Third/Sister Lovers

I didn't like all of the songs, but the songs I did like were very enjoyable to listen to. I can't say I'd really ever revisit this album again properly, maybe just a couple of songs. 3/5 stars.

Fun if somewhat slight power pop. Really elevated by the lyrics though.

Quite forgettable

Rock clássico agradável, mas sem empolgar.

Left little impression. Not for me

Just...what? There's no defined sound for this album and none of them work particularly well, not to mention half the songs aren't available on Spotify. Gonna say no thanks.

I love these weird albums. The vocals and echoing instruments draw me reminscent of psychedelia. My favorite track is "Kanga Roo" but there are several highlights like the "Femme Fatale" cover, "Stroke it Noel", and "For You" . My problem is that the album just isn't weird ENOUGH. As in, the ideas feel raw. With a good production team, you could make an album that sounds just as amazing as Pet Sounds. But without it, there's too much pressure on the vocals, which I find to be a bit monotonous.

(3.5)

Started a little odd, wasn't vibing with it too much. Suddenly I'm 10 songs in and tapping my foot along, not bad.

4.5

3 1/2

Nope

This was great power pop - both catchy and twisted. Reading the history of the band alongside is fascinating. Is this the definitive version of this album? What even is a definitive version? The production sounds so fresh.

Now I have heard this often-cited album. And I don't hear what the fuss is about. Perhaps it's because the ground they broke is thoroughly trodden by now, but it's just okay.

Great third album with power pop songs by Big Star. Their previous two albums have more highlights, but this one has a more constant quality.

Eh.

Pretty unmemorable

I liked the song that was in Moulin rouge but not really the others.

ok better be good cause its the longest album i got so far lol. reissue is not on spotify but og album has all songs minus the bonus track so i could look that one up on youtube if i care enough. its whatever so far. dont hate it yet. its nice enough bg music at least, there's enough variety in sound and song themes that im not bored yet. im surprised im okay with it still 8 tracks in. no standout songs though, maybe stroke it noel. nature boy, till the end of the day, dream lover was a nice 3 song streak. looked up the bonus track on spotify it was on a different comp album or something. its the most different song to the others i actually prefer the album without it. i kinda liked the album overall? not sure id go back to it but i did save the tracks i mentioned.

When there are 1001 albums on the list, there are bound to be several albums that I won't be able to explain why they are on the list. This was a first listen to a band I've never heard of. This isn't the worst album I've heard so far, but it didn't even make it to "okay".

Pretty good if you enjoy rock 'n roll. Not a favorite of mine though.

Just awful.

When this album started, I thought I was going to enjoy it. However, I found it a bit durgy and nothingy. I can't say it really.kept my attention

These guys are great. Wish I'd heard of them sooner.

Extremely good. A solid album, and that cover of "Femme Fatale" is to die for!

Based on when this album came out, I can hear how it is part of the continued evolution of many sub-genres of rock. It's got a late 60's rock sound to it but also sounds a bit precursive to some "alt-rock" styles. Very talented band, but I'm not a fan of the vocals and this is not the kind of music I would like to listen to regularly.

Big Black Car Femme Fatale Blue Moon Nature Boy Dream Lover

Ganske lite minneverdig poprock.

Ganz cool!

Bibelmusik meint meine Frau. Inhaltlich nicht gecheckt aber irgendwie hat sie schon wieder recht

I think I should have heard of them? I haven't and maybe their influences are all known to me from others. But this album didn't move me.

Easy listening but easily forgettable too

Mediocre 70s Garage rock and balladeering. Not special.

Hindsight is a funny thing. Big Star's Third wasn't readily available to the public upon it's release, so it gained a big of a mysterious quality to fans, especially considering this record's defining quality was the disintegration of the band. What happened to make this the last Big Star record, and what made Alex Chilton abandon his band's signature sound only to wander the deserts of underground musical genres for the next 15 years. The production, while rough and borderline unfinished in places, have a real magical quality in the context of the band's history. They achieved pop perfection with songs like "September Gurls", but here we get a look behind the scenes, at the raw emotions Jody Stephens and Chilton were feeling. Their music had remained in the shadows, and that hurt and anguish is felt through an album that feels like it's being stitched together before your very eyes. I agree with Nick about this record having a huge impact on bands like Yo La Tengo, REM, Wilco, the Replacements, Teenage Fanclub, etc. etc. I'm not always in the mood for the depths and tension in this album, but it's a masterpiece by my account. Fav tracks: Kanga Roo, Thank You Friends, Blue Moon, You Can't Have Me, For You, Big Black Car

