Big Star - Live At Lafayette's Music Room

(This review first appeared in issue #77 of Shindig! magazine.)

Omnivore CD / 2LP

This hometown set from 1973 has been released before (as disc four on the Keep An Eye On The Sky box set) but a standalone release comes newly restored and remastered, and makes its debut on vinyl. The band were supporting Archie Bell and The Drells at the same venue where four months later they'd play the legendary Memphis Rock Writers Convention.

Despite Chris Bell having recently left, the new three-piece are captured on top form. With superior sound and performances than those on the Live (at WLIR) album from the following year, it's a set worth owning for Jody Stephen's joyful drum fills alone, and contains sprightly covers of The Kinks, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Todd Rundgren and T Rex. It's also a reminder that the band were not then lauded – acoustic versions of 'Try Again' and 'Watch The Sunrise' compete with disinterested audience chatter and receive scant applause. Here's to hindsight!

Various - Looking Forward: The Roots Of Big Star

(This review first appeared in issue #71 of Shindig! magazine.)

Omnivore CD

In any artistic medium there's a risk of embarrassment when juvenilia is available for public consumption. Not so here. This collection, culled from Ardent Studio's 1969-1971 tapes and centred on the early works of Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and an ever-rotating group of East Memphis musicians (most notably Tom Eubanks and Terry Manning) is, if anything, an embarrassment of riches. Early versions of 'My Life Is Right', 'Oh My Soul' and 'Try Again' are included along with several previously unreleased tracks.

Pre-Big Star groups Icewater and Rock City are well represented, and there's three tracks credited to The Wallabys, (albeit aided by Bell and musical compatriot Steve Rhea). It's clear the studio downtime at Ardent, primarily awarded to Bell to sharpen his skills for the nascent Big Star, was not wasted. Clever production touches and skilful arrangements abound, as does a shared sense of fun and discovery. A true joy!

Derrick Anderson - A World Of My Own

Omnivore CD

Though a solo record, the contributor list marks this out as an all-star affair. Matthew Sweet pops up on guitar. The Smithereens, The Muffs and The Cowsills all make appearances. As do The Bangles (for whom Anderson has played bass since 2008). There's also a reunion for Anderson's eponymous nineties combo, The Andersons. A proven team player then, but this is an album made in Anderson's image, infused with taut mid-'60s songwriting values, where Anglophilic beat music mixes with punchy powerpop and soulful mod-rock.

Quite why the Los Angeles based musician has taken so long before venturing out on his own is a mystery, or maybe he's just been stockpiling this set of guitar-driven Revolver-esque tunes. Highlights include 'Phyllis & Sharon' (a tribute to the US soap opera The Young and The Restless), and the album's bonus track, a cover of The Beatles 'Norwegian Wood', albeit with a funk-rock makeover. Foxy!

Click here for Derrick Anderson's website.