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Personnel: Chris Bell (vocals, guitar); Jim Dickinson (piano); Ken Woodley (bass); Richard Rosebrough (drums); Alex Chilton (background vocals). Recorded at Chateau D'Heurville, France; Ardent Studios and Shoe Studios, Memphis, Tennessee. Includes liner notes by David Bell and Jeff Rougvie. Though Big Star's #1 RECORD (1972) received favorable press, distribution problems marred its release, making copies hard to find and keeping sales low. Chris Bell left the band after the release of #1 RECORD, apparently very depressed. His sad story is explained in I AM THE COSMOS' extensive liner notes, written by Bell's older brother. Apart from a few collaborations, including a couple of tracks for the second Big Star album, Chris Bell spent the six subsequent years recording music for a solo album. He fought both depression and heroin abuse before dying in a car accident in 1978. I AM THE COSMOS is a flawless set of songs. Bell was heavily influenced by The Beatles, but his uniqueness shines through. The title track appears here in two versions, the second of which is slower and even more poignant than the first. "You & Your Sister" is also featured in several versions, all of them equally essential. "Though I Know She Lies" somehow sounds even sadder than it should, especially when the disc stops spinning, and the realization that the world was tragically robbed of one of its great songwriters is made all the more crushing.

Personnel: Chris Bell (vocals, guitar); Jim Dickinson (piano); Ken Woodley (bass); Richard Rosebrough (drums); Alex Chilton (backg