You and Your Sister
Encyclopedia
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
. It was released as a B-side to Bell's other song and 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 band mate Alex Chilton
, as it is also an acoustic love ballad
. It features backing vocals by Chilton.
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" and as "one of the great unknown love songs in the pop canon, a luminous and fragile ballad almost otherworldly in its beauty."
Two alternate versions of the song appear on the 1992 I Am the Cosmos
release, an "acoustic version" and a "country version." It was covered by This Mortal Coil
on the 1991 album Blood, along with "I Am the Cosmos," and by Mike Daly
on A Tribute to Big Star. It was also included in the 2009 Big Star box-set release Keep an Eye on the Sky
.
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...
member Chris Bell
Chris Bell
Chris Bell may refer to:*Chris Bell , singer-songwriter and guitarist of the band Big Star*Chris Bell , former Congressman and 2006 candidate for Governor of Texas...
that appears on his only solo album I Am the Cosmos
I Am the Cosmos
I Am the Cosmos is the only solo album by the American pop-rock musician Chris Bell, 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....
. It was released as a B-side to Bell's other song and only single "I Am the Cosmos." The song is very similar in composition, vocals, and guitar playing to Big Star's "Thirteen
Thirteen (song)
"Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band Big Star. Rolling Stone describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time...
," which Bell co-wrote with band mate 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...
, as it is also an acoustic love ballad
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
. It features backing vocals by Chilton.
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" and as "one of the great unknown love songs in the pop canon, a luminous and fragile ballad almost otherworldly in its beauty."
Two alternate versions of the song appear on the 1992 I Am the Cosmos
I Am the Cosmos
I Am the Cosmos is the only solo album by the American pop-rock musician Chris Bell, 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....
release, an "acoustic version" and a "country version." It was 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...
on the 1991 album Blood, along with "I Am the Cosmos," and by Mike Daly
Mike Daly
Mike Daly is an American producer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist who grew up in Roselle Park, New Jersey, United States. Daly attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in 1994. Soon after, he joined the band Swales and recorded one album, What's His Name? for Bar/None Records...
on A Tribute to Big Star. It was also included in the 2009 Big Star box-set release Keep an Eye on the Sky
Keep an Eye on the Sky
Keep an Eye on the Sky is a 4-CD, 98-song career retrospective box set from American rock group Big Star, released in 2009. It features 52 unreleased tracks: demos, alternate takes and live performances...
.