Original 1975 test pressing sequence of this legendary Big Star album.

What the heck is Big Star Third, anyway?

To be honest, it’s the kind of thing a doctoral thesis could be written about: a “lost” record re-discovered years after it was recorded, one that has seen many track listings, titles and album covers, a classic, an enigma.

Third comes from sessions with Big Star’s Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens and a bevy of session musicians, recorded with producer Jim Dickinson in 1974 and early 1975. Whether it was actually intended to be a Big Star album is up for debate, but a couple hundred test pressings made in 1975 clearly list it as Big Star III. Until the cavalcade of reissues began in 1978, all that existed were those test pressings. And since that time, it has been reissued and resequenced into something other than what the original product was: a 14-track pressing of pure bliss.

We here at Omnivore have decided to transport you back all those years, to a time and place where this platter of polyvinyl chloride was all that existed–a truly faithful replica of that Ark of power pop goodness.

Third time’s the charm, indeed.

LP Track List:

Side 1:

1. Stroke It Noel
2. Downs
3. Femme Fatale
4. Thank You Friends
5. Holocaust
6. Jesus Christ
7. Blue Moon

Side 2:

1. Kizza Me
2. For You
3. O, Dana
4. Nightime
5. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
6. Kanga Roo
7. Take Care