Album: Various Artists, Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story (Big Beat)

Andy Gill
Thursday 17 April 2008 12:35 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The musical history of Memphis leans heavily on R&B, rock’n’roll and soul, but in the late Sixties, Ardent Studios was a lone outpost catering to the region’s burgeoning wave of Anglophile groups.

Set up by studio owner John Fry to provide an outlet for these bands, Ardent Records became famous as the home of Big Star, the power-pop group formed by Chris Bell and former Box Tops singer Alex Chilton.

Their history dominates the second of these two discs, but the first provides a fascinating insight into the impact of the Sixties British Invasion with lashings of psychedelic electric violin and fuzztone guitar.

However, it’s the second disc’s Big Star material, with select morsels such as “Kizza Me” and “Back Of A Car” accompanied by unreleased outtakes, that will have fans drooling.

"Big Star" from Thank You Friends: The Ardent Records Story features in this month's Independent Audio Player. CLICK HERE to listen.

To order any CD previewed here, call the Independent Music Service on 01634 832 789.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in