but I was fine with it. Specific tracks I liked: Femme Fatale, Holocaust, Nature Boy. The rest was OK.

I can see how they might have influenced a number of later indie bands and a couple of songs weren't bad, but overall no a great album.

If this is the best unknown band you've never heard of, this is a terrible album to get introduced to them. Even if I could get past the weird, terrible vocals, it just sounds unfinished and half thought out.

Big Star is a group that I've been looking to check out for a while. I'm actually glad that I came back to this one to listen to it again after yesterday, since I enjoyed the album more on the second listen. I really can't think of much that this album sounds like that came before it. There's lots of stuff that it resembles if you squint a bit, but it feels really fresh and new for 1978. It was certainly influential on a lot of the alt-country bands that would come along in the late 80s and 90s. 4/5 Definitely one of those albums that not a lot of people bought, but that really stuck with the musicians who heard it

Was ok - prob will not listen again

That was terrible. It's like Feargal Sharkey got stoned and decided that everyone should switch instruments for a session of Kinks covers. How did this make the list?

This album made me realize that maybe I don't like Big Star as much as I thought.

I found this album to be pretty blah! I listened to it twice just to make sure. 2 stars for nature boy (one for each listen)

It was ok, I played it through a few times. There were a few greyed out songs, I didn't mind the ones that were available. It felt a little before its time and like it could have been from the mid 90s. I did really enjoy the cover of Nature Boy, but we all know Bowie did it best x

Hey it's that That 70s Show theme song band. They're pretty good but nothing I'm going to go seeking out.

Big Star's Third(/Sister Lovers) is a big mess. The behind-the-scenes drama impacted this album, and not in a good way like Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. Third lacks cohesion, like the album was shoved together recklessly. There are hints of a new sound--I guess that's in part to the experimental nature. Not a chore to listen to necessarily, but not an enjoyable listen either. Sometimes you just don't understand why an album has cult status.

This album was not hard to listen to, and yet somehow still underwhelming. The chaotic state of the band and the unwell mental state of the lead singer shows, in my opinion. Most of the album seemed to be pervaded by a general lack of interest from the band. Even though the band was falling apart, figuratively and mentally, some people seem to like this album for that very reason. Looking at this album as an art study case, I can understand the draw to this , but actually liking it BECAUSE it's a train wreck of an album seems a bit foolish.

6.5/10. In my opinion, it isn't too remarkable of a listen. I prefer #1 Record. I liked the cover of Femme Fatale. :)

Etwas seicht.

I’m more familiar with #1 Record and Radio City so I’m glad this project got me to focus on this album. For a pop record this album is so dark and at times noisy, a midway point between folk and glam. Definitely in the vein of Velvet Underground, Bowie and T-Rex. I can see how this band is an influence for bands like R.E.M. and Wilco. Singer Alex Chilton’s vulnerable vocal performances are honest and powerful. The use of the orchestral strings through out the album is very tasteful and complimentary to the impressive guitar work. The drums at times remind me of a tame Keith Moon. The haunting vibe highlighted in songs like “Big Black Car” and “Holocost” proved to be my favorite element of this album. Overall this album takes you through a bit of a manic ride and I loved every moment of it.

I've never heard of this one. I found it mostly bland, but I did LOVE For You. Actually, it seemed to get better as the album played on. Overall, this one gets a 3 from me.

My first thought when queuing this up was what it would sound like if Sixpence None The Richer covered "Kizza Me." Then I heard the songs. I'm impressed. There's a bit of a Velvet Underground repetitive-but-interesting drone going on (which ironically we see less on display in their VU cover of "Femme Fatale"), as well as some Bowie here, similar in vocal delivery and in trying to stay accessible while attempting new things in production, instrumentation, or chord and song structure. I even hear early Flaming Lips' guitar rockets à la "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain." This is not heavy Zeppelin 1978, nor full-on 70's psychedelia, but some sort of proper tea sippin' pseudo-glam. I love the "Nature Boy" cover as well; this and some other songs sort of fall apart timelessly while it's playing. There is something cinematic about much of the album, but more like a dramatic blockbuster movie performed live by your local amateur theatre company and local volunteer orchestra. The mid-tempo and slower songs are really the heart and soul of Third/Sister Lovers; the faster rockers aren't bad, but feel a little more pomp and fluff compared to the beautiful arrangements and performances that over-shadow them. The inability to label Third/Sister Lovers accurately is one of the things I love about it. As the album continues, it stays in and explores the world it creates. You don't know what's coming next, but it is always true to form, even though you can't quite find the form. It defines itself. This is truly a unique album. Big Star, I'm now a big fan.

