First Listen: Big Star

In Space (Rykodisk) A perfectly nice pop record that sounds halfway like an Alex Chilton album from the past two decades (lots of goofy R & B and garage rock) and halfway like (pick your favorite Big Star derivative: Posies, Teenage Fanclub, Velvet Crush, Imperial Teen...). Which means that it's a Big Star record in name and half its personnel only--because what made Big Star unique was that they sounded a lot more desperate than perfectly nice while cranking out the indelible hooks. So don't necessarily avoid--but don't be disappointed if what you hear sounds nothing like Radio City and only a little bit like #1 Record.