Big Star Album: “Columbia: Live at Missouri University”

The short-lived Big Star produced some of the most significant hard-edged Pop to date - severe electric rhythms featuring irrepressible melodies. Columbia serves several purposes. Gratifying the appetite of core fans with a nostalgic tribute. Introducing graying Power Poppers to two superb young musicians (from the Posies). And perhaps sharing a bit of Big Star with younger Posies' fans.

The air was electrified and the ground rumbled on April 25, 1993, at Missouri University. The fourteen song concert opens with the heavy-handed `In The Street,' and the bitter `Don't Lie To Me.' `In The Street' is a ferocious rocker built on a seven-note bass guitar progression. The opening song sets the tone for the evening: rumbling base guitar, rousing lead and rhythm guitars, and enticing vocal harmonies. `Don't Lie To Me' sounds like a solid brick wall of electric rock moving unstoppable from the stage into the audience. The song doesn't have a quiet second that you can stick your finger into. The poignant `I Am The Cosmos' (adolescent infatuation at its best) sounds as if someone accidentally plugged the toaster into a 220-volt socket - sparks fly. The concert continues with the vigor of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. Sing-along melodies? You can bet you copy of #1 Record - `The Ballad Of El Goodo' (a rebellious but melodic teenage statement) and `September Gurls' are gorgeous. The concert ends (too soon) with a rousing boogie titled `Slut' (the politically incorrect anti-feminist statement).

Columbia includes a share of "imperfections." At times the tempo is not quite synchronized, and the harmony vocals are less than "angelic." Thank goodness. Columbia is not sanitized like the starched white linen at the Hyatt Regency - this is "live" rock. Crude, raunchy, brazen and liberating. Just the way rock is supposed to be.

Of the many live shows I've seen and heard over the years, this is one of the best. Every song crackles with energy. Alex Chilton and Jon Auer's guitar sounds are a gorgeous mixture of guitar sounds.

Many of the classic Big Star songs are well represented here: In The Street, Ballad of El Goodo, Back of a Car and September Gurls all sound fantastic and not at all dated. The band even gives a fitting tribute to the late Chris Bell, covering I Am The Cosmos, a song that fits seamlessly with the others. Covers of T. Rex's "Baby Strange" and Todd Rundgren's "Slut" in particular highlight the band's considerable live chops.

Don't get me wrong, I fully respect the original Big Star lineup with Bell and Andy Hummel, but without a doubt the addition of Posies Auer and Ken Stringfellow adds sufficient muscle to the performance. Alex Chilton's vocals are as good now as they were then and Jody Stephens is a highly underrated drummer.

Don't hesitate to buy this album. Almost any fan of rock music - from Neil Young to Teenage Fanclub will love this album.

Though it's not "really" Big Star, this is almost just as good. Chilton's there, so it all sounds right. "The Ballad of El-Goodo" and "Daisy Glaze" are high-points. The "LIVE" factor alone, makes it worth the money. If you've never seen Chilton live, this will make you want to.

I'll keep this brief: Chris Bell couldn't be there, but I'm convinced he really was there for this performance. I swear you can feel his energy in the recording. The original records are of course iconic, and the available live material from the early 70s is great but sonically limited (by, for example, 2-track machines). It took a lot of healing and a lot of guts for Chilton to even attempt this, and what I hear when I play this disk is a tight, passionate and loving tribute to the late Chris Bell -- and affirmation that what he put his heart into mattered! This record is a lasting gift from the re-formed band to the music community, to each other, and mainly to the fans who have made the ironically named "Big Star" into the big stars they never were in their time. (PS: Great choice of cover material from T-Rex and Todd Rundgren, kindred spirits who often combined mythology and melody into 3-1/2 minute radio symphonies.)

I love this recording of the reunion concert (without two of the original line-up). This has grown on me over the past two years and I find it is on my stereo more than any of Paul Westerberg's solo albums. I like the arrangements of the Big Star material and the guitar of Chilton is excellent.