I've never heard of these guys before and I skipped listening to them because they weren't on Spotify, and then it just took forever for me to circle back around. I'm glad I finally listened. There was a lot to enjoy here, many different ideas presented, and the production was really good. On at least one song they reminded me of proto-Radiohead.

3/5. This album feels so ahead of its time, like the lyrics and even music feels like the album should wait for the 80s to go this dark. Sure, it's poppy and has some ballads but there are songs about depression and loss and longing which feel so out of place with the genre this might be directed towards. I really enjoy the change and I wouldn't say it's perfect but it's still really good. There are some generic pop-rock lyrics on here but they still sound good. I did lose interest as the album went on but was not a bad listen. Best Song: Jesus Christ, Holocaust, Kizza Me

"Third/Sister Lovers" is the third album by American rock band Big Star. The songs on the album were recorded at Memphis' Ardent Studios in 1974 but never got properly released until 1978 due to financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the album and the lack interest from bandmembers' Alex Chilton (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Jody Stephens (drummer). Bruce Dickinson produced this power pop and alternative rock album which documents the band's deterioration and declining mental state. It did not do well commercially but gained critical notoriety during the 80's and is considered a cult classic. I followed the song listing order from the 1992 Rykodisc release. Guitar slashes, a forward bass and a bouncey piano kick off "Kizza Me." Very 1970's rock power pop. Strings eventually added at the end. He wants to feel her deep inside. A doo-doo vocal intro begins "Thank You Friends." This is slower with strings and background female singers. Layered music and a guitar solo. A positive message as Alex is thanking all of us for making it. "Jesus Christ" has a electric guitar carrying the melody augmented by a piano and a pop-rock beat. A chorus with backing singers and we get a sax solo! "Holocaust" has a piano and echoing slide guitar. An eerie atmosphere with strings added in this sad and heartbreaking song. He's looking in the mirror at himself nearly dead and the song ends with him saying he's a holocaust. "Kanga Roo" has an acoustic guitar, electric guitar, idiosyncratic drums and and percussion and a background grinding noise. I think the whole "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" album by Wilco is based on this song. The album closes with "Take Care." Strings and acoustic guitar in this slow waltz. We are firmly in baroque pop. Chilton is begging everyone to take care in an emotionally drained voice. There are a number of versions of this album with different song orders. I like the order of this version; it pretty much firmly divides the album. The first half of this album is power pop with catchy melodies. A more positive tone with layered music. The second half has slower songs and more added strings falling more in the baroque pop category. Heartbreaking and beautiful with Chilton's tenor voice emotional and emotionally drained. This a wonderful album with a deeply talented artists and deep songs. A must listen.

A bittersweet, melancholic, rather complex and beautiful power pop album. I haven't heard any albums by this band before (I've known 'The Letter' by the lead singer and songwriter Alex Chilton) - I'll definitely revisit the album later.

Jaa-a ganska forgettable, vissa bra låtar

Not great, not terrible 2.5/5

I guess I can see why people may like it. It's not for me, seems very bland.

Overall, a fairly odd album. Curious.

Wow this is so uneventful and boring

Really boring

Heh perus setit tässö perus koiranpaskat polulla

A cut price Velvet Underground. Cruel but true.

alex chilton the woman that you are ❤️

This made for a rather slow start to my day. I liked the strings on “for you”, and there were some other flashes here and there. Based on the street cred this artist gets in some circles, I’ll give it another spin at some point and check out their first two albums. 2.5/5

As a pretty big fan of this band, this last effort of theirs just didn’t do it for me. And apparently didn’t do it for them either, as they essentially walked away from it and it wasn’t released until four years later. A very erratic group of songs with some bright spots here and there…it’s essentially an Alex Chilton solo record but very erratic, no doubt a direct reflection of the mounting life troubles the lead singer and songwriter was experiencing. For a better snapshot of the band’s legacy, check out their first two albums. As the star does shine a little bigger on those.

