#359 Big Star, 'Radio City' (1974)

Previously #405

A nice big jump for this record. The sophomore record by Big Star saw the band reconfigure themselves as a three-piece following the departure of key member, Chris Bell. This album is pure power pop perfection and having listened to both this album and the debut in the last challenge, makes me wonder why I never listened to these albums more. The release of the record coincided with an internal disagreement between their distributors, which made the album unavailable in stores. This hurt sales really badly, making the album a commercial failure. The album has since been recognised as a milestone rock record and continues to influence.

Starting with the great ‘O My Soul,’ the album includes singles ‘September Gurls’ and ‘Back Of A Car.’ ‘September Gurls,’ named in tribute of The Beach Boys’ ‘California Girls,’ is one of the band’s most iconic songs, having been covered by The Bangles and The Searchers. It would be remiss of me not to mention Jody Stephens’ drumming; really ties these songs together neatly.

#rs500albums