Big Star’s Chris Bell Reissued!

Late founder of the seminal Memphis pop band gets the two-CD deluxe treatment in September.

By Fred Mills

Back in May we were talking about that upcoming Big Star boxed set, the 4-CD Keep an Eye on the Sky, due Sept. 15 from Rhino. At the same time we'd been tipped by a source at the label that Rhino Handmade would also be doing a Deluxe Edition reissue of the late Chris Bell's I Am The Cosmos.

Now comes official word from Handmade about the Bell released - now, on Sept. 28 -and as promised it's to be a rarities/outtakes-stuffed two-disc affair that vastly expands upon the original '92 Ryko release. According to Handmade, in addition to remastering the Ryko version, the set is to include a second CD containing "15 tracks previously unreleased. Among the wealth of unissued recordings are eight alternate versions and mixes of album tracks, including ‘You And Your Sister' with Mellotron in place of the original's string arrangement, and a later version of ‘Get Away' featuring Big Star's Alex Chilton on guitar, Ken Woodley on bass and Richard Rosebrough on drums.

‘The collection also gathers up a number of unreleased songs Bell recorded that did not appear on I Am The Cosmos, including two songs by Icewater (a precursor to Big Star); collaborations with Memphis songwriter Keith Sykes (‘Stay With Me') and singer Nancy Bryan (‘In My Darkest Hour'); and ‘Clacton Rag,' an instrumental recorded in 1976 that features Bell solo on guitar."

Cosmos will be a limited/numbered edition, as are most Handmade titles. As a bonus, the first 1,000 orders will receive a free 7" single of "I Am The Cosmos" b/w "You And Your Sister."

You can read more about the collection at the official Handmade page and hear song snippets. Here's the tracklisting:

CD1:

01 I Am the Cosmos
02 Better Save Yourself
03 Speed of Sound
04 Get Away
05 You and Your Sister
06 I Got Kinda Lost
07 Look Up
08 Make a Scene
09 There Was a Light
10 I Don't Know
11 Fight at the Table
12 Though I Know She Lies

CD2:

01 Icewater: "Looking Forward" *
02 Icewater: "Sunshine" *
03 Rock City: "My Life Is Right"
04 I Don't Know (Alternate Version) *
05 You and Your Sister (Alternate Version) *
06 I Am the Cosmos (Extended Alternate Version) *
07 Speed of Sound (Alternate Version) *
08 Fight at the Table (Alternate Mix) *
09 Make a Scene (Alternate Mix) *
10 Better Save Yourself (Alternate Mix) *
11 Get Away (Alternate Version) *
12 You and Your Sister (Acoustic Version)
13 Stay With Me [ft. Keith Sykes] *
14 In My Darkest Hour [ft. Nancy Bryan] *
15 Clacton Rag (Instrumental) *

* previously unreleased