Eternal cult favorites Big Star are attempting to make one last splash for widespread listener appeal by giving you everything they ever recorded (except for the official albums!) in one nice, neat little package. The band announced plans to release a four-disc box set containing a motherload of record store employee-approved demos, live material, alternate takes, and other rarities.
The band have been cult favorites almost from the get-go, persevering through listener apathy, horrible distribution, and multiple personnel changes. However, despite the challenges, Big Star have cemented a place in history as a “Great Band That No One Listens To,” inspiring a wealth of musicians throughout the years to aspire to the same thing. Indeed, the sad truth is that, when the collection, Keep an Eye on the Sky, drops on September 15 via Rhino, it will most likely go unnoticed by the majority of music listeners. Though clearly a damn shame, most Big Star fans have come to grips with the fact that their questions of “Have you ever listened to Big Star?” are generally answered with a confused look and a “...huh? who?”
The box set will consist of 98 tracks spanning the years 1968-'75 and will include songs from pre-Big Star bands Rock City and Icewater, as well as solo work from band founders Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. Also included in the deal will be plenty of unreleased work from the sessions for all three Big Star albums. “Just when you're thinking everything has been released, apparently it hasn't," Big Star drummer Jody Stephens told Billboard, brilliantly.
The fourth disc of the set serves as an audio document of the band playing live in January 1973; it contains a collection of tracks from three nights when Big Star opened for soul legends Archie Bell and the Drells. Stephens recalls the experience: “Not exactly our crowd. After our performances, you can hear one person clap. Not a lot of energy coming back from the audience. The good thing about that particular recording is that there were mics set up in the room. It wasn't a board feed, where those can be kind of dry."
So, what’s the lesson here? Should you spend your time with a band that most people don’t even know about? Yes. To make a long story short, I recommend checking out the box set or, perhaps more appropriately, checking out Big Star. Break the cycle and help yourself. Discover “Rock’s Lost Band.” You won’t regret it.