The Best of Big Country

Liner Notes		by Scott Shinder (New York, December 1993)
		In the summer of 1983, when Big Country released its debut album The Crossing, the British quartet's blend of guitar textures, sweeping melodic hooks and unironically heart-felt lyrics couldn't have been farther from the high-concept style-pop then dominating the UK music scene and America's MTV airwaves. Yet, despite its decidedly unfashionable emphasis on earthy rock roots and straightforward songcraft. This seemingly unlikely foursome quickly emerged as a potent musical force, helping to open the floodgates for a resurgent wave of thoughtful guitar on both sides of the Atlantic. Leader Stuart Adamson's songs drew on a wealth of music tradition while maintaining a completely contemporary focus, projecting an unshakable sense of faith in the face of a dark and troubling world. Adamson's impassioned vocals resonated with urgency, as did his and Bruce Watson's aggressive yet densely layered guitars, while the seasoned duo of bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki comprised a rhythm section as airtight as any in rock. The resulting music was a timeless breath of fresh air in a scene dominated by faddish fetishism. The Crossing's bracing, Celtic-inflected sound may have been unexpected, but it wasn't entirely unprecedented. Adamson had established a partial blueprint for Big Country's style in his previous incarnation as principal sonic architect of the Scottish post-punk combo the Skids, with whom he recorded three albums, Scared To Dance (1979), Days In Europa (1979) and The Absolute Game (1980). Adamson left the Skids in the summer of 1981 and hooked up with Watson, a fellow Dunfermline native whose former band, Delinx, had often shared local stages with the skids. After recording some demos with the Jam's Rick Buckler on drums, the pair began playing Adamson's new songs locally with a short-lived five man lineup. When it came time to recruit a permanent rhythm section a few months later, Adamson and Watson looked to Londoners Butler and Brzezicki, who'd previously recorded with Pete Townshend as well as backing Pete's younger brother Simon in a trio known as On The Air. Its lineup complete, Big Country signed to Phonogram in April 1982, playing its first London show the same month; by the end of the summer the quartet had made its US debut at New York's Peppermint Lounge. The September release of the band's Chris Thomas-produced debut single, "Harvest Home," was followed by a six-night stand opening for the Jam at London's Wembley Arena and the release of its first top ten UK hit, the rousing "Fields of Fire." The latter tune marked the beginning of a fruitful relationship with producer Steve Lillywhite, trademark balance of atmosphere and instrumental pyrotechnics. A third single, the anthemic "In A Big Country," hit the UK Top 20 in May, setting the stage for the July release of The Crossing. Along with the band's first three a-sides, The Crossing featured a fourth UK single, the poignant ballad "Chance" (which. like "In A Big Country," appears on this collection in its popular, yet previously unavailable on CD, 7" mix). The album was quickly acclaimed as one of the year's standout debuts, both in the UK (where it went platinum and remained in the Top 40 for over a year) and in the US (where the band was named Best New Group in Rolling Stone's year-end poll, as well as earning a pair of Grammy nominations). Somewhere amidst a dizzying swirl of roadwork and promotion, Tony Butler found the time to lend his talents to the Pretenders' hit "Back On The Chain Gang." A non-album UK single, "Wonderland" (released in the US as a part of a four-song EP, and making its North American CD debut on this compilation) served as an enticing prelude to Big Country's sophomore album Steeltown, recorded with Lillywhite at Abba's Polar Studios in Stockholm. The album, released in the fall of 1984, found Adamson's lyrics conjuring compelling visions of life in his economically devastated homeland, delving deeper into the connection between the personal and the political. On tracks like "East Of Eden," "Where The Rose Is Sown" and "Just A Shadow," the singer steadfastly refuses to succumb to cynicism even when faced with harshest of personal trials, and the band echoes the lyrics' indomitable spirit with consistently intense ensemble work. Following two years of near-constant activity, 1985 was a relatively quite one for Big Country, with its score for the Scottish film comedy Restless Natives (subsequently released on the B-sides of a pair of UK singles) and an appearance in the finale of the historic live aid concert in London marking the band's only major public activity during the year. While Adamson worked on songs for a new album, Brzezicki moonlighted on Roger Daltrey's Under A Raging Moon LP (which also featured Butler and Watson on one track). Brzezicki and Butler later accompanied the Who frontman for a short tour, whose New York date at Madison Square Garden found them playing sets with both Daltrey and Big Country. For its third longplayer, 1986's The Seer, Big Country hooked up with a new producer, Robin Millar, to explore a slightly more spacious sound. Despite the sonic readjustments, songs like "Look Away" (which proved to be the band's biggest UK hit to date), "The Teacher" and "One Great Thing" boasted lyrics as insightful and hooks as sharp as anything the band had done. The quartet spent much of 1986 on the road, headlining various festivals in Europe, as well as a pair of sellout dates at Wembley Arena and a special-guest slot with Queen at England's Knebworth Festival. Big Country was out of the spotlight for much of 1987, emerged briefly during the summer to appear as special guests on the British leg of David Bowie's Glass Spider tour and in December for a low key tour of UK clubs and colleges. The foursome's artistic restlessness took shape in the reshuffled sonics of the 1988 album Peace In Our Time, on which another producer, Austrian synthesizer specialist Peter Wolf employed state-of-art studio gadgetry that might have seemed at odds with the band's established style, yet which nonetheless enhanced the bittersweet lyricism and melodic drive of numbers like "King of Emotion," Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)" and the albums title track. That September, Big Country celebrated Peace In Our Time's release with a tour of the USSR, which they launched with a performance at the Soviet Embassy in London, broadcast live on BBC Radio One. After touring with Big Country through much of the first half of 1989, Mark Brzezicki left the group in July (he subsequently concentrated on a variety of session work, as well as an extended recording and touring stint with a reformed Procol Harum); in his absence, the band worked with a variety of drummers, including Pat Ahern, Chris Bell and noted session ace Simon Phillips. While a dearth of US roadwork significantly diminished the group's stateside profile, the Tim Palmer-produced singles "Save Me" and "heart of the world," and the slyly humorous Pat Moran-helmed "Republican Party Reptile" (from the 1991 U.K. album No Place Like Home) - all of which make their U.S. debuts on this collection - demonstrate that the band's sense of adventure and commitment continued undimmed. By 1993, Big Country had returned to the U.S. market with a new label and a new album, The Buffalo Skinners. That disc's domestic release preceded the band's first U.S. shows in seven years, with Brzezicki back in the fold. Whatever the future holds, however, Big Country's place in rock history is already secure, thanks to its legacy of richly emotional, vitally human music—a generous sampling of which you now hold in your hands.