Third is a record that has only grown in my estimation over the years. While previous Big Star records represent the pinnacle of 70s power pop, Third deconstructs their approach amid the band's disintegration. Third stands on its own, but lands much better in context of the band's previous work. It's loaded with the cynicism of a band with so much unmet potential ("Thank You Friends") and yet contains so many moments of broken beauty ("Big Black Car", "Nighttime", "Take Care"). This tender/caustic tension is at the heart of this record's power. Its influence is evident on artists from REM to Wilco and Yo La Tengo. In fact, I often think of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as a spiritual successor to this record. Their similarly fraught creation and off-kilter production follow much more pop-oriented efforts by each band. Favourite songs: "Big Black Car", "Kanga Roo", "You Can't Have Me", "Blue Moon", "Nightime"

ah não, muito triste, pelo amor de deus

Actually listenable. Different sounds/styles, not great though, almost 3 star

Interesting old unheard album.

Not all that compelling, but then again I didn't listen very closely. Might come back to it, but if we're being honest, probably not

Saved Prior: None Saved Off Rip: Stroke It Noel, Blue Moon, Till The End Of The Day Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Despite the fact that I didn't save a lot of songs, this was a cool listen. It puts the disintegration of a band and of a man front and center and you can hear that in the music. Is it for casual listening? Absolutely not. This is another album that I'll be returning to over the summer when I can really immerse myself in the world of the album. As it is now, I'll give it a 4 and keep it saved to my albums on Spotify.

Sin pena no gloria

Is this the second big star record on here? I'm not sure I understand that. This album is ok, but certainly not worthy of ALSO hearing in 1001 alongside #1 Record. But it was good pop rock. The Femme Fatale cover was nice, nighttime was touching, some other charming moments. could see this being a favorite had I grown up with it. maybe 10 years down the road I will, idk

Meh

Nazwa plyty badz bandy nie przynosi mi nic na mysl, slychac rokowanie, ktore stara sie byc przystepne dla sluchacza, wiec taki rokowy pop, discog okresla albumik jako power pop, pop z moca gitarek rokowych, brzmi calkiem solidnie, pierwsze zaskoczenie to czwarty track, zatytulowany jesus christ, brzmi jak przykladowa piosenka chrzescijanskiego roka, ale skad ona sie wziela na tym albumie w takim miejscu, nie jestem w stanie tego zrozumiec, sprawdzilem czy album nie byl wypuszczony na swieta, nie bo w marcu, rozwiazalo to kolejna zagadke czemu brzmi tak wczesno rokowo, choc to 78 wydanie, ale nagrywane od 74, tylko z wypuszczeniem plyty byly jakies klopoty, nastepny kawalek kolejna niespodzianka, femme fatale, czyli cover klasycznego velvet undergroundowego kawalka, calkiem przypadl mi do gustu ten trak z meskim wokalem, bo jednak niko nigdy nie byla najlepszym elementem welwetow, z kolejnych numerow rowniez czuc inspiracje velvetami, traki na plejliste to wspomniany cover i thank you friends

Pausado. Relajado. Sin grandes estridencias. Buena voz y melodías

“Third/Sister Lovers” by Big Star (1978) Never heard this album nor this group, although I loved lead singer Alex Chilton’s #1 hit “The Letter” (1967) with the Box Tops when Chilton was only 16 years old (and I was only 12!). For an album produced in 1978, though, the recording and mix is not good. Too little separation, and primitive, unimaginative mixing. But musically, it is inventive. One can only imagine how much better this would have sounded if it were produced at Abbey Road, or The Hit Factory or even Muscle Shoals. Lyrics lack depth and originality. The suggestion is out there that “Thank You Friends” is a sarcastic condemnation of how badly Big Star was treated by the recording industry. Listened to from this perspective, it’s much better than if heard as a straightforward expression of gratitude. “Jesus Christ” is listed, but not playable, on Spotify. What’s up with that? The lyrics suggest a hymnic reflection on the singing of angels at the birth of Christ. It would be nice to hear it. One can get a taste of it in the twenty second sample on the iTunes Store. It’s not that impressive, chiefly because of the poor production. Too bad. “Femme Fatale” provides a good example of the band’s musical skills, and they are so-so. Alex Chilton’s simple lead vocal shows that he struggles with pitch at the softer end of his dynamic range, and the backing vocals (including his girlfriend Lesa Aldrege?) are even worse. Bass playing by Jim Dickinson is really good. His contribution to the band’s sound is probably a main reason for whatever success they had. “Holocaust” uses the systematic murder of six million Jews as a metaphor for the feelings of a woman whose mother just died a natural death. Yuck. This kind of pretentious appropriation is what gives much popular music a bad name. “Stroke It Noel” employs backing strings which are very poorly performed, and even more poorly recorded. I have keep reminding myself that this album was released in 1978. It would be a bad recording even if it had been released ten years earlier. Anyway, the lyrics on this song, the chorus of which is based on (uncredited) Bobby Freeman’s 1958 song “Do You Wanna Dance?”, are trite. The lines “Keeping an eye on the sky/Will they come, oh the bombs?” is anachronistic. By 1978, the fear of nuclear war was very much diminished from what we experienced in, say 1963, thanks to the U.S. effort in the Cold War, which is largely unappreciated today. (Full disclosure: I participated in the Cold War for the four years prior to this album’s release. But no hard feelings [smirk].) A pattern emerges here. Big Star takes hugely important issues and reduces them to triviality. This was ok in the 1950s and early 60s, but they seem to be lacking self awareness and compositional maturity in 1978. And for a band to call itself “Big Star” when it was anything but is, well, sad. Overall, I’m not sure why this is considered a cult classic, but cult defies justification anyway. Coulda died without this one. 1/5

