Big Star's Radio City: 65 (33 1/3) - Softcover

Bruce Eaton

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0826428983 ISBN 13: 9780826428981

Publisher: Continuum, 2011

Synopsis

Released when ELP and Elton John were plodding from one packed stadium to the next, Radio City was a radical album influenced by records that were already deemed oldies and yet sounding like a lean electrical jolt from the future. Here, Bruce Eaton examines the key ingredients of Radio City's lasting appeal- and through extensive interviews with all of those involved, gets to the heart of the cult of Big Star.

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Review:

What Eaton's book has going for it is a personal connection to Chilton  that provides him with rare access to the somewhat reclusive icon and  an insistence on focusing more on the music itself and the  circumstances of its recording rather than the more familiar  personality-based story of the band's brief initial life. --The Memphis Flyer

Synopsis:

This book examines the key ingredients of Radio City's lasting appeal. Virtually anyone who's ever picked up a guitar - whether wood or air - has fantasized about playing onstage alongside his musical hero. Bruce Eaton actually did it. This book is based on the improbable but true story of an ardent fan who got close enough to Alex Chilton, the prime architect of the best power pop album ever made outside of Abbey Road Studios, to see what was on the other side of genius, fame and expectations.Released when ELP and Elton John were plodding from one packed stadium to the next, Radio City was a radical album - influenced by records that were already deemed oldies and yet sounding like a lean electrical jolt from the future. In time, power pop would become an official rock genre and the influence of Radio City would be widely heard through artists like R.E.M., The Replacements, The Bangles and Teenage Fanclub. When they first appeared though, Big Star sounded quite like no other band (including the oft-compared Raspberries and Badfinger).This book examines the unique confluence of circumstances that channeled Alex Chilton's creative energies toward the possibility of commercial success for perhaps the last time.

Special attention will be given to the production and sound of the record. Recorded at Ardent Studios on the heels of ZZ Top's mega-hit Tres Hombres, the visceral allure of Radio City has more in common with the Top (and other chart toppers) than many of its devotees would want to admit."33 1/3" is a series of short books about a wide variety of albums, by artists ranging from James Brown to the Beastie Boys. Launched in September 2003, the series now contains over 50 titles and is acclaimed and loved by fans, musicians and scholars alike.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0826428983
• ISBN 13: 9780826428981
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 154