The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

/ News

UPDATE: Thank You Friends: New Big Star Compilation Coming In May

By 2 Comments

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

UPDATE 5/24/17 TO ORIGINAL POST OF 3/6/17: If you do as Replacements frontman Paul Westerberg says and "never travel far without a little Big Star," some new products related to the legendarily underrated Memphis rockers may find a place on your shelves.

Set for release on June 16 from Stax Records and Craft Recordings, the new compilation The Best of Big Star tidily collects (on one CD, digitally, or 2 LPs playable at 45 RPM) 16 tracks from the legendary band's #1 Record, Radio City and Third; As a bit of a nod to collectors, six of the tracks are presented in their original single mix/edit forms-and four of those ("Don't Lie to Me" and "Watch the Sunrise" from #1 Record, "September Gurls" from Radio City and "Jesus Christ" from 3rd) appear to be making their debut on CD.

The first plainly career-spanning single-disc compilation of the group's Ardent Records years since 2003's Big Star Story on Rykodisc (unless you count the rarity-packed soundtrack to Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me), The Best of Big Star includes new liner notes by writer/director Robert Gordon (who took home a Grammy Award for his notes to the Big Star box set Keep An Eye on the Sky) and an introduction from Stephens.  The Best of Big Star is part of Stax Records' ongoing 60th anniversary celebration.

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

The upcoming compilation follows the April 21 release from Concord Bicycle Music of Thank You, Friends: Big Star's Third Live...and More.  In 2010, Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, the sole surviving member of the classic lineup, assembled a group to pay tribute to Big Star's iconic frontman Alex Chilton, who'd passed away suddenly that in spring of that year. Stephens recruited Mike Mills of R.E.M., Mitch Easter of Let's Active, Chris Stamey of The dB's and Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of The Posies (also touring members of Big Star since their 1993 reunion) for a tribute gig in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that took place with a full orchestra to match the lush sounds of Third; afterward, the group toured with local orchestras and ensembles, covering both Third as well as the two perfect LPs that preceded it: #1 Record (1972) and Radio City (1974). A show in Glendale, California in 2016 was recorded for Thank You, Friends, and features guest appearances from Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone (both of Wilco), Robyn Hitchcock, Dan Wilson (Semisonic), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) and The Kronos Quartet.

The show is available now as a standalone 2CD set or a 2CD and DVD or Blu-ray package; the show on the video disc will premiere at this year's South by Southwest Festival, presented by Stephens, director Benno Nelson and other members of the Third ensemble. Stamey and Anthony DeCurtis have written new liner notes for the package.

Both titles are available for order at the links below!

The Best of Big Star (Stax/Concord, 2017)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

  1. In the Street (Single Mix)
  2. Don't Lie to Me (Single Version)
  3. September Gurls (Single Version)
  4. Thirteen
  5. Jesus Christ (Single Edit)
  6. I'm In Love With a Girl
  7. O My Soul (Single Edit)
  8. Feel
  9. When My Baby's Beside Me
  10. Take Care
  11. Life is White
  12. Watch the Sunrise (Single Version)
  13. The Ballad of El Goodo
  14. Nighttime
  15. Back of a Car
  16. Thank You Friends

Track 1 from Ardent single ADA-2902, 1972. Original version from #1 Record (Ardent ADS-2803, 1972)
Tracks 2 and 12 from Ardent single ADA-2904, 1972. Original versions from #1 Record
Track 3 from Ardent single ADA-2912, 1974. Original version from Radio City (Ardent ADS-1501, 1974)
Tracks 4, 8-9 and 13 from #1 Record
Track 5 from Aura single AUS 107 (U.K.), 1978. Original version from 3rd (PVC Records 7903, 1978)
Tracks 6, 11 and 15 from Radio City
Track 7 from Ardent single ADA-2909, 1974. Original version from Radio City
Tracks 10, 14 and 16 from 3rd

Thank You, Friends: Big Star's Third Live...and More (Concord Bicycle Music, 2017)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K./ Amazon Canada
2CD/DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K./ Amazon Canada
2CD/BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Disc 1

