Thoughts on Big Star


I've read a little about Big Star after getting two of their songs on a southern music CD sampler. I really like "For You" and "Stroke it Noel". After sampling some of their other stuff I found that I also like "September Gurls".

I really like those three songs but I'm having a hard time finding other stuff of theirs that I like.

Just wondering if anyone else is into them, which albums you might like best, which songs you like best, best approach to getting into them, which recordings/format you prefer? 

They seem to have been one of those 'influential' bands with critical acclaim and with a strong but small following. Sometimes I find that I just don't see the magic in some 'cult' bands of that sort but liking the three songs mentioned above I feel like they might be worth getting to know. My only streaming is low end iTunes....for now.
n80
@n80,

If you can find "Complete Columbia...Live at the University of Missouri 4/25/93" it's well worth it. Mine is a RSD issue but I believe it's out there as a regular issue.
"Thirteen" is one of my all time favourite songs.

Agree, all three of their albums are excellent!
radio city is one of my all-time top ten, although at various times i prefer "third"---all the studio records are brilliant. i would also pick up chris bell's solo record, "i am the cosmos", which is just as worthy.
I saw a great documentary on Big Star a couple of years ago, should be easy to find somewhere. There are quite a few Pop groups who are cult legends, never achieving much commercial success, but inspiring a lot of members of groups/bands who did. Big Star were one of those. Their dual frontman/songwriter/singer dynamic was also found in Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks, The dB's, a few others.