Welcome to this week's Friday On The Turntable feature! For those of you that follow my blog on Facebook, you'll recall that each Friday I post a featured record that I'm currently enjoying. To enhance the experience, I've been filming short videos - discussing a brief history of the record, my favorite tracks and what it means to me. The video is embedded below - don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel here.
This week's featured album is the 1972 debut album from Big Star - #1 Record. Please enjoy, and feel free to leave me your thoughts on this record. Thanks for watching!
If you're a vinyl enthusiast, check out our feature on the Spin Clean Vinyl Record Cleaning Machine (click image below)
For those of you that only know the name Alex Chilton by-way-of a song by The Replacements, allow me to quickly give you a crash course. Chilton was a teenage, hit-maker in The Box Tops - later fronting the amazing, Memphis band - Big Star. He passed away in early 2010, but not before leaving behind a large body of solo LPs and a reunited Big Star.
Back in the late 60s, after leaving The Box Tops, and prior to the formation of Big Star, Chilton recorded a batch of songs. On January 10th, Omnivore Recordings pays tribute to the man, with a beautiful release of these recordings. Free Again: The '1970' Sessions collects 20 songs on the CD version, and if you order directly from Omnivore, you can get your hands on a special 7" that comes with the LP version - check that out here.
If you read my Most Anticipated Albums Of 2012 Guide, then you know I am anxiously awaiting this record. I immediately fell in love with the first track released from it - 'The EMI Song (Smile For Me).' Please enjoy it below.
Just in case you didn't know - a cover song is a remake. Every once in a while, I come across a song that is just brilliant, and then later realize that it's in fact a cover. Well, we're going to be having a face off here everyday for the next couple of weeks - The Original vs. The Cover. I'll be featuring songs that aren't as obvious as say... William Hung's version of I Believe I Can Fly. :) It's my hope that you'll discover some really cool, new songs - and maybe some that you never even knew were covers.
From one of the greatest albums of all time, Femme Fatale is one of the three songs that featured Nico on lead vocals. Written about Edie Sedgwick, Femme Fatale was released at the tail end of 1966, as a b-side to the Sunday Morning single. This song is amazing.
Although Big Star's third album was recorded in 1974, shortly after the release of Radio City, it wasn't actually released until 1978. Third - also called Sister/Lovers - contains a beautiful cover of Femme Fatale. If you'd like to check out the demo version that Alex Chilton recorded, click here - it's just vocals and 12-string guitar. Both versions are more than worthy of your attention. :)
The Velvet Underground - 
(1967)
Big Star - 
(1978)
, it wasn't actually released until 1978. 
- also called Sister/Lovers - contains a beautiful cover of 
that Alex Chilton recorded, 
