Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos (Deluxe Edition)

There are few things that elicit as much excitement in the world of music snobbery than the emergence of another cult hero. This is exactly what happened in the late 80's when bands like R.E.M., The Replacements and Teenage Fanclub started singing the praises of an ironically named band called Big Star, who emerged onto the scene in the early 70's to great critical praise, but unfortunate mainstream obscurity. Since the aforementioned name dropping by those highly notable college rock staples, the band's stock has continued to rise, being covered by the likes of Wilco and Elliott Smith, as well as having their music featured in TV (That 70's Show) and film (Adventureland). Interestingly, the Alex Chilton / Chris Bell tag team has been referred to by some as a sort Lennon / McCartney duo, with Chilton being the advanced songwriter and Bell being relegated to the roll of less substantial rocking sidekick. This is a sentiment that I also foolishly accepted until I first listened to I Am The Cosmos, a compilation that was released in 1992 of some of the songs that Chris Bell had been working on prior to his untimely death from a car accident in 1978. That outstanding collection of songs awakened in me the realization that Bell was every bit as substantial a songwriter as Chilton and he undoubtedly had more input into the band's output than is often credited to him (especially on Radio City, their 2nd album that was released after he had left the band).

While Rhino has continued to fuel the continual interest in Big Star with last year's release of a 98-song career retroactive boxset entitled Keep An Eye To The Sky, they also play their part in keeping Bell on the radar by releasing a new double disc deluxe edition of I Am The Cosmos which comes complete with a slightly re-sequenced version of the album on disc one, and a collection of (mostly) unreleased material on disc two. The songs themselves hold up remarkably well, especially some of the mellower heartbreaking numbers. Songs like You and Your Sister and Look Up, for example, exhibit a vulnerability that is immaculately produced, yet presented in a way that sounds genuine and unforced. The acoustic version of the former number on disc two sounds surprisingly clean, which adds an almost haunting quality to the song for some reason, although I find it difficult to articulate exactly why that is. Perhaps it's just the imagery of him performing the song in a small room surrounded my friends and family while completely unaware of the impact that his music would eventually have on so many people. I'm not usually one for spending a lot of time with bonus tracks and such, but I actually find myself enjoying the rarities on disc two just as much as the actual album. Some more great discoveries have been unearthed on this disc, such as Stay With Me, a country duet with his friend Keith Sykes that has an impeccable melody and some pretty impressive guitar work. In My Darkest Hour is sung by Nancy Bryan, and provides an articulate insight into the depression that Bell has been known to deal with during the last few years of his life. The reflective instrumental piece that ends the album (Clacton Rag) is beautiful as it manages to tie the album together in a way that makes it feel like one full cohesive piece which is remarkable considering that, as mentioned earlier, this really is simply a culling together of scattered parts and pieces.

While it is a tragedy that Chris Bell and his Big Star comrades were unable to get the recognition that they deserved until much too late, the impact of albums such as this one are undoubtedly going to continue to grow even more substantial as the music on this double disc set continues to speak to future generations. There is no doubt that this is one emotionally charged listening experience, and perhaps it's not the type of thing that you're going to put on when you're in need of some cheering up, but it's very rewarding to see that there was still much to discover in the legacy of this musical legend.

Preview: All of the tracks on I Am The Cosmos at Rhino Records.
Myspace: Chris Bell
Myspace: Big Star

Other stuff:

Sloan has just released a new compilation of B-sides and rarities entitled B-Sides Win which can now be purchased at their website. [Myspace: Sloan]

Danny Michel has just released his first solo live album called Live in Winnipeg which can also be purchased at his website. [Myspace: Danny Michel]

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips is interviewed at Crawdaddy.  [Myspace: The Flaming Lips]

The White Stripes are releasing a limited edtion CD/DVD boxset chronicling their 2007 tour of the Canadian countryside on March 16th. It will be entitled The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights and a video clip from the set of Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground is being featured on Spinner.ca [Myspace: The White Stripes]

Kat Burns of Forest City Lovers debuted a new song called Oh Come Away/Sea To Land on the Grocery List Countdown show on Verge FM. The show will air February 15th, but there's a video of the song posted on Forest City Lovers blog. [Myspace: Forest City Lovers]