CD longbox for the Chris Bell retrospective, I Am the Cosmos, released by U.S. label Rykodisc in 1992.
As previously documented on this blog, I have been a longtime fan of the music of Alex Chilton and Big Star. So I was greatly anticipating the Big Star reissue campaign of 1992 from Rykodisc, which included Third / Sister Lovers, a live radio performance from 1974, and this disc of “lost” recordings from the late Chris Bell.
Up until then, I’d only heard two Chris Bell songs: “I Am the Cosmos” and “You and Your Sister,” both sides of his lone solo single released in 1978 by Car Records. I bought it at the late, great Hideout Records (aka Subterranean Records) in 1990 or 1991, somewhat reluctantly shelling out $20 for the privilege. (I just looked up the current asking price for that 7″ on Discogs and... whew!)
This opportunity to hear ten entirely new Chris Bell songs felt like a real gift. I went out and bought the CD the week it was released. And two years later, I would end up mentioning Rykodisc’s Big Star reissue campaign in the cover letter with my internship application to the label. Did it help get me the internship? Who knows. Regardless, it was a sincere expression of how much this music meant—and still means—to me.