Could not get into this at all. Very meh.

Kind of sounded like a Thin Lizzy rip-off for the first several tracks. Couldn’t get into it. But a dear friend of mine says I need to give their earlier albums a try. So I shall, but this record gets a low score. 2.25/5

Didn’t expect to like this but it was actually a very decent listen.

Hated this

Pretty. But I’m very bored listening to this.

I liked #1 Record but it's fair to say I didn't really 'get' this one. There are some pretty ballads and, sure, there's an audible atmosphere of stark despondency that you don't hear too often. But just because the singer was tortured doesn't make the album a work of tortured genius.

I think I’ve had a Bug Star album once before, and if I recall correctly it was pretty good. That’s probably an apt description for this album too. I would say I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say it left a massive impression. It was a bit odd when they just started singing about Jesus in one of their songs, but aside from that this felt like generic, decent oldie rock music. I’m not sure what else there is to comment on to be honest. This is a fine album.

Not feeling this one

About 1/3 of the songs were missing in Spotify, but did not adore the rest enough to go seek them out. At moments it sounded like something from the 2000s (stroke it noel). Enjoyable but didn't blow my mind, 3*

Bout a week straight of ass albums lol

its okay really just glorified demos from an unfinished album. But there are some good ideas with just a boring slump of songs in the middle section

Genial disco. Relajado, nostálgico, conmovedor. Y que sorpresa encontrarme Nature boy ahí.

i appreciate this album a lot because it started off incredibly strong and then devolved into unlistenable garbage on certain tracks but ultimately won back my interest in the later half this was a COMPLETELY new album to me (as in, never even heard of Big Star before) so i found it hard to immediately click with it without having an understanding of what the vibe was anyways! it is a shame that the track O, Dana which is GREAT is surrounded by arguably the two worst tracks on the entire album: Femme Fatale and Holocaust 3.5/5 and i refuse to elaborate on why

El power pop estadounidense tiene un nombre: Big Star. Grupo de culto, fusionó los sonidos más contundentes de la invasión británica. Si obviamos su crepuscular grabación de 2005, Third/Sister Lovers, de 1978, fue su tercer y último álbum de estudio. Una colección de canciones apasionadas por momentos y erráticas y descarnadas en muchas fases del mismo. Destacaría "Dream Lover", una inquietante canción de amor descarnado. También la altamente emotiva y deprimente "Holocaust", retrato de una persona autodestructiva; una versión muy contundente de una canción de los Kinks, "Till the End of the Day", y la extraña versión del tema de Nat King Cole "Nature Boy".

Nice. But only nice.

Pretty timeless and wonderful

Jangly twaddling. The strings on “For You” are nice though.

And just like that, it was over. Until 2005 of course.

honestly really cool - almost moulin rouge-y at times

Eh, kinda boring and generic. I really liked "Holocaust" (for the love of God please do not take that out of context), that was a beautifully haunting song, but other than that this was really uninteresting.

Just full and uninspired

Another odd album. Mostly slow ballads with piano, but with a couple of rock songs thrown in. I wish they had leaned more into the rock stuff, I liked it a lot more.

I did not like this. Poorly executed, sappy nonsense.

Not bad, then kinda good, but then it got kinda bad.

