Chris Bell - I Am the Cosmos (CD)

Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos

By William  Mar 21, 2002

This collection of demos contains about 5 really good songs, including two TOTALLY AWESOME CLASSICS!!! Chris Bell didn't leave behind much recorded music in his short life following Big Star, but "You And Your Sister" and "Though I Know She Lies" a...re truly awesome folk-pop masterpieces. On I Am The Cosmos, Bell's voice has a much more expressive almost despairing edge than it did on Big Star's #1 Record; the more emotional vocal sound really makes you feel some of these songs. You can tell that the song "I Am The Cosmos" is a really good composition, but the recording of it here has kind of a muffled quality that holds it back some. The version that was recorded on Big Star's 1993 Live Album as a tribute to Bell is better because it has more clarity and lets you see more of the nuances of the song. "Better Save Yourself", "Speed Of Sound", and "There Was A Light" are also very fine songs. It is really a shame that Chris Bell didn't get to live longer and record more music. If he had lived longer, I think he would have been as well known as Paul McCartney, or Billy Joel, or somebody on that level. "You And Your Sister" and "Though I Know She Lies" are both songs that I think would be capable of becoming hits if they were included on the sound track of a big movie or something because they're really great they just need some exposure. This is an album with some flawed tracks, but its best moments make it better and more essential than 90-percent of what's out there. Read more Less