Radio City (album)
Encyclopedia
On its release in January 1974, Radio City met with general acclaim. Record World
judged the musicianship "superb"; Billboard described the album as "a highly commercial set", and Cashbox called it "a collection of excellent material". However, sales were thwarted by an inability to make the album available in stores. Stax Records
, primary distributor for the band's Ardent Records
label, had recently placed distribution of its catalog in the hands of the much larger Columbia Records
; Radio City's release coincided with a disagreement between Stax and Columbia, which left Columbia refusing to distribute the catalog. As a result, the album achieved only minimal sales of around 20,000 copies at the time.
Giving an "A" rating, Robert Christgau
calls the album "Brilliant, addictive", observing meanwhile that ""The harmonies sound like the lead sheets are upside down and backwards, the guitar solos sound like screwball readymade pastiches, and the lyrics sound like love is strange [...] Can an album be catchy and twisted at the same time?" Allmusic's William Ruhlmann considers that the band's follow-up to #1 Record "lacked something of the pop sweetness (especially the harmonies)" of the debut but captured "Alex Chilton's urgency (sometimes desperation) on songs that made his case as a genuine rock & roll eccentric. If #1 Record had a certain pop perfection that brought everything together, Radio City was the sound of everything falling apart, which proved at least as compelling."
Side two
Additional musicians
Record World
Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade publications in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box magazines. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but since 1964 changed it to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin, both...
judged the musicianship "superb"; Billboard described the album as "a highly commercial set", and Cashbox called it "a collection of excellent material". However, sales were thwarted by an inability to make the album available in stores. Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
, primary distributor for the band's Ardent Records
Ardent Records
Ardent Records, often shortened to "Ardent," is a Memphis record label founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for Big Star, whose first two albums, released in 1972...
label, had recently placed distribution of its catalog in the hands of the much larger Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
; Radio City's release coincided with a disagreement between Stax and Columbia, which left Columbia refusing to distribute the catalog. As a result, the album achieved only minimal sales of around 20,000 copies at the time.
Giving an "A" rating, Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
calls the album "Brilliant, addictive", observing meanwhile that ""The harmonies sound like the lead sheets are upside down and backwards, the guitar solos sound like screwball readymade pastiches, and the lyrics sound like love is strange [...] Can an album be catchy and twisted at the same time?" Allmusic's William Ruhlmann considers that the band's follow-up to #1 Record "lacked something of the pop sweetness (especially the harmonies)" of the debut but captured "Alex Chilton's urgency (sometimes desperation) on songs that made his case as a genuine rock & roll eccentric. If #1 Record had a certain pop perfection that brought everything together, Radio City was the sound of everything falling apart, which proved at least as compelling."
Track listing
Side one- "O My Soul" – 5:40 (Chilton) [Mono; No stereo mix has ever been released]
- "Life Is White" – 3:19 (Chilton, Hummel)
- "Way Out West" – 2:50 (Hummel)
- "What's Going Ahn" – 2:40 (Chilton, Hummel)
- "You Get What You Deserve" – 3:08 (Chilton)
Side two
- "Mod Lang" – 2:45 (Chilton, Rosebrough)
- "Back of a Car" – 2:46 (Chilton, Hummel)
- "Daisy Glaze" – 3:49 (Chilton, Hummel, Stephens)
- "She's a Mover" – 3:12 (Chilton)
- "September GurlsSeptember Gurls"September Gurls" is a song written by Alex Chilton for Big Star's second album Radio City, released in 1974. The song was also released as a single...
" – 2:49 (Chilton) - "Morpha Too" – 1:27 (Chilton)
- "I'm in Love with a Girl" – 1:48 (Chilton)
Personnel
Big Star- Alex ChiltonAlex ChiltonWilliam Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Andy Hummel – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Jody StephensJody StephensJody Stephens is an American drummer, who has played in Big Star and Golden Smog . When not on tour with Big Star, he works at Ardent Studios, which is where Big Star has recorded all of their albums...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals
Additional musicians
- Danny Jones – bass guitar
- Richard Rosebrough – drums