Big Star – Radio City (180g, Craft Recordings)

Reissue LP on 180-gram vinyl

Cut using the original master tapes by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl

Pressed at Memphis Record Pressing

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time — No. 405

"What happens in Memphis stays in Memphis" — at least until you get these home (unless you live in Memphis!) might be Craft Recordings' slogan for this all-analog pair of Big Star reissues, probably the first all-analog reissues of these two ignored when first released but now highly regarded early '70s albums since Classic Records released them in 2009 AAA on Clarity vinyl. ... These two albums, both of which are spectrally bright belong in every serious rock collection. So glad to see them brought back directly from the original tapes!" — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. Read the whole article here.

Originally released in 1974, Radio City is the second album from Big Star, a critically acclaimed, Memphis-based band which is often credited with creating the power pop sound. Craft's new editions to be released January 24th, 2020, were cut using the original master tapes by Jeff Powell at Memphis' Take Out Vinyl and pressed at Memphis Record Pressing. The band formed in 1971 by the late Alex Chilton and the late Chris Bell with drummer Jody Stephens and bassist the late Andy Hummel featured Beatle-esque/British Invasion influenced songwriting and jangly rhythm guitar saturated arrangements of often wistful, melancholic songs.

Though not a commercial success at the time it was released, Radio City is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label, Ardent Records. The album included "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the most famous Big Star songs; both the Searchers and the Bangles have covered "September Gurls."

Radio City's reputation has grown since its release, with many critics and listeners of the opinion that it is not only the definitive power pop album but one of the finest rock-music albums. As writer Richard Meltzer told an interviewer, "Big Star...is the means through which most bands today who are influenced by the Beatles get their dose of the British Invasion."

The album was voted No. 319 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). In 2012, the album was ranked No. 405 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Rolling Stone magazine also ranked the song "September Gurls" as No. 178 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.