Track Listing

1. I Am The Cosmos
2. Better Save Yourself
3. Speed Of The Sound
4. Get Away
5. You And Your Sister
6. Make A Scene
7. Look Up
8. I Got Kinda Lost
9. There Was A Light
10. Fight At The Table
11. I Don't Know
12. Though I Know She Lies
13. I Am The Cosmos
14. You And Your Sister
15. You And Your Sister

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5027 in Music
• Released on: 2002-04-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
Though Big Star's #1 RECORD (1972) received favourable press, distribution problems marred its release, making copies hard to find and keeping sales low. Chris Bell left the band after the release of #1 RECORD, apparently very depressed. His sad story is explained in I AM THE COSMOS' extensive liner notes, written by Bell's older brother. Apart from a few collaborations, including a couple of tracks for the second Big Star album, Chris Bell spent the six subsequent years recording music for a solo album. He fought both depression andheroin abuse before dying in a car accident in 1978.
I AM THE COSMOS is a flawless set of songs. Bell was heavily influenced by The Beatles, but his uniqueness shines through. The title track appears here in two versions, the second of which is slower and even more poignant than the first. "You & Your Sister" is also featured in several versions, all of them equally essential. "Though I Know She Lies" somehow sounds even sadder than it should, especially when the disc stops spinning, and the realisation that the world was tragically robbed of one of its great songwriters is made all the more crushing.

Customer Reviews

He is the stratosphere
This cd represents one of the great lost albums. Chris Bell, a major part of Big Star, made with 'I Am The Cosmos' one of the finest 'underground' albums ever.

What can I say: heartfelt, inspiring and loose. This is the sound of disintegration, for the man was troubled, but aren't we all????

If you're wondering whether to buy this album, listen to the clip of track 1 above and hear THAT lead guitar break. This is a must have. Please also buy 'Third/Sister lovers' by Big Star. Music is not made this good anymore. Some of the inspired guitar and keyboard breaks are beautiful.

If I had to choose how to describe the sound it would be Radiohead crossed with early era Neil Young and The Band circa 'Music From The Big Pink'. Oh, and 'Look Up' and 'Though I know She Lies' are two of the most beautiful, emotional and heartfelt ballads ever. Please, we all have to make decisions when buying music. With all my heart, please, I urge you to buy this majestic record. You, like me will miss out on some classic albums because of money restrictions or not being aware of their existance. Do not let this album slip by.

This is one of those records you can not help but become emotionally linked with. Listen for the awesome guitar on 'I got Kinda Lost' or the classic rock'n'roll of 'I don't Know'. This album has musical cousins in 'The Velvet Underground and Nico' and Neil Young's 'Rust Never Sleeps'.

Outa Space!
Where do we begin, the biggest fish of all seems to have slipped through the net. If you ask even the most clued up rock fan if they dig Chris Bell they will ask, 'Who?' but nobody could listen to tracks like 'You and your Sister' or 'Look Up' without feeling each time as if they were being deliciously sawn in half by Chris's barbed, breaking, bittersweet vocals. The sound of hope conquering pain, the feeling of dizzy heights and hopelessly poignant musical altitude sickness, buy this album. Buy this album. BUY THIS ALBUM! It will make you happy and complement those cold spring mornings of impossibly high skies and little fluffy clouds...

The best undiscovered album ever
It is no secret that Chris Bell remained an undiscovered talent during his lifetime. Both with Big Star and as an individual recording artist, his work was tragically overlooked by public and press alike, a fact which is only now thankfully being addressed.

This record is quite simply one of the most exceptional albums on the market. Appealing to both lovers of classic rock and Lennon-esque ballads, I am the Cosmos contains music that fans of all genres can both relate to and recognise and flawless.

Quite often, music magazines publish polls of the greatest albums ever made. This leads to albums such as Revolver, Exile on Main Street, London Calling and Dark Side of the Moon consistantly filling the upper placings in such lists. Never will you see I am the Cosmos nominated. Those who here this album are often left wondering why.

If you only buy one album this year then forget the overrated offerings of 2004. Even forget the classics. Purchase this and enjoy a tragically overlooked, faultless example of songwriting at its best