Big Star, considered to be among the founders of power pop, has been cited as an influence by many of the major alternative bands of the ’80s and ’90s, and continues to be a powerful presence in today’s musical landscape. Artists such as R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements (who famously penned the song “Alex Chilton”) and Wilco all enthusiastically tout the artistic impact of the group. Mike Mills recalls Big Star as “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound. A band who wrote all the songs, from flat-out rockers to achingly beautiful ballads that were still somehow rock songs.”

Big Star, considered to be among the founders of power pop, has been cited as an influence by many of the major alternative bands of the ’80s and ’90s, and continues to be a powerful presence in today’s musical landscape. Artists such as R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements (who famously penned the song “Alex Chilton”) and Wilco all enthusiastically tout the artistic impact of the group. Mike Mills recalls Big Star as “a band who had gotten it right, who made records that sounded like rock and roll bands should sound. A band who wrote all the songs, from flat-out rockers to achingly beautiful ballads that were still somehow rock songs.”

The quintessential American power pop band, Big Star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. Originally led by the singing and songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, the Memphis-based group fused the strongest elements of the British Invasion era – the melodic invention of the Beatles, the whiplash guitars of the Who, and the radiant harmonies of the Byrds – into a ramshackle but poignantly beautiful sound which recaptured the spirit of pop's past even as it pointed the way toward the music's future. Although creative tensions, haphazard distribution, and marketplace indifference conspired to ensure Big Star's brief existence and commercial failure, the group's three studio albums nevertheless remain unqualified classics, and their impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground.

Originally released in 1972, "Number One Record" is the debut album from Big Star, a critically acclaimed, Memphis-based band which is often credited with creating the power pop sound. Remastered from the analog stereo masters, this reissue will allow fans to appreciate #1 Record as a standalone CD - this is the first time in many years that the CD version of the album will be sold independently of Big Star’s second album, "Radio City". Packaging also includes liner notes penned by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, who cites Big Star as one of his biggest influences, and calls the album “a record of rich sonic textures, of declaration and vulnerability”.

"Radio City" is the 1974 follow up to Big Star’s debut, "#1 Record". The critically acclaimed, Memphis-based band is often credited with creating the power pop sound, and has become a cult favorite over the years. Remastered from the analog stereo masters, this reissue will allow fans to appreciate Radio City as a standalone CD - this is the first time in many years that the CD version of the album will be sold independently of #1 Record. Packaging includes new liner notes penned by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, who cites Big Star as one of his biggest influences.