Chris Bell- I Am the Cosmos (1992) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC

"So it goes, on and on, my love grows, and yours is gone."

Chris Bell's exit from Big Star after the commercial failure of #1 Record  has, over the decades, become shrouded in speculation and mystery. His brother, Dave Bell, has suggested Chris quit his own band due to feeling overshadowed by Alex Chilton, whose celebrity extended beyond Memphis as a result of his stint in The Box Tops. There are also stories of Bell falling into a crippling depression as a result of the ill-fated fortune of Big Star's debut album, which he had worked on obsessively for nearly two years, but whatever the reason, Bell's departure was a bitter one, and featured, according to speculation, fights with other band members and spitefully erased master tapes. While Bell would eventually mend fences with his Big Star band-mates, he never again officially rejoined the band that he had originally started. In the aftermath, Big Star became Chilton's band and continued to languish in vastly undeserved obscurity, while Bell began work on a solo career that sadly would not come to fruition until 14 years after his tragic death, at 27, in a car accident. On one level, I Am the Cosmos is a compilation of the various studio sessions and demos that Bell had worked on throughout his post-Big Star years, but on another level, it functions as a cohesive and often brilliant reminder that Bell (even in absentia) played a big role in crafting Big Star's singular brand of Power-Pop. Nowhere is this more evident than on the gorgeously dark title track, which is easily the equal of anything he recorded in Big Star. With lyrics such as "Every night I tell myself I am the cosmos / I am the wind / But that don't get you back again," the song is a stark and unforgettable reminder of Bell's personal demons and his tortured pop genius. Another lush descent into romantic despair is the open-tuned ballad "Speed of Sound," which features some of the most beautifully recorded acoustic guitar you're ever likely to hear. Once again, Bell is preoccupied with the apparent hopelessness of connecting with others, but the song is dressed in such beautiful textures (including some Moog toward the end), that it refuses to succumb to the inconsolable desolation conveyed in the lyrics. Bell's is one of the more tragic stories in the annals of rock music, and while I Am the Cosmos carries some of this weight (it is his epitaph after all), it is also a great piece of pathos-soaked Power-Pop that demands to be heard.

I Am the Cosmos (2009 Rhino Handmade Remastered Deluxe Edition)

Disc I:  I Am the Cosmos (2009 Remaster)
 1. I Am the Cosmos (Original Single Mix)  (3:50)
 2. Better Save Yourself  (5:15)
 3. Speed of Sound  (5:15)
 4. Get Away  (3:30)
 5. You and Your Sister (Original Single Mix)  (3:14)
 6. I Got Kinda Lost  (2:45)
 7. Look Up  (3:18)
 8. Make a Scene  (4:12)
 9. There Was a Light  (3:21)
10. I Don't Know  (3:25)
11. Fight at the Table  (3:38)
12. Though I Know She Lies  (3:35)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320)

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Disc II: Bonus Disc

1. Icewater- Looking Forward  (3:39)

2. Icewater- Sunshine  (1:45)

3. Rock City- My Life Is Right  (3:08)

4. I Don't Know (Alternate Version)  (4:18)
5. You and Your Sister (Alternate Version)  (3:03)
6. I Am the Cosmos (Extended Alternate Version)  (5:07)
7. Speed of Sound (Alternate Version)  (5:13)
8. Fight at the Table (Alternate Mix)  (4:11)
9. Make a Scene (Alternate Mix)  (4:11)
10. Better Save Yourself (Alternate Mix)  (4:29)
11. Get Away (Alternate Version)  (4:21)
12. You and Your Sister (Acoustic Version)  (3:00)
13. Stay With Me (W/ Keith Sykes)  (2:49)
14. In My Darkest Hour (W/ Nancy Bryan)  (3:01)
15. Clacton Rag  (3:30)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Interesting account of Bell & Chilton in 1978 by dBs drummer Will Rigsby