Nothing Can Hurt Me

This soundtrack to the Big Star documentary film of the same name features 19 songs in alternate recordings (and one negligible 41-second track correctly named "Studio Banter" and a version of "Stroke It Noel" that's nothing but the intro played backward). The appeal is mostly to hardcore Big Star fans who already know the songs' standard versions (mostly from the three official Big Star albums) plus a few obscurities, such as "Better Save Yourself" and the acoustic "All We Ever Got From Them Is Pain." Chris Bell's solo track "I Am the Cosmos" includes studio chatter at its start. Among this sampling of the group's songs are mixes that bring forth notable variations (and some not so grand) of songs that hardcore fans know in their sleep. Vocals are sometimes stripped down; guitar leads are missing or are louder in the mix. No matter what's altered, "September Gurls" is the perfect pop hit that never was. "Give Me Another Chance" can still break a heart, while "Holocaust" and "Big Black Car" sound like Alex Chilton at the end of his rope.