  1. Watch the Sunrise (feat. Pat Sansone and Brett Harris)
  2. September Gurls (feat. Mike Mills)
  3. In the Street (feat. Brett Harris and Mike Mills)
  4. Back of a Car (feat. Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow)
  5. Thirteen (feat. Skylar Gudasz)
  6. Give Me Another Chance (feat. Dan Wilson)
  7. When My Baby's Beside Me (feat. Jeff Tweedy)
  8. I'm In Love with a Girl (feat. Pat Sansone)
  9. Feel (feat. Ken Stringfellow)
  10. The Ballad of El Goodo (feat. Dan Wilson)
  11. I Am the Cosmos (feat. Chris Stamey)
  12. You and Your Sister (feat. Pat Sansone)
Disc 2
  1. Kizza Me (feat. Jeff Tweedy and Django Haskins)
  2. O Dana (feat. Jon Auer)
  3. For You (feat. Jody Stephens and Luther Russell)
  4. Nightime (feat. Jeff Tweedy)
  5. Jesus Christ (feat. Mike Mills)
  6. Take Care (feat. Ira Kaplan)
  7. Big Black Car (feat. Jessica Pratt and Jon Auer)
  8. Blue Moon (feat. Jody Stephens)
  9. Stroke It, Noel (feat. Ken Stringfellow)
  10. Downs (feat. Robyn Hitchcock)
  11. Dream Lover (feat. Skylar Gudasz and Ken Stringfellow)
  12. Holocaust (feat. Django Haskins)
  13. You Can't Have Me (feat. Skylar Gudasz and Mike Mills)
  14. Kanga Roo (feat. Brett Harris)
  15. Thank You, Friends (ensemble)

DVD/Blu-ray

  1. I'm In Love with a Girl (feat. Pat Sansone)
  2. Feel (feat. Ken Stringfellow)
  3. September Gurls (feat. Mike Mills)
  4. Thirteen (feat. Skylar Gudasz)
  5. The Ballad of El Goodo (feat. Dan Wilson)
  6. Watch the Sunrise (feat. Pat Sansone and Brett Harris)
  7. When My Baby's Beside Me (feat. Jeff Tweedy)
  8. I Am the Cosmos (feat. Chris Stamey)
  9. In the Street (feat. Brett Harris and Mike Mills)
  10. Kizza Me (feat. Jeff Tweedy and Django Haskins)
  11. O Dana (feat. Jon Auer)
  12. For You (feat. Jody Stephens and Luther Russell)
  13. Nightime (feat. Jeff Tweedy)
  14. Jesus Christ (feat. Mike Mills)
  15. Take Care (feat. Ira Kaplan)
  16. Big Black Car (feat. Jessica Pratt and Jon Auer)
  17. Blue Moon (feat. Jody Stephens)
  18. Stroke It, Noel (feat. Ken Stringfellow)
  19. Downs (feat. Robyn Hitchcock)
  20. Dream Lover (feat. Skylar Gudasz and Ken Stringfellow)
  21. Holocaust (feat. Django Haskins)
  22. You Can't Have Me (feat. Skylar Gudasz and Mike Mills)
  23. Kanga Roo (feat. Brett Harris)
  24. Give Me Another Chance (feat. Dan Wilson)
  25. Thank You, Friends (ensemble)
  26. You and Your Sister (feat. Pat Sansone) (bonus track)
Avatar photo

Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, holding positions at Legacy Recordings and Rhino Records and contributing to Allmusic, Discogs, City Pages, Ultimate Classic Rock and Mondo Records, for whom he penned liner notes for his favorite piece of music: John Williams' Oscar-winning score to 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

Connect With Mike:

You Might Also Like

Comments

  1. Don't get me wrong. I love The Second Disc site, but It seems like the same stuff keeps getting reported on. I can't help but have the feeling that there are still so many great reissues that we are missing out on that are not being reported here. ICE Magazine used to be like a reissue bible to me with it's From The Vaults section. I was hoping this site would be like that but it seems to focus so much more on the esoteric and obscure. Does the upcoming release calendar feature every reissue as reported by the major and indie labels?

    Reply

    • Hey there Zubb! I don't quite know how to answer, except that there's a certain amount of editorial curation involved, i.e. our asking ourselves, "Which titles do our readers want to read about?" After seven-plus years, we have a sense of which articles our visitors are reading, and which ones they aren't, and to an extent, our coverage is tailored to that.

      We also try to represent a cross-section of releases here of various genres (not just the expected ones covered by other sites), and I know that many of the titles we cover (likely the esoteric and obscure ones you refer to) are ones that simply aren't getting coverage elsewhere - hence why we feel it's important to represent those alongside the major label titles. If certain labels get more coverage than others, it's likely because their press teams keep us notified, and we want to pass that info onto you in as timely a manner as possible!

      I'm only a bit confused because you mention the esoteric and obscure titles, but then mention that the same stuff is getting reported on. If we're writing often about Big Star or The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or Hendrix or Elvis, it's only because those artists' products keep flowing, and the readers keep reading about them. There's no set formula here, and of course, we endeavor on a daily basis to cover as many interesting titles, big and small, as we possibly can!

      Thank you as always for your support and your kind words, and if there are any specific titles you'd like to see coverage of, please do drop a comment or a line in our suggestion box! We're listening!

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy