Radio City – Big Star
The intro of “O My Soul” is terrific, with mix of bright guitar chords and organ, and it continues in an energetic vein throughout the song, including a couple of left turns with the guitar along the way.
But then the follow-ups, “Life is White”, “Way Out West” and “What’s Going Ahn” felt like a bit of a struggle after such a magnificent opening. Sure, there’s earnest guitar playing and a bit of harmonica, but they are skippable tracks.
“You Get What You Deserve” and “Mod Lang” lift the quality again with their jangly/buzzy guitars respectively, but “Daisy Glaze” is too bit drab for half it’s running time and the numerous changes that follow can’t save it.
“She’s a Mover” features some interesting guitar changes that work better and “September Gurls” pairs some satisfying ringing guitars with a good melody and effective vocals.
But the end of the album is a real let-down: “Morpha Too” is not just a mere should-have-left-it-on-the-cutting-room-floor contender, it’s the bookies red-hot favourite. Although being fair, at 88 seconds, it’s more of an interlude. Same goes for “I’m in Love with a Girl”, although the acoustic guitar strum makes for a slightly more pleasant listen.
Can I see why this album is recognised as a milestone album in the history of power pop? Absolutely. Would I swap it for my Matthew Sweet album? Not a chance. I think it’s a solid album that in its best moments, features some joyous and energetic guitar, but it’s a bit too uneven with too many average tracks.
Compare this to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers debut, which followed two years later, and those little extra elements like self-editing, song structure and great choruses make all the difference between a good album and a great one.
Still, it was an enjoyable listen for at least half the running time and worth 6/10.
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