I just received an email from Jody Stephens of Big Star concerning the "final show," which will be available from Ardent on June 21. Here's what Jody said:
"For our last performance as Big Star, Jon, Ken and I had some very good friends join us to celebrate the music and lives of Alex, Andy and Chris on May 15, 2010. The performances really tell the story of what happened and how we all felt about that evening at Memphis' Levitt Shell. The idea of trying to release the show in its entirety was overwhelming in the sense of time and effort needed for all performance clearances. So I thought, first artist first: John Davis was the first of many wonderful guest artists to join us on stage. He wailed on three songs: "In The Street," "Don't Lie To Me" and "When My Baby's Beside Me." These were just the right amount songs (and time) for an EP release. So with mastering engineer Larry Nix and Big Star's engineer, John Fry, and our Neumann cutting lathe all residing in the Ardent Studios building how could we not cut vinyl? Click on the following video link for an idea of what the evening was like."
http://youtu.be/GOxemhgiSsA
Speaking for myself, I'd rather have waited for the whole show to be put on vinyl. If they (Jody & Ardent) plan on releasing three or four song increments, at fourteen bucks a pop, the whole concert is going to be very expensive. I did buy this first installment more out of a love for Alex, Big Star & John Davis, but I doubt I can financially rationalize buying the whole show EP by EP, even as great as it does sound on vinyl.
ReplyDeleteI'd also be more interested in getting the complete first tribute show played at Antone's from SXSW2010. Does anyone know what Jody plans to do with the tapes from that show?