Honestly I didn’t expect to hear Big Star again. Their debut was a genuine surprise to me, and a record I remember enjoying way more than I anticipated. So I was not at all opposed to the idea of another album. But albums like this are why I value context. Reading the background info before going into an album is something I always try to do. And here it definitely aids the listener in understanding where this sound is coming from. Their debut was one of the best examples I’ve heard of what the 70s energy was like. It was power pop in its most effective form. As far as I know, this can also be applied to their second album. But this one, which I would think most people consider to be their last, is distinctly different. Shortly after they had begun recording, one of the lead singers Alex Chilton, and the drummer Jody Stephens had mostly lost interest in the band. This was also due in part to Chilton’s worsening mental health, and the gradual decline of the band as a whole over the years. Add on financial troubles and an even less commercial appeal than their previous work, and this was almost never even released. All of this makes up for an album that is far messier than their debut, emotionally very different, and in my opinion, not as good. I was surprised to learn that they faced very little commercial success with those first two albums. And the same goes here. This is a band whose presence in music history has been maintained by a cult following. To me, what made that first record I heard so good was the charm. That charm is not present here. Which is okay, given the circumstances I’ve already laid out. But it doesn’t make for as enjoyable of a listening experience. It’s not necessarily the fault of the music either. Because it’s still made by the same people, and at the least well written. There are some decent highlights here and there too. But I don’t see myself coming back to this, because it isn’t as representative of what made this band stand out. Rating: 6/10

I’m told I’m’ supposed to dig this band. I don’t. I like Alex Chilton as a song by The Replacements. And I like The Replacements. So thanks Big Star for that.

Not their best, but still pretty good.

I like this a lot more than #1 Record. Holocaust is incredible. 7/10

Good but a bit boring

I love this album just cuz I love big star. It’s super super dark tho and not the easiest listen. Super raw tho and some of the most beautiful songwriting I’ve ever heard

Wow. One of the most deeply dark albums of all time. Kind of loved it for that, but also found much of it grating. But maybe that’s the point? Gosh, it’s tough to rate this one. It’s both a 3 and a 5, so we’ll go 4. But also maybe I’m being too nice on my ratings gosh idk.

This is a pretty strange mix of minimalistic, psychedelic, progressive, but musically not fully convincing in any of the three categories. So my first impression wasn't great. Nonetheless, there's something here, something touching which I can well imagine may make some listeners fall in love with this record and which grew on me in the course of the album and had me hooked for a second listen. It's a certain air of vulnerability, of baring your soul to the world. I was close to giving this album 5 stars, but from the technical side it's really not great and there's a few tracks like the closing track Downs which, well, down the album a bit.

I don't know... I wasn't feeling this. It felt like an overcooked noodle of rock.

Didn't know anything about this band previous to listening except that Alex Chilton was a member. The upbeat tracks are great, and feel really ahead of their time, but there is just SO MUCH slow and depressing music on this album that it's really hard to enjoy. It's well played and I can appreciate that but god damn it, I don't need another reason to be down in the dumps. Not enough rock here.

Ik ben in slaap gevallen tijdens dit album. Was dat de bedoeling? Want dan was dit beter dan Shleep van meneer Wyatt. Wat is dit ongelooflijk saaie muziek zeg... Nightime vat dit album het allerbeste samen: "Get me out of here.. Get me out of here.. I hate it here" En eerlijk; ik ben het hier volledig mee eens, wat een saaie muziek en wat een saai album. 1 ster? Dat nog net niet, want het is wel gewoon muziek en niet onluisterbaar, maar wat zitten ze er dicht in de buurt! FAVO: Het dutje dat ik tijdens dit album heb gedaan

I see the connection to later music (R.E.M., maybe 'emo' like Sunny Day Real Estate) but I think my appreciation of this stops at 'influential'. This felt like listening to a hangover.

an interesting record - never knew that Holocaust & Kanga Roo are Big Star songs ! I really like this one.

Pretty good. But I didn’t even realize it had ended. So….

It was fine. It made choices. There was music. It was sometimes interesting. 3/5, 🤷‍♂️

