A to Z

BIG STAR

In Space (reissue, 2005) OMNIVORE

7/10

Reformed legends, new members along for the ride, rise to the occasion

Big Star returned to the stage in 1993 after an 18-year absence, during which their stock had increased considerably, their three ’70s albums critically re-evaluated and lauded, and their music hailed by the likes of Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements and REM. The reformed Big Star – Alex Chilton joined by fellow original member Jody Stephens, and Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of power-pop group The Posies, who’d cribbed a few moves from the original lineup – eventually released a fourth album in 2005 that landed with a resounding thud. The critics at the time got it wrong, as In Space is filled with the light and shade that made their debut, #1 Record, so thrilling; there’s also something strangely moving about hearing Chilton explore his newer interests through the revitalised group, on covers like “Mine Exclusively”, while Auer and Stringfellow contribute songs that could have fallen off a ’70s Ardent Studios session, like the breathtaking “Lady Sweet”. It’s full of superior guitar pop, and ready for rediscovery.

Extras: 5/10.Some alternate recordings and demos. JON DALE

DAVID BOWIE

Conversation Piece PARLOPHONE

8/10

Commencing countdown… Bowie’s 1969, boxed

The received tale of Bowie’s 1969 is of five years of confusion and disappointment suddenly clarified by “Space Oddity”. As Major Tom would tell you, though, it’s sometimes more about the journey than the getting there, and the contents of this latest Bowie box help document many of the steps. Failed rocker, part-time mime, disappointed hippie, jilted lover… by the time of his second proper album, Bowie was becoming more than the sum of his parts. Remixed here by Tony Visconti, the 1969 Space Oddity record remains more than its title track, the tender love songs (“Letter To Hermione”, “An Occasional Dream”) particularly strong. It’s a hippie record of social observation and heavy inner trips, Bowie’s wit and tenderness rendering it a cut above. If this sounds confusing, you should hear what led up to it. Bowie’s ’69 saw him writing tuneful folkie tosh (“Ching A Ling”), character pieces (“When I’m Five”), live on Peel’s Top Gear, and demoing for Mercury records in an acoustic duo with John “Hutch” Hutchinson. By this point, “Space Oddity” is primed for liftoff. “Some of it is being considered as single material,” Bowie tells Mercury. “But we’ll leave that up to you…”

Extras: 7/10. 5CD box features 120-page hardback book. JOHN ROBINSON

BILLY BRAGG

Best Of Billy Bragg At The Beeb 1983-2019 COOKING VINYL

7/10

38 blasts of Bragg from four decades of