Fuck Yeah, Big Star

oneweekoneband:

Big Star - Give Me Another Chance

The second side of #1 Record takes things down a notch or two; even the rockers are more subdued. Still, the run of acoustic songs that are buried towards the end of the album demonstrate yet another side of Big Star that could have been. The melodies are gorgeous, the back-and-forthing between Bell’s and Chilton’s material works wonderfully, and the lyrics are heartbreakingly simple. The George Harrison-gone-gospel ‘Try Again’ only has about six lines, whilst ‘Give Me Another Chance’ - stunning as it is - chucks in as many sixth-form rhymes as possible (bad/mad, find/mind, fast/at last) to complement a classic tale of a guy with his head hung low begging his girlfriend for forgiveness.

But, y’know, they were young. ‘The Ballad of El Goodo’ may be a song that was wise beyond Chilton’s years, but the back end of the album shows that the band’s main songwriters were still had a lot to learn about life, if not their craft.