Perhaps one of the few times when I'm purposefully listening to a version of an album with multiple bonus and re-arranged tracks, as it seems that is the intended album layout not only according to the original artists, but also what Robert Dimery has me listening to with the 1001 Albums list. I'm not complaining, as even if the bonus tracks are weaker than the meat and potatoes of the album, tracks like Nature Boy are fantastic covers, and earn their place. The main bulk of the album, though, is utterly fantastic! It's wonky, production and tone is all over the pace, and it is just plain a mess, but within that chaos is perhaps some of the best pop to bless music. It starts strong enough with Kizza Me sounding nothing like the band's prior power pop, but it's the variation that allows it to stand out all the more. Alex Chilton, at his most explosive, sounds very personal and vulnerable, and it almost gives his voice this feminine, glam cadence, but with all the punch of a singer who knows how to pull at the heart strings. However, it's when the album slows down that really blows me away. The back-to-back of Holocaust into Kanga Roo is mind-blowing, and nearly had me chocked up by the end, and nearly every song from then on was an emotional punch in the gut in the best of ways. Even when the pop rock roots returned, there was always this tinge of melancholia, and when this was their final run, their final record, it must have really felt like goodbye. Hell, it still does, and it truly is a great feeling to experience via music. There are a few songs that don't reach their full potential, but this album is so loaded that it doesn't matter. I mean, even on top of great song after great song, you have a wonderful Velvet Underground cover, and still a handful of power pop masterpieces to get the blood moving, but this album, despite feeling nothing like Big Star's prior two albums, feels like the perfect culmination of every emotion Big Star ever evoked, and despite the messy outcome, I think that only adds to the bittersweet emotions this album spawns, and that easily makes it my favorite of their records.

This felt like an almost less than basic rock album. I see it’s on a bunch of lists but I’m not sure why. Maybe because of it tracking the downfall of the band and singer. People love watching car crashes.

Yeesh. I think we had another from Big Star, and it was pretty good from what I recall. This one though, no thanks. Very whiny, grating vocals, music feels unfocused. I liked the cover of "Femme Fatale," the voice fit that one, did NOT like the cover of "Nature Boy," that's an atrocity compared to the likes of Nat King Cole. I don't know man, generic '70s rock from a band apparently in decline. Doesn't need to be here in my opinion. Favorite tracks: Femme Fatale (yeah, not a good look when the only song I like on your album is a cover). Album art: A bunch of ladies laying in a sort of sun or star pattern on a beach. Think this was a reissue cover too, the original is just two guys. I read that the name "Sister Lovers" was maybe a band name change they were contemplating because the two dudes were dating girls who were sisters. No idea, too much lore for an album I'll never listen to again. 2/5

Hated the 1st track but liked most of the rest of it. Reminded me of the Kinks or Cheap Trick

Not sure about how I feel when I listen to this. 2/5

This was okay Indie, with a slightly dark sound to it. Better than I expected 2.6

It was alright, and some of it was pretty surprising (“Blue Moon” was a standout for me), but not anything I would listen to in entirety again.

Not a huge fan of the first song on the album, but it only goes up from there. Genuinely hard to pick favorite songs, but “Thank You Friends,” “Jesus Christ,” “Femme Fatale,” and “Kanga Roo” are probably near the top. In addition to being a great album, the history behind it is super fascinating. I just love Big Star.

Mmm it’s just barely okay. Nighttime and Blue Moon turned the rating around for me a bit.

initial impression: yikes... dreadfully boring Painful vocals, generic sound, kill me. 'Holocaust' was decent.

A hodgepodge of unvarnished tracks but some great stuff.

This album really does feel like falling apart, but does so in a beautiful way. Favorite tracks: "For You" and "Nature Boy."

Ok.

Uninspired, mediocre, boring, middle-of-the-road, basic, pedestrian, unexeptional... Do you get the idea? And that cover is ugly beyond words. "Hey man, what did the graphic designer propose for the cover? The ugliest fonts known to man, nice! And oh, what a great idea, yeah, let's put the same photo twice!"

Slow start but picks up a bit toward the middle

a pretty enjoyable album although none of the songs are reaching the heights of “thirteen”

Not bad but generic. 2 stars

Velvet Underground cover was pretty good - but Femme Fatale is just not the same without Nico’s pronunciation of “clown” - otherwise pretty forgettable.

Maudlin and sleepy

interesting soundscape, esp on kanga roo Favorite track: Kanga Roo other picks: Kizz me, holocaust, for you

This album is full of surprises. Very all over the board in tone. The slower, sadder songs are haunting and beautiful. Not sure what to make of it honestly, but did keep me guessing for sure.

I found this one largely unremarkable

fave songs: Nature boy and Nightime

Knowing that this album documented the band's deterioration allowed me to appreciate the emotion and sentiment more. I liked the later songs in the album more - the slower, tense, and emotional songs. Standouts were Femme Fatale, Kanga Roo, Stroke it Noel, Blue Moon, Take Care.

