I Am the Cosmos is the only solo album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pop-rock musician Chris Bell

Chris Bell (musician)

Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s...

, eventually released in 1992, having been recorded over a period of two to three years during the mid-1970s. Bell had previously been a member of Big Star

Big Star

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later...

.

"Speed of Sound" was used over the opening credits of the Peter Sollett

Peter Sollett

Peter Sollett is an American film director and screenwriter known for his feature films Raising Victor Vargas and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist .-Career:...

 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the story tells of teenagers Nick and Norah , who meet when...

. This song also featured on the various artists compilation album compiled by the The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...

, Late Night Tales: The Flaming Lips.

"I Am the Cosmos" has been played live by Big Star

Big Star

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later...

, The Posies

The Posies

The Posies are an alternative rock/power pop group. The band was formed in 1987 in Bellingham, Washington by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. They are best known for their radio hits "Golden Blunders" , as well as "Dream All Day", "Solar Sister" and "Flavor of the Month"...

, Gigolo Aunts

Gigolo Aunts

-Early history:The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, originally known as Sniper...

, and The Drams

Slobberbone

Slobberbone is an American alt-country band from Denton, Texas that formed in 1994. Slobberbone toured across the United States many times. The best-known line-up consisted of Brent Best , Jess Barr , Brian Lane , and drummer Tony Harper, although their lineup changed over the years...

, and has also been covered by This Mortal Coil

This Mortal Coil

This Mortal Coil was a gothic dream pop supergroup led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were technically the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom...

, together with a version of "You and Your Sister". Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...

 and Pete Yorn

Pete Yorn

Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical acclaim in 2001.-Early history:Yorn's father is a dentist and his mother is a former concert pianist who worked as a...

 recorded "I Am the Cosmos" for their 2009 album Break Up

Break Up (Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn album)

- French special edition :CD 2 includes live versions recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles on October 7, 2009. Originally broadcasted on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic with Jason Bentley.This enhanced CD also includes Relator video....

.

The booklet notes for the album were written by Bell's brother David, who also took the photographs used on the cover and in the CD booklet.

In 2009 the album was re-released in a two-CD version by Rhino Handmade with alternate versions and additional tracks.

Track listing

• All songs written by Chris Bell

1. "I Am the Cosmos" - 3:46
2. "Better Save Yourself" - 4:25
3. "Speed of Sound" - 5:11
4. "Get Away" - 3:26
5. "You and Your Sister
   You and Your Sister
   You and Your Sister is a song by Memphis-born musician and Big Star member Chris Bell that appears on his only solo album I Am the Cosmos...
   
   " - 3:11
6. "Make a Scene" - 4:09
7. "Look Up" - 3:14
8. "I Got Kinda Lost" - 2:42
9. "There Was a Light" - 3:19
10. "Fight at the Table" - 3:41
11. "I Don't Know" - 3:22
12. "Though I Know She Lies" - 3:35
13. "I Am the Cosmos" (slow version) - 3:40
14. "You and Your Sister" (country version) - 2:56
15. "You and Your Sister" (acoustic version) - 2:53

Personnel

• Chris Bell
  Chris Bell (musician)
  Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s...
  
   - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Ken Woodley - bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  
• Richard Rosebrough - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Jody Stephens
  Jody Stephens
  Jody Stephens is an American drummer, who has played in Big Star and Golden Smog . When not on tour with Big Star, he works at Ardent Studios, which is where Big Star has recorded all of their albums...
  
   - drums
• Alex Chilton
  Alex Chilton
  William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
  
   - backing vocals on track 5
• Bill Cunningham - arrangement on track 5
• Jim Dickinson
  Jim Dickinson
  James Luther "Jim" Dickinson was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the Memphis based band, Mudboy & The Neutrons.- Biography :...
  
   - piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
   on track 10

• Recorded at Château d'Hérouville
  Château d'Hérouville
  The Château d'Hérouville is a French château of the 18th century located in the village of Hérouville, in the Oise valley near Paris. The castle was built in 1740 by Gaudot, an architect of the school of Rome. In the 19th century, it was used as courier relay station and stabled a hundred...
  
  , France except:

Track 5 recorded at Ardent Studios

Ardent Studios

Ardent Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee. Ardent Records/Ardent Music is the in-house label.- History :Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and was initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first Ardent Records 45's. In 1966 the operation moved...

, Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

Tracks 1, 8 & 11 recorded at Shoe Studios, Memphis

• Digital mastering - Dr. Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital Recording, Inc., Southborough, Massachusetts
  Southborough, Massachusetts
  Southborough is an affluent town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the smaller villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps. Its population was 9,767 at the 2010...
  
  
• NoNoise Processing on selected tracks by Scott Leviton at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
  Berkeley, California
  Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
  
  
• Package design - Steven Jurgensmeyer
• Photography and booklet notes - David Bell