In 1973, Big Star had their most significant coming out at a
rowdy convention for rock writers (Lester Bangs and Cameron Crowe were among
the attendees). A very apt event since the Memphis power poppers were always
best loved by the critics. In a time when rock was all about big stadium bands like
Led Zeppelin, Yes, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, Big Star’s concise,
fresh-faced, jangly pop was at odds with popular tastes but a total balm to the
professional music listeners chaffing beneath all the proggy bombast. Today it
seems amazing that music so instantly accessible and timeless could have ever been
unfashionable, but it’s at least one explanation for why Big Star never got to
be the big stars they deserved to be.