Meh. Was vaguely interesting until they got to the creepy Jesus song. After that I couldn’t take it any more

SInce this had various different releases and I can't be arsed to find out where to listen to Third/Sister Lover, I just reviewed the original "Third" instead. Wait, Spotify has a different tracklist with 18 songs? I am so confused. Okay, YT has the original version of Third. After finally finding the original tracklist on YouTube I listened and it was a good experience. There are some real standouts. And the quality of the song-writing is great. But some of the production choices do sound like a worse version of the Beatles.

Garbage!!!!

For a long time, there's been a misunderstanding between this album and me. But today's suggestion to have yet another go at it, and to listen to it *properly* this time around, puts that misunderstanding to rest, once and for all. This is an extraordinary LP, the sort of record that attracts a cult following indeed. And now, I understand why, finally. I believe that my initial misunderstanding of *Third / Sister Lovers* stems from misguided expectations. Its first two tracks, "Kizza Me" and "Thank You Friends" sounded nice enough, but Alex Chilton's frail voice on those two power-pop cuts suggested that his "big star" was irremediably fading, and that his vocal performance couldn't stand the comparison with the one on *#1* and *Radio City*. Which brought another level of misunderstanding on my part: I thought that fans of this album mostly loved it for extra-musical reasons, because the recording sessions for *Third* also documented Chilton's sad descent into a personal emotional turmoil that made listening to the music a sort of voyeuristic experience. I suspected that the positive reponses to this record was too much influenced by such a sensational context (just as it did for Syd Barrett's solo output). If you add the two layers of misunderstanding, it sort of "blocks" a more open-minded and spontaneous assessment of the music *actually* played, the sorts of risk it takes. And how those risks can eventually pay off. The thing is, rather than comparing this LP with Big Star's early releases, I should have compared it with later "essential albums" by other acts inspired by them later on. Because the entropic and emotionally raw nature of *Third* indeed foretells those later great albums in surprisingly prophetic ways. There's an illuminating review at the top of this section, which basically says that without this LP, there wouldn't be Wilco's *Yankee Hotel Foxtrot*. That take was an eye-opener for sure. Or should I say, an "ear-opener". The messy-yet-delicate aesthetics are indeed the same. "Jesus Christ" is even a close cousin of "Jesus, etc.", and not only because of the similar titles, but because of the music itself. Chilton and Stephenson were inspired by timeless muses here, even if they consciously thought they were getting nowhere during the sessions. Another reference point is This Mortal Coil, whose *It'll End In Tears*'s tracklisting displayed cover versions of *Holocaust* and "Kangaroo", two uncompromising cuts that make for a challenging listen, owing to the bluntly depressive nature of the first and the experimental, partly-improvised (?) instrumentation of the second. No wonder Ivo Watts-Russel was drawn to those off-kilter compositions like a moth to a flame. Yet the original versions have their own special kinds of light as well. A muted, chiaroscuro sort of light, admittedly, but one that elicits a deep response if you're in the right melancholy mood for it. All of this is well, but on their own, those elements wouldn't fully redeem the record for me. What does redeem it however is how incredible the second side of the album sounds and feels, with a stellar string of breathtaking and devastating ballads, most of them enhanced by incredible chamber orchestra arrangements. Those cuts, "Stroke It Noel", "For You", "Blue Moon" and "Take Care" are the true gems of this LP. And the latter song, which concludes the original tracklisting, is also a pretty obvious influence on my friend Nick Wheeldon's music and songwriting (very few people outside of France know Nick, but if you like or love this Big Star record, I cannot encourage you enough to check out his recent albums, available on Spotify--they're worthy of a list like this for sure, it's THAT good). So here I am, falling in love with *Third / Sister Lovers* at last. Glad I've just found a rather cheap secondhand copy of this album online (with the same tracklist as the one found in those links on this app). You know how the saying goes, "true love waits" sometimes. 4.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 5. 9.5/10 for more general purposes. Number of albums left to review: 138 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 370 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 218 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 278

I enjoyed it well enough for the most part. It's a little bloated as an album, but there's enough good songs to carry it on the whole.

Not 1001 worthy.