You and Your Sister
| "You and Your Sister" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the 1978 US single | |
| Single by Chris Bell | |
| from the album I Am the Cosmos | |
| A-side | "I Am The Cosmos" |
| Released | 1978 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:14 |
| Label |
|
| Songwriter(s) | Chris Bell |
| Producer(s) | Chris Bell |
"You and Your Sister" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Chris Bell, that appears on his only solo album I Am the Cosmos. It was released as a B-side to Bell's only single "I Am the Cosmos." The song is very similar in composition, vocals, and guitar playing to Big Star's "Thirteen," which Bell co-wrote with bandmate Alex Chilton,[1] as it is also an acoustic love ballad.[2] It features backing vocals by Chilton.[3]
Mark Deming of Allmusic described it as a "sweet, guileless love song" that "represents the sincerity and emotional innocence that Bell brought to his brief tenure in the band Big Star" that "make[s] more emotional sense than literal sense" [3] and as "one of the great unknown love songs in the pop canon, a luminous and fragile ballad almost otherworldly in its beauty." [4]
Two alternate versions of the song appear on the 1992 I Am the Cosmos release, an "acoustic version" and a "country version." [4] It was covered by This Mortal Coil on the 1991 album Blood, along with "I Am the Cosmos",[5] by Seana Carmody on the 2007 album Barn Songs,[6] and by Mike Daly on A Tribute to Big Star.[7] It was also included in the 2009 Big Star box-set release Keep an Eye on the Sky.[8]
References
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "#1 Record - Big Star". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ "Infinite Play: Chris Bell, "You and Your Sister"". Popdose. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "You and Your Sister". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason (1992-02-21). "I Am the Cosmos - Chris Bell". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ Mason, Stewart (1991-05-13). "Blood - This Mortal Coil". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ Template:Url=http://seanacarmody.bandcamp.com/album/barn-songs
- ^ Birchmeier, Jason (2001-11-13). "A Tribute to Big Star - Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (2009-09-15). "Keep an Eye on the Sky - Big Star". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-12-02.