From Pitchfork:


I saw them live in 1994 and they killed.
So, I have every reason to be hopeful that this will be excellent.
There is no way it can be a bad thing.

Wow.

If the production sucks, there's about 12 ways this can be a bad thing.

I don't know... I saw them live in 2004 and they were really weak. Isn't the fact that all of Alex Chilton's solo stuff is supposedly crap some evidence that they can't really write like they could in 1972?

A) It's not all crap.
B) Chilton and co. have ALWAYS been notoriously spotty live. Depends what kind of meed you catch him in.
C) Auer and Stringfellow will keep the ship steady and their eyes on the ball... they're just as big fans as anybody else.

that "dony" song is incredibly awful. i'm just warning all of you.

Chris Bell was the real star. No going back now.

I Am The Cosmos.

"Every night I tell myself I am the cosmos I am the wind that don't bring you back again."

True, only 92% of it is crap.

Neither Chilton or Bell ever stood out as a real star to me (and we're talking about one of my absolute favorite bands here), but I still don't think that either can function well without the other (although Bell seemed to do better on his own.)

Basically, what I'm saying is that even though I like the Posies, this is going to be a 90's-alternative influenced Big Star. It's not going to be a quality album. I'll probably still buy it, and it'll end up sitting on my shelf just like the Jane's Addiction reunion album that I expected nothing from does. Whether Stephens is back or not, this still isn't really Big Star.

Good post, MNSAA.

i heard this today (the album and the news). the album is pretty good. nothing overwhelming by any means but i haven't heard it the second time yet.

Funny you should mention that, because I just read an interview somewhere yesterday with one of the Posies guys ( can't remember which one it was ) - & he basically said "don't compare this to the classic Big Star - it's impossible to live up to that...just accept this record for what it is" . He went on to say that this record had enough of the old Big Star feel to make people happy, though.

Here it is :

Big Star Looks Forward Despite Years

By Troy Carpenter, N.Y. ( billboard.com )

Having thrown its hat into the ring as a reunited touring band in recent years, Big Star has set a Sept. 27 release for its first new studio album since 1978's "Third/Sister Lovers." The Rykodisc set "In Space" was recorded at Memphis' Ardent Studios, the site of the original Big Star recordings, with the latter-day lineup of Alex Chilton and founding drummer Jody Stephens alongside Posies principals Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer.

"We had no expectations," Auer tells Billboard.com of the recording sessions, "and I think we came up with a pretty credible record. It's impossible, of course, to compete with the original Big Star, but it's pretty crazy that a band that broke up 30 years ago made a new record."

Highlights include the ballad "Lady Sweet," replete with Big Star's signature harmony vocals and expert sense of melody, plus prototypical loose rockers like "February's Quiet" and "Best Chance We've Ever Had."

The original Big Star released three albums -- 1972's "No. 1 Record," 1974's "Radio City" and "Third/Sister Lovers," which was released after the band's breakup and founding member Chris Bell's tragic death in a car accident.

But the group's influence stretched far, inspiring, among others, a young Auer & Stringfellow, who would later prove catalysts in the band's rejuvenation when called upon to join Stephens and Chilton for a 1993 reunion concert. Since then, the group has been an on-and-off proposition, touring sporadically.

"In 2003, we played a show in Memphis that corresponded with the opening of the Stax museum," Auer explains, "and we decided that we'd learn some of the back catalog of Big Star. We did a rare actual rehearsal. Once we ran through a couple of the songs, Alex sat down and said, 'I'm not into playing some of these old songs. I really like the standard set we play, but these ones don't really mean anything to me.' But then he said, 'Something I would consider is doing a new record with y'all.'"

An impressed and intrigued Auer says the idea was tossed back and forth a bit and everyone seemed into it, so Rykodisc was brought into the picture, and sessions were scheduled. The recording was very much a collaborative process, as all four members of the current lineup contributed writing and vocals. Recording with their idols after all this time never became too surreal for the Posies, Auer admits.

"If there's anything strange about it, it's that we've been in the band longer than the original lineup was together," he notes. "Ken and I consider ourselves hired guns, but Alex and Jody clearly think of us as equal members at this point."

Still, Auer cautions fans to approach this new album on its own terms and not stacking it up against the Big Star legend. "You can't compete with a myth," he says. "I hope people don't expect it to be like it was, but there's enough of what made Big Star 'Big Star' on this record."

The group is hoping to play select shows in North America in the fall.