#1 Record is the only Big Star album which has the combined writing power of both founders, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. Fervent Anglophiles, Chilton and Bell employed a Lennon/McCartney style of collaborative songwriting to create their debut—Chilton taking a visceral approach, often laying down guitar and vocal tracks in one take, while Bell added polish with overdubs and harmonies.
#1 Record has become widely recognized as a milestone album in the history of rock ’n’ roll. In 2003, Rolling Stone included it in their “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list, while the publication included song “Thirteen” in their “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list the following year.
This reissue comes during a time of resurgence for Big Star, a band whose legacy has been widely recognized as of late, with a tribute record (Big Star Small World, 2006), a documentary (2012’s Nothing Can Hurt Me) and a touring live show, “Big Star’s Third,” which features the sole-surviving original member of the band, Jody Stephens, on drums, guest vocalists, a chamber orchestra and a core band including Mike Mills, Chris Stamey of The dB’s, The Posies’ Ken Stringfellow and others. The ever-changing ense
In his liner notes, Mike Mills calls Big Star “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound.”
