Third/Sister Lovers

Third
Studio album by
Big Star
ReleasedMarch 18, 1978
RecordedFall 1974
StudioArdent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
GenrePower pop,[1] alternative rock[2]
Length41:42 (1978 PVC release)
55:13 (1992 Rykodisc CD with bonus tracks)
LabelPVC
ProducerJim Dickinson
Big Star chronology
Radio City
(1974) 		Third
(1978) 		Live
(1992)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 1992 Rykodisc reissue
Singles from Third
  1. "Jesus Christ" / "Big Black Car"
    Released: 1978
  2. "Kizza Me" / "Dream Lover"
    Released: 1978

Third (reissued in 1985 as Third/Sister Lovers[3]) is the third album by American rock band Big Star. The sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 1975, a combination of financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the record, and lack of interest from singer Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens in continuing the project prevented the album from ever being properly finished or released at the time of its recording. It was eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records.

After two commercially unsuccessful albums, Third documents the band's deterioration as well as the declining mental state of singer Alex Chilton. It has since gone on to become a cult album, and was placed at number 449 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[4] Its reputation growing with time, the album moved up to number 285 on the magazine's 2020 listing.[5] The album is included in Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

  1. ^ Harvilla, Rob (February 15, 2011). "A Huge Big Star Tribute, Starring Folks From R.E.M, Teenage Fanclub, And Yo La Tengo, Is Coming To Town Next Month". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference SP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference AllMusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  5. ^ "Third: Sister Lovers". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.