Discovered a song from Mouling Rouge, which was cool, the rest was meh though.

En Spotify no está completo y tal cual lo enlaza la lista tampoco está en Youtube Music, así que lo escuché mezclando canciones de las dos plataformas. Big Star es uno de esos grupos del que todos los entendidos hablan y que en general nunca tuvo éxito. Este disco supongo que es un buen ejemplo de ellos. Está bien, tiene canciones bonitas pero no termina de ser gran cosa. Lo siento pero para mí es un disco normalito.

Kinda cool 70s/80s type rock vibe

Eh, didn't really like this

People really talk up Big Star and their stature, but I just don't get it. It's... fine?

As much as I love Big Star, I don't listen to this album enough. I enjoy so much about it. In some ways, I really like that this album sees the band getting a little weirder, but that creates some inconsistency and uneven moments...minor complaints for an album I still love.

Nice but nothing really stood out

Not really my thing, but you can hear the influence they had on a lot of later bands

Meh

This mag be unfair but these songs sound like they are trying to be deep and profound but it sounds insincere or inauthentic to me. Was surprised to find out they are American, they sounded super British to me. Given the timeframe they were ahead of their time in terms of the Britpop and Altrock stuff that became super prevalent in the 90's. Reading that this album was shelved due to its lack of commercial appeal and released years later makes me a little more sympathetic knowing they were underdogs.

Am behind. Listened to some of this, but it was doing nothing for me.

I've always loved this, and this love has only deepened over time.

Very meh.

Not all on Spotify

Pretty good not really memerable

So boring

Big Star were a fav among college friends. Mostly #1 record and radio city though. This one is a bit too sloppy and unfocused for me.

Not bad, I knew the song "Holocaust" which is probably my favorite but... calling someone a Holocaust is maybe a bit much in respect to the actual Holocaust. 3.5 down to 3. I kinda like the singers voice but it doesn't go beyond that for me much.

Enjoyable but not really near classic status for me.

Man, Big Star is that traditional rock band that you HAVEN'T heard of. Once you click, however, you'll stick.

Interesting background but the music didn’t stand out to me, Especially for late 70’s

meh, not for me

Eerst wat opvalt is de mastering, alles clean en niks overheerst. Muzikaal ook interessante compositie met diverse instrumenten, die ook nog eens lekker in stereo zijn gemixt. Niet helemaal mijn muziek smaak, maar kan het wel waarderen.

Didn’t really do it for me

Wonderful album

Eight different versions of this album have been released. Eight! The book tells me that the 1992 edition is the definitive track listing, and I couldn't find that one in Spotify, so I had to create a list with all of the tracks in the correct order in order to listen. I'm not sure it was worth the trouble. The lyrics read like they were scrawled on a wrinkled piece of paper during lunch right before they were due in 7th period, and the instrumentation doesn't really elevate them enough for me. Chilton's voice is poppy and pleasant, and I suspect this is why this album has developed a following. Best track: O, Dana.

I had a hard time knowing why I didn't like this record, and then the nature boy cover came up and it hit me. They're singing off key on purpose. At least it feels like it

Different from what I expected, and im not 100% sure how I feel about it yet. Ill probably end up coming back to it. Surprisingly sad