Big Star’s classic album Third is set for a deluxe reissue. The album, which was recorded in chaotic circumstances in 1974 and released four years later, after the band had split up, went on to become a cult classic.
Complete Third will feature 69 tracks that chart the band’s progress from initial demo recordings to final album tracks. Given that part of the record’s charm is its shambolic, echo-laden production and the general impression of a project falling apart at the seams, any insight into the recording process should be especially valuable to fans.
Despite the chaos surrounding the sessions – it’s still up for debate whether this was a Big Star record at all, rather than an Alex Chilton solo project – the musicians who played on them retain fond memories. Speaking to the Guardian in 2012, drummer Jody Stephens, who was the only remaining Big Star member working on the record alongside band leader Chilton at the time of recording, described the sessions as “a wonderment of wow. For me, I could get up and leave if I felt things were getting a bit tense or thick. I don’t know that it happened too often.”
The reissue will feature Chilton’s original demos, alongside rough mixes, early mixes, vocal takes and a cover of the Velvet Underground’s After Hours.
In other Big Star news, the band are set to release a photo book documenting their entire career. Featuring previously unseen photographs, the book will feature interviews with photographers and Stephens. Both the book and Complete Third will be available in October.
