At the moment this disc is $10.00 ppd anywhere in the world *or* FREE if you order the Big Star set (3 issues) of BOAC ($15.00 in North America slightly higher shipping to OVS).
to order LONELY PLANET BOY write:
BOAC
#4636 MPO
Vancouver BC
V6B 4A1
The tunes:
CHRIS BELL - country morn [Chris! Music to "watch the sunrise" w/different lyrics]
OUTRAGEOUS CHERRY - boxtop [Too cool. Veddy Big Star-esque]
THE CHAIRS - "christopher bell" [Zee punky pop from Norway. Sticks with ya!]
PARANOID LOVESICK - feelin' alright to drive [Heartbroken and lovin' it]
THE KNOBS - cut out bins [I am so *not* crazy about the band name but wow, the music]
TOMMY HOEHN - cuba [Tommy and Chris Bell wrote this together]
VAN DUREN - nothing's too good for my baby [The latest from Van and Good Question]
SID SELVIDGE - torture and pain [This guy bankrolled Alex's 'flies on sherbert' release]
THE SCRUFFS - #1 [That bloke's from Memphis? Excellent]
YUJI ONIKI - cover [Yuji was profiled in number one issue]
SISTER LOVERS - radiator girl [Vancouver boys!]
BIG RAY - evergreen [London boys!]
MYSTIC EYES - turn and kiss me goodbye [Bernie, lead vox edited
Big Star zine]
Okay, I'm biased (Lonely Planet Boy is "really great!"
-- Judith Beeman) but don't just take my word for it. Here's
the review of LPB as read in Bucketful of Brains out of the UK. Ta
very much to BoB and Robin Wills.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - LONELY PLANET BOY : A BOAC COMPILATION
Compilation albums seem to have become a bit of an artform lately,
ever
since Jordan Oakes showed the way with his excellent YELLOW PILLS
series.
Issued through BACK OF A CAR magazine, LONELY PLANET BOY is yet
another fine
compilation. The thread of this album is Big Star; either directly
or simply
through the influence that Big Star still has on a lot of bands
today.
The album starts off with the late Chris Bell's "Country Morn" which
is an
early version of "Watch the Sunrise" with different lyrics. The
next three
songs are perhaps my favourites: "Boxtop", "Feeling Alright to Drive",
and
"Cut Out Bins" by Outrageous Cherry, Paranoid Lovesick, and
the Knobs
respectively; these songs could easily grace any future volume of
YELLOW
PILLS -- they're that good. The quality drops a bit with the amateurish
"Christopher Bell" by the Chairs (from Norway), which may be a heartfelt
tribute, but is sadly not a great listening experience. This is
followed by
two Memphis legends, Tommy Hoehn and Van Duren, and their material
is well
up there with what you would expect from them (Tommy's "Cuba" was
co-written
with Chris Bell). Next on the list is Sid Selvidge's R&B flavoured
"Torture
and Run" (Mr. Selvidge was originally responsible for releasing
Alex
Chilton's LIKE FLIES ON SHERBET in the States), The Scruffs' "Number
One",
from 1974, amazingly sounds more like Big Star than Big Star themselves
(you
can also find that song on ANGST, a recently released Scruffs' collection).
A good find is Yuji Oniki's "Cover", which is featured on his SHONEN
BLUE
album from 1988. "Radiator Girl" by the Sister Lovers is amongst
the
stronger cuts on this album, the (sampled) cellos add a nice touch.
"Evergreen" by Big Ray (UK) is at least interesting, but doesn't
quite do it
for me. The album closes with "Turn and Kiss Me Goodbye" by the
Mystic Eyes,
a nice boisterous garage-pop number.
Credit is due to Judith Beeman, who has pulled the difficult task
of
assembling an album like this one, even more so as it's not a strictly
one
genre effort, which makes finding the perfect tracklisting near
impossible.
-- Robin Wills
(BOAC, #4636 MPO, Vancouver BC V6B 4A1)