From: Jody2112@aol.com

                             THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL
               Copyright 1996 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
 DATE: THURSDAY, February  8, 1996
 PAGE: C1                                             EDITION: Final
 SECTION: Appeal                                      LENGTH: Medium
 SOURCE: By*Jody*Callahan* The Commercial Appeal
 DATELINE: ATLANTA

                 *BIG*STAR*GIVES ATLANTA TASTE OF ORIGINALITY

    Just a block behind the Roxy Theater is an abandoned*Big*Star*grocery,
its name barely visible, while wavy plastic and rotting plywood hide the
windows and door.
    The metaphor was just too perfect to ignore.
    Because playing inside the Roxy Wednesday night was the*Big*Star,*the
legendary Memphis band that borrowed its name from that same grocery chain 25
years ago.
    And not so long ago,*Big*Star*the band was much like that grocery store -
defunct, a memory. After three poor-selling records, the last of which was
recorded in 1974 and released in 1978, the band dissolved into legend, with
bootleg tapes and ragtag albums surviving in the underground.
    But in 1993, two University of Missouri students managed a feat most
thought impossible. Somehow, they convinced original members Alex Chilton and
Jody Stephens to play again as*Big*Star*in Columbia, Mo.
    And Wednesday, in recognition of their 25th anniversary and as an
opportunity to spotlight the Idle Wilds and Spot, two young bands signed to
Ardent Records, the band played again, their first gig since a November show
in New York.
    No mention was made of the anniversary in the compact 17-song, 90-minute
set. In a sense, that was appropriate, because the show was far from a paean
to history.
    No, the 350 fans - many of whom continuously shouted out their favorite
song titles - saw a band that sounds as fresh and vivid as it did a quarter-
century ago.
    From the opening strains of In the Street through the venomous Don't Lie
To Me through Back of a Car through . . . well, through most of the show, the
band played with an urgent sense of control that even applied to the
notoriously flammable - the nice word is ''mercurial'' -  Chilton, who
appeared to genuinely enjoy himself.
    And the classic songs were only enhanced by the crunch of Posies
guitarist Jon Auer and bassist Ken Stringfellow. Handling most of the work on
Feel, the pair gave a near perfect version, complete with the nasty snarl of
the original. The night's only disappointment was The Ballad of El Goodo, a
tender slice of melancholy in which Chilton sounded far too happy.
    So, right now several of you are probably wondering: what's your point? I
know Elvis, I know Jerry Lee, I know Al Green and I know W. C. Handy, but who
are these guys and why should I care?
    Here's why. If you're a member of the generation that ruled
when*Big*Star* first formed in 1971, odds are good your children and maybe
you are listening to music that traces its origins to this Memphis band.
    Or if you have 96X and 107.1 as your first two car stereo preset
stations, listen up. Because much of what you're hearing on those stations
calls*Big**Star*its fountainhead.
    Among the bands influenced by*Big*Star:*R.E.M. The Replacements. The
Counting Crows. Matthew Sweet. dB's. The Pretenders. The Bangles. Teenage
Fanclub. The Posies.
    All speak reverently of*Big*Star*(especially the Replacements, who
recorded perhaps their best song in Memphis simply called Alex Chilton).
    So, just why is this music so influential?
    Well, listen to their first album, ''No. 1 Record.'' It still rings with
a vibrancy and clarity that belies its age. Listen to the emotional skyline
behind The Ballad of El Goodo. Listen to the unfettered pop melody of
September Gurls or When My Baby's Beside Me.
    And then absorb Chilton's lyrics. Long considered a postmodern
anti-Lennon, Chilton's lyrics, even those penned 25 years ago, still strike
an emotional resonance today.
    So take that pop mentality, blend it with a dark, lyrical style and let
it evolve over 25 years, and you have the legend of*Big*Star.