I Am The Cosmos

CD1

1. I Am The Cosmos
2. Better Save Yourself
3. Speed of Sound
4. Get Away
5. You And Your Sister
6. I Got Kinda Lost
7. Look Up
8. Make A Scene
9. There Was A Light
10. I Don’t Know
11. Flight At The Table
12. Though I Know She Lies

CD2

1. ICEWATER - Looking Forward
2. ICEWATER - Sunshine
3. ROCK CITY - My Life is Right
4. I Don’t Know (Alternate Version)
5. You And Your Sister (Alternate Version)
6. I Am The Cosmos (Extended Alternate Version)
7. Speed Of Sound (Alternate Version)
8. Fight At The Table (Alternate Mix)
9. Make A Scene (Alternate Mix)
10. Better Save Yourself (Alternate Mix)
11. Get Away (Alternate Version)
12. You And Your Sister (Acoustic Version)
13. Stay With Me with Keith Sykes
14. In My Darkest Hour with Nancy Bryan
15. Clacton Rag (Instrumental)

Back in print due to popular demand, I Am the Cosmos was compiled with full involvement from Ardent founder and Big Star producer John Fry, who expressed his excitement for the forthcoming reissue and commented, “The Chris Bell 2 CD Cosmos reissue is in my opinion the definitive collection of Chris’ solo work. We took great pains to use original analog sources and to master the CDs much as we would have done vinyl in the 70s. Enjoy the music and the story.” Founding Big Star member Jody Stephens added “I'm very glad to see Chris' deluxe set reissued. Written story, and in this case, story as told through song and musical development are incredibly important.”

The set was highly lauded, both by the media and the record buying public, when first released in 2009. Pitchfork said of the Chris Bell, “this edition of I Am the Cosmos comes closest to capturing "just pure Chris" as we're likely ever going to get.”

Praise for the Chris Bell release was universal, with The Guardian saying “I Am the Cosmos is wonderful for many reasons: the hazy, slightly dreamlike feel of the recording and of Bell's vocals; his yearning, slightly damaged voice” and No Depression stating “the title cut is one of the most nuanced evocations of the struggle for self-confidence in the face of life’s withering setbacks.”

Since the original release in 2009, interest and acclaim for Big Star has only increased, magnified by the film Nothing Can Hurt Me, outlining “the definitive story of the greatest band that never made it”. The documentary, released on DVD in the USA in 2013, was recently screened in the UK, will be launched on UK Netflix in March 2015, and released on DVD in Europe in January 2015.

Jody Stephens has been touring performing Big Star’s Third album with a revolving cast of musicians including Mitch Easter (Let’s Active), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Ken Stringfellow & Jon Auer (The Posies), and Chris Stamey (The dB’s). Big Star’s Third recently performed a free show at College Square in Downtown Athens, GA on November 8th as part of University of Georgia’s Spotlight on the Arts Slingshot.