Since Alex Chilton’s death in 2010, one revelation of the continuing Big Star revivals has been the enduring charm and power of Jody Stephens’ voice. As the only continuous member besides Chilton since the group’s founding, Stephens primarily distinguished himself as the powerful drummer behind their sound, yet also contributed the occasional vocal to their original three albums. His singing then always conveyed a tone of youthful naivete perfectly suited to Big Star’s original aesthetic, as defined by founder Chris Bell.
That aesthetic was acknowledged grudgingly by Chilton at times, as he described the Big Star fans as “nice little guys who are usually in college, and they’re kind of lonely and misunderstood, learning to play guitar.” It was a wistful, yearning sound that Chilton himself conveyed beautifully when he wanted to. But so did Stephens.
Now that he alone is left to carry the torch, Stephens has taken a crack version of Big Star on the road, sharing vocal duties with Chris Stamey, Jon Auer, Pat Sansone, and Mike Mills, with Stephens leaning into the songs that most convey that wistful feeling, as in recent celebrations of the group’s debut album (chronicled by The Memphis Flyer here). But over the past decade, he’s had another, less celebrated platform for the disarming innocence of his voice: Those Pretty Wrongs.
This Friday, April 5th, they’ll take the stage at The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, offering Memphians a rare chance to hear how much the group’s sound has evolved since they started.
Ostensibly a duet featuring Stephens and multi instrumentalist Luther Russell, their sound has grown more ambitious over the decade since they formed, until, by the time of last year’s Holiday Camp album, they had taken on the power of a full-fledged power pop group through the magic of overdubs. With Stephens’ vocals front and center, rich harmonies, acoustic strums, and electric guitar riffs flow over the listener like some of the most delicate Big Star tunes, yet with a personality all their own. While all of the duo’s songs are grounded by Stephens’ reliable beat, they’ve also become showcases for Russell’s imaginative guitar work and other instrumental flourishes.
Those elements have always been present, but have ramped up on all fronts as time has passed. “We have more experience with each other,” says Stephens. “It’s evolved into, I think, richer embellishments with the production and songs, and maybe lyrically too. There’s a certain ease that we have now when we get in to record, and more focus. We don’t have to spend much time on trying to figure out where to go. Things just came together naturally for this record.”
Holiday Camp is also notable for the contributions of other players who’ve long been in the Big Star orbit. “On the new album,” says Stephens, “Pat Sansone plays Moog and Mellotron on ‘Always the Rainbow’ and he plays Mellotron on ‘Scream.’ And then Chris Stamey did a string arrangement with flute and clarinet on ‘Brother, My Brother.'”
Stephens and Russell typically tour as only a duo, even mounting a minimalist tour of the the U.K. last year using only train travel, but this week’s show will show off their sonic evolution like no other. “We’ll actually have a string section at the Green Room,” says Stephens. “One of the nice things about Crosstown Arts is that at each one of our shows — and this is our third, I believe — they’ve provided a string quartet. So we’ll have Rebeca Rathlef and Michael Brennan on violin, Katie Brown on viola, and Jonathan Kirkscey on cello. It’s a special show because it’s the only time we ever get to have strings, and there will even be a flutist for this performance.”
There will also be a chance to hear the stripped-down version of Those Pretty Wrongs this week. “We’re also gonna play on Jim Spake’s show on WYXR [Cabbages & Kings, Thursday, April 4th, 2-4 p.m.],” Stephens says. “I’m excited about that.”
