Editing Big Star (section)

==Musical style and influences==
Bell took up guitar when 12 or 13, but only on hearing the first [[The Beatles|Beatles]] records was he motivated to play the instrument regularly.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|13–20}} He acted as lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist for a sequence of bands, performing songs by the Beatles, [[the Rolling Stones]], [[the Kinks]], [[the Zombies]], and [[the Animals]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|13–20}} Chilton's first awareness of music came at the age of 6 when his brother repeatedly played a record by [[the Coasters]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|28}} His father's liking for [[jazz]] then exposed him over the next few years to the music of [[Glenn Miller]], [[Ray Charles]], and [[Dave Brubeck]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|28}} Chilton's enthusiasm for music took hold when at age 13 he first heard Beatles records; he recalled having known of 1950s rock 'n' roll, but "by 1959 [[Elvis Presley|Elvis]] was syrup and [[Jerry Lee Lewis|Jerry Lee]] was pretty much gone, and the [[rockabilly]] thing was sort of over so I didn't get really caught up in the rock scene until the Beatles came along".<ref name="Gordon" />{{rp|156}}

[[Image:Big Star at Hyde Park 8.jpg|thumb|150px|Jody Stephens in 2009 during a Big Star performance at [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]]|alt=The drummer in a close-up view through the gaps between his drums and cymbals. His face and neck are slightly reddened from his exertion. While drumming, he is singing into the microphone mounted close to his face]]
Chilton took up electric guitar at 13, playing along with Beatles songs, later saying, "I really loved the mid-sixties British pop music [...] all two and a half minutes or three minutes long, really appealing songs. So I've always aspired to that same format, that's what I like. Not to mention the rhythm and blues and the Stax stuff, too".<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|30}} Chilton abandoned his guitar-playing during his time with [[the Box Tops]] and then took up the instrument again; he met [[Roger McGuinn]], guitarist for [[the Byrds]], and developed particular interest in electric guitar and acoustic [[Folk music|folk]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|78–86}} Stephens enjoyed the music of [[Otis Redding]], [[the Isley Brothers]], [[the Who]], the Kinks, and especially the Beatles.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|13–20}}

Hummel likewise was a member of more than one band during his early musical years, again influenced by the Beatles and other British Invasion acts.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|13–20}} The bassist also played acoustic guitar for personal enjoyment, following the styles of [[Simon & Garfunkel]] and [[Joni Mitchell]] and using finger-picking techniques to play [[Folk music|folk]] and [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|13–20}} Most songs on the first three albums are credited to either Bell/Chilton or Chilton, but some credit Hummel, Stephens and others, as either writer or co-writer. At the only seven live performances in the original era, the last of which took place before the second album's release, all four members contributed vocally.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|xvi}}

While primarily inspired by the music of the Beatles and other [[British Invasion]] bands, acknowledging too the [[jangle pop]] and [[power pop]] of the period, Big Star also incorporated dark, nihilistic themes to produce a striking blend of musical and lyrical styles.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|xvi, 155, 160}}<ref name="DeRogatis2003" /> The body of work resulting from the first era was a precursor of the [[alternative rock]] of the 1980s and 1990s,<ref name="Bogdanov" /> at the same time yielding material today considered an outstanding example of power pop.<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|13,38}} The stylistic range is evident from modern day critiques. Bogdanov et al., commenting on ''#1&nbsp;Record'' in their ''All Music Guide to Rock'', perceive in "The Ballad of El Goodo" a "luminous, melancholy ballad",<ref name="Bogdanov" /> whereas John Borack's ''Ultimate Power Pop Guide'' singles out ''Radio City''{{'}}s "September Gurls" as a "glorious, glittering jewel" of power pop.<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|38}}

Borack notes too that ''Third/Sister Lovers'' is "slower, darker and a good deal weirder" than the first two albums, identifying "Holocaust" as "Alex Chilton at his haunting best", yet finds "Thank You Friends" exemplifying "left-field gems" also present in which "the hooks are every bit as undeniable" as before.<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|191}} Jovanovic writes that when recording what Peter Buckley in his ''Rough Guide to Rock'' terms the "snarling guitar rock"<ref name="Buckley" /> of the first album's "Don't Lie to Me", the band, deeming conventional instruments inadequate for the task, wheeled two [[Norton Commando]] motorcycles into the studio and gunned the engines to intensify the song's [[Bridge (music)|bridge]].<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|93}} Bogdanov et al. reserve "snarl" for a ''Radio City'' song, "Mod Lang";<ref name="Bogdanov" /> here Buckley writes that "the power of the performance and the erratic mix gave a sense of chaos which only added to the thrill".<ref name="Buckley" />