1997 Big Country Poll

		by Michael Toppa
		A total of 134 people participated in at least one part of the poll. The following analyses of the poll data are provided below: Album Rankings Studio Albums Live Albums Song Rankings "Number One" Rankings Top 10 Analysis, Version 1 (strong weighting) Top 10 Analysis, Version 2 (weak weighting) Worst Song Best/Worst Comparison

Album Rankings		Studio Albums
		Participants were asked to rank the 8 studio albums (including Wonderland) in order of preference, by ranking their favorite album as "1", their second favorite as "2," etc. 98 of the 122 who ranked the albums provided a ranking for every album. The other 24 ranked only some of the albums, presumably because they are not familiar with all of them. On the one hand, including the votes of these 24 would arguable "shortchange" the albums they didn't rank (in their comparisons with the other albums) as the albums would have scores of "0". On the other hand, it seems unfair to ignore someone's opinion simply because he or she hasn't bought every Big Country album. So, I present you with two analyses. One which includes all 122 participants, and one which includes only the 98 who ranked every album. The results are fairly similar in both, with only "Wonderland" and "Buffalo Skinners" having different rankings in the two analyses. The following scores were generated using a weighted scale. When someone ranked an album as "1," it earned 8 points, a ranking of "2" earned 7 points, etc. The total score for each album was then divided by the number of people who provided votes for that album. This makes no difference in the analysis of those who ranked every album, but in the other analysis this helps to compensate for the "0" votes. A third analysis, which consists of a line graph of the raw vote count, will be available on my web site soon (the raw count provides the same rankings as the 2nd table below).

Incomplete rankings: 1 The Crossing 6.96 2 Steeltown 6.41 3 The Seer 5.35 4 Wonderland EP 4.60 5 The Buffalo Skinners 4.58 6 Why the Long Face 3.72 7 Peace In Our Time 3.04 8 No Place Like Home 2.12

Complete rankings: 1 The Crossing 6.91 2 Steeltown 6.45 3 The Seer 5.19 4 The Buffalo Skinners 4.62 5 Wonderland EP 4.48 6 Why the Long Face 3.64 7 Peace In Our Time 2.86 8 No Place Like Home 1.88

Album Rankings		Live Albums
		The live albums were scored with roughly the same methodology as the studio album analyses. However, since there are four live albums, a ranking of "1" earns a score of 4, a ranking of "2" earns a score of 3, etc. 107 people ranked at least some of the live albums, and 86 of those ranked all of them. The web site will contain a line-graph of the raw vote ("Eclectic" and "BBC Live" switch places in the raw count, arguably because many did not offer any ranking of "BBC Live," thus lowering its position).

Incomplete rankings: 1 Without the Aid of a Safety Net 3.21 2 King Biscuit Flower Hour 2.71 3 BBC Live In Concert 2.27 4 Eclectic 2.20

Complete rankings: 1 Without the Aid of a Safety Net 3.14 2 King Biscuit Flower Hour 2.66 3 BBC Live In Concert 2.19 4 Eclectic 2.01

Song Rankings		Best Song
		Participants were asked to list their 10 favorite Big Country songs, in order, starting with their most favorite. Below are three different analyses of the data: a simple tabulation of the votes for the "number one song," a weighted analysis of all the votes, which has a strong emphasis on the ranking order (i.e. in order to score well, a song only needs a modest number of very high rankings), and a weighted analysis of all the votes, which has a lower emphasis on the ranking order (i.e. a song gets a lot of credit for simply making someone's top 10 list, which means it can rank highly simply by appearing in most folks' top 10 list, even if it's not ranked highly).

Song Rankings		Best Song: Simple Tabulation
		The following is a simple compilation of everyone's choices for the "number one" song on his or her top 10 list.

BEST SONG: 1 In A Big Country 12 votes 2 Chance 11 votes 2 Just A Shadow 11 votes 2 Wonderland 11 votes 5 Fields of Fire 9 votes 6 The Storm 8 votes 7 Steeltown 7 votes 8 The Crossing 5 votes 8 Porrohman 5 votes 8 Where the Rose is Sown 5 votes 11 Eiledon 3 votes 11 Lost Patrol 3 votes 11 Seven Waves 3 votes 14 Close Action 2 votes 14 Harvest Home 2 votes 14 Hold the Heart 2 votes 14 Look Away 2 votes 14 The Sailor 2 votes 14 Ships 2 votes 14 Tall Ships Go 2 votes 21 100 Stars 1 vote 21 All Fall Together 1 vote 21 All of Us 1 vote 21 Buffalo Skinners 1 vote 21 East of Eden 1 vote 21 God's Great Mistake 1 vote 21 Inwards 1 vote 21 Never Take Your Place 1 vote 21 One Great Thing 1 vote 21 Rain Dance 1 vote 21 Remembrance Day 1 vote 21 Restless Natives 1 vote 21 Thousand Yard Stare 1 vote 21 You Dreamer 1 vote

Song Rankings		Best Song: Top 10 Analysis, Version 1
		In this analysis, a song ranked as "number one" on someone's top 10 list is worth 10x as much the song he or she ranked as tenth (with the rankings in-between being scored at regular intervals between these two extremes). This means a song can do well with a modest number of high rankings, but would probably do poorly even if it had a lot of low rankings.

TOP 10 ANALYSIS, VERSION 1: 1 Wonderland 77.0 2 In a Big Country 69.6 3 Fields of Fire 65.2 4 Just a Shadow 64.8 5 Chance 62.2 6 Where the Rose is Sown 48.4 7 The Storm 44.0 8 Steeltown 40.0 9 Restless Natives 39.4 10 Eiledon 36.6 11 Ships 34.8 12 Porrohman 31.8 13 The Crossing 29.8 14 Look Away 24.8 15 Lost Patrol 24.4 16 Tall Ships Go 23.0 17 Harvest Home 22.2 18 Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) 21.0 19 Angle Park 20.8 20 We're Not In Kansas 20.2 21 Alone 19.8 22 The Sailor 19.0 23 Flame of the West 18.0 24 You Dreamer 17.4 25 Close Action 16.4 26 Winter Sky 15.8 27 Buffalo Skinners 14.8 28 1000 Stars 14.2 28 East of Eden 14.2 30 The Seer 13.8 31 Remembrance Day 13.6 32 Seven Waves 13.0 33 One Great Thing 12.4 34 The Red Fox 12.0 35 Hold the Heart 11.8 36 The Teacher 10.8 37 I Walk the Hill 10.6 38 Come Back to Me 10.2 39 Peace In Our Time 9.6 39 Rain Dance 9.6 41 The Great Divide 9.4 42 Inwards 9.0 43 All Go Together 8.6 44 All Fall Together 8.4 45 Promised Land 8.2 46 Long Way Home 7.8 47 I'm Not Ashamed 7.4 47 Never Take Your Place 7.4 49 When a Drum Beats 7.0 50 All of Us 6.8 51 King of Emotion 6.6 52 Girl with Grey Eyes 6.4 52 Song of the South 6.4 52 Thousand Yard Stare 6.4 55 Chester's Farm 5.8 55 Prairie Rose 5.8 55 Republican Party Reptile 5.8 55 The Travellers 5.8 59 Pink Marshmallow Moon 5.0 60 Charlotte 4.6 60 The One I Love 4.6 60 Time for Leaving 4.6 63 Blue on a Green Planet 4.4 63 Save Me 4.4 65 Everything I Need 4.0 66 Winding Wind 4.0 67 One in a Million 3.8 68 In This Place 3.6 69 God's Great Mistake 3.4 69 Kiss the Girl Goodbye 3.4 69 Wildland in My Heart 3.4 72 Heart and Soul 3.2 72 Into the Fire 3.2 72 Selling of America 3.2 72 Starred and Crossed 3.2 76 Can You Feel the Winter 3.0 76 River of Hope 3.0 78 Over the Border 2.8 79 Monday Tuesday Girl 2.6 79 Troubled Man 2.6 81 Belief in the Small Man 2.4 81 Sail Into Nothing 2.4 83 Dynamite Lady 2.2 83 I Could Be Happy Here 2.2 83 Killiecrankie 2.2 83 Post Nuclear Talking Blues 2.2 87 Bianca 2.0 87 The Hostage Speaks 2.0 87 Keep on Rockin' in the Free World 2.0 90 The Longest Day 1.6 90 Take You to the Moon 1.6 92 I'm on Fire 1.4 93 Balcony 1.2 93 From Here the Eternity 1.2 93 Hardly a Mountain 1.2 93 Message of Love 1.2 93 Send You 1.2 98 Far From Me to You 1.0 98 Summertime 1.0 98 What Are You Working For 1.0 101 Comes A Time 0.8 101 Ruby Tuesday 0.8 101 You, Me and Truth 0.8 104 Paranoid 0.6 104 Return to the Two Headed King 0.6 106 Beautiful People 0.4 106 Crazytimes 0.4 106 Don't Fear the Reaper 0.4 106 Not Waving But Drowning 0.4 106 Thunder and Lightning 0.4 106 Tracks of My Tears 0.4 112 Ice Cream Smile 0.2

Song Rankings		Best Song: Top 10 Analysis, Version 2
		In contrast to the above analysis, a song ranked as "number one" on someone's list in this analysis is worth only 2x as much the song he or she ranked as tenth (with the rankings in-between being scored at regular intervals between these two extremes). This means a song can do fairly well with a large number of low rankings, even if it has relatively few high rankings. Nonetheless, with a few interesting variations, the results are quite similar to the above analysis.

TOP 10 ANALYSIS, VERSION 2: 1 Wonderland 97.5 2 In a Big Country 85.8 3 Fields of Fire 83.6 4 Just a Shadow 81.4 5 Chance 76.1 6 Where the Rose is Sown 62.6 7 The Storm 61.0 8 Ships 54.4 9 Steeltown 50.0 10 Restless Natives 49.7 11 Eiledon 46.3 12 Porrohman 41.9 13 Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) 36.5 14 The Crossing 35.9 15 Look Away 34.4 16 Alone 32.9 17 Tall Ships Go 31.5 18 Lost Patrol 31.2 19 Harvest Home 31.1 19 We're Not In Kansas 31.1 21 Angle Park 30.4 22 You Dreamer 26.7 23 Winter Sky 25.9 24 The Sailor 25.5 25 Flame of the West 23.0 26 Close Action 22.2 27 The Seer 21.9 28 Buffalo Skinners 20.4 29 1000 Stars 19.1 30 Peace In Our Time 18.8 30 Remembrance Day 18.8 32 East of Eden 18.1 33 Hold the Heart 17.9 34 The Teacher 17.4 35 The Red Fox 17.0 36 Seven Waves 16.5 37 I Walk the Hill 16.3 38 One Great Thing 16.2 39 Come Back to Me 15.1 40 Inwards 14.5 41 All Go Together 14.3 42 Chester's Farm 12.9 43 Rain Dance 12.8 44 The Great Divide 12.7 45 Promised Land 12.1 46 I'm Not Ashamed 11.7 47 All Fall Together 11.2 47 Girl with Grey Eyes 11.2 47 Thousand Yard Stare 11.2 50 One in a Million 10.9 51 Never Take Your Place 10.7 52 King of Emotion 10.3 53 Song of the South 10.2 54 Long Way Home 9.9 55 When a Drum Beats 9.5 56 Prairie Rose 8.9 57 Pink Marshmallow Moon 8.5 58 All of Us 8.4 59 Blue on a Green Planet 8.2 60 Everything I Need 8.0 61 Republican Party Reptile 7.9 62 Charlotte 7.3 62 The One I Love 7.3 64 The Travellers 6.9 65 God's Great Mistake 6.7 66 Time For Leaving 6.3 67 Save Me 6.2 68 The Hostage Speaks 6.0 68 Winding Wind 6.0 70 Kiss the Girl Goodbye 5.7 70 Wildland in My Heart 5.7 72 Starred and Crossed 5.6 73 Can You Feel the Winter 5.5 73 River of Hope 5.5 75 Monday Tuesday Girl 5.3 76 In This Place 4.8 77 Heart and Soul 4.6 77 The Selling of America 4.6 79 Far From Me to You 4.5 80 Troubled Man 4.3 81 Belief in the Small Man 4.2 82 Dynamite Lady 4.1 82 Post Nuclear Talking Blues 4.1 84 Rockin' in the Free World 4.0 85 Balcony 3.6 85 Into the Fire 3.6 87 Over the Border 3.4 88 Sail Into Nothing 3.2 89 I Could Be Happy Here 3.1 89 Killiecrankie 3.1 91 Bianca 3.0 92 The Longest Day 2.8 92 Take You to the Moon 2.8 94 From Here the Eternity 2.6 94 Hardly a Mountain 2.6 96 I'm on Fire 1.7 97 Message of Love 1.6 97 Send You 1.6 99 Summertime 1.5 99 What Are You Working For 1.5 101 Comes A Time 1.4 101 Ruby Tuesday 1.4 101 You, Me and Truth 1.4 104 Paranoid 1.3 104 Return to the Two Headed King 1.3 106 Beautiful People 1.2 106 Crazytimes 1.2 106 Don't Fear the Reaper 1.2 106 Not Waving But Drowning 1.2 106 Thunder and Lightning 1.2 106 Tracks of My Tears 1.2 112 Ice Cream Smile 1.1

Song Rankings		Worst Song
		Below is a compilation of the votes for the coveted category of "worst Big Country song ever created and commercially released" (note that covers do not qualify for this category).

WORST SONG: 1 Beautiful People 7 votes 1 Flag of Nations (Swimming) 7 votes 3 Balcony 6 votes 4 Charlotte 5 votes 4 Pink Marshmallow Moon 5 votes 6 Fly Like an Eagle 4 votes 6 King of Emotion 4 votes 6 Leap of Faith 4 votes 9 Chester's Farm 3 votes 9 Dynamite Lady 3 votes 9 Peace In Our Time 3 votes 9 Republican Party Reptile 3 votes 9 We're Not In Kansas 3 votes 9 World On Fire 3 votes 9 You, Me and the Truth 3 votes 16 Beat the Devil 2 votes 16 Blue on a Green Planet 2 votes 16 Everything I Need 2 votes 16 God's Great Mistake 2 votes 16 The Hostage Speaks 2 votes 16 In A Big Country 2 votes 16 Message of Love 2 votes 16 One Great Thing 2 votes 16 Post Nuclear Talking Blues 2 votes 16 Sail Into Nothing 2 votes 16 Thousand Yard Stare 2 votes 27 All Go Together 1 vote 27 Angle Park 1 vote 27 Bass Dance 1 vote 27 Belief in the Small Man 1 vote 27 Bianca 1 vote 27 Close Action 1 vote 27 Fields of Fire 1 vote 27 Giant 1 vote 27 Girl with Grey Eyes 1 vote 27 The Great Divide 1 vote 27 I Walk the Hill 1 vote 27 I'm Only Waiting 1 vote 27 Look Away (12" mix) 1 vote 27 One in a Million (album version) 1 vote 27 Send You 1 vote 27 The Storm 1 vote 27 Thunder and Lightning 1 vote 27 Time for Leaving 1 vote 27 The Travellers 1 vote 27 What Are Your Working For 1 vote