The Most Significant Indie Records

Big Star - #1 Record (Ardent, 1972)

This album was quirkier than the Raspberries and more aggressive than Badfinger, Big Star aspired to Beatlesque pop at a time when everyone else seemed to be getting heavy, slick or progressive. Cris Bell and Alex Chilton were both adept tunesmiths and harmonists and their pop sensibilities combined to make the band's debut a seminal classic. Big Star's albums never made any commercial impact upon their original issue,though they became a luminous cult item., influencing a couple of generations of jangly pop bands.