Big Country - The Crossing

ALCEU NATALI'S CLASSIC ALBUMS: A BIG SHINING COMET THAT CROSSED OUR SKIES ONLY ONCE

For my definition of 'classic' albums please refer to my review of 'Heaven Or Las Vegas' by the Cocteau Twins.

In 1983 Big Country was among the next big things: the ones that would make the grade like, for instances, U2 (War, Under A Blood Red Sky), Cocteau Twins (Head over Heels), Depeche Mode (Construction Time Again) and many others, and the ones that would never make it: like, for instances, Aztec Camera (High Land, Hard Rain), Spandau Ballet (True), Thompson Twins (Quick Step and Side Kick) and many others. Unfortunately, Big Country remained among the latter. Their 1st album, "The Crossing", is a masterpiece. "Steeltown", their 2nd , was not as good as their 1st , but it did have some great songs like Steeltown, Where the Rose Is Sown, Come Back to Me, and Just A Shadow. "The Seer", their 3rd album, was not as good as their 2nd and it did not have great songs. And the story of Big Country ends here. What they produced after their 3rd album is not worthwhile making comments about. That is a shame. They were doing even better than The Who, the band that produced the best debut album of pop-rock history, followed it up with two weak albums and made us wait four years for their next great album (Tommy). Big Country's 2nd and 3rd albums were not so weak as The Who's 2nd and 3rd. Once The Who delayed four years to prove they were not an one album hit wonder, I thought I could hope Big Country would eventually surprise me with their "Tommy" someday. When I first heard "The Crossing" I was a 100% sure they were going to be the next big thing, really. I am very sorry they were not. And even more sorry that Stuart Adamson, the band leader and responsible for Big Country's initial success, took his life by his own hand in 2001 at the age of 43. Sad. I will review here only the 10 tracks contained in the original release of 