You could almost call it the perfect storm for fans of Big Star: In addition to an exhaustive new biography of the power-pop godfathers (by U.K. writer Rob Jovanovic), In Space marks the group’s first studio recording in three decades. Not that the earlier storm wasn’t perfect; Big Star’s ’70s albums — #1 Record, Radio City and Third — form one of rock’s most celebrated trilogies. But will overheated anticipation for this new set capsize the vessel and leave the legend waterlogged?
Sensing that sort of scenario, Big Star — founders Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens, plus the Posies’ Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, honorary members since Chilton revived the franchise in 1993 — wisely avoided taking the former glories route. Instead of self-consciously attempting a “September Gurls” or “In The Street” Mk. II, the four songwriters simply came up with a dozen disparate tunes intending only to have fun creating them. For the most part, that “fun” is infectious.
Chilton’s “Dony” kicks things off; it’s one of several standouts that, by blending a meat-and-potatoes rhythm with sparkling but not saccharine guitar jangle and luminous backing vocal harmonies, has a classic feel. Likewise with Stephens’ Beatlesque “Best Chance We’ve Ever Had”, which boasts a bridge so joyous your toes will tingle.
Auer submits the baroque-pop ballad “Lady Sweet”, while Chilton, shifting gears, heads off to the teen dance club with the “Cool Jerk”-like “Mine Exclusively”. While the ’60s vibe of those two is intentional, it doesn’t emerge as pastiche. The same can’t be said of Stringfellow’s “Turn My Back On The Sun”, a too-calculated Beach Boys homage, and an excruciating Chilton foray into disco called, uh, “Love Revolution”. That pair of back-to-back missteps momentarily derails momentum, but the band quickly recovers.
In Space, while not seamless, keeps the legacy intact. It’s actually superior to the 2003 anthology Big Star Story, which suffered from bizarre sequencing, incoherent liners and one new tune so ghastly that fans were left skeptical of Big Star ever regaining contemporary footing. Never fear, kids — this resurrection was worth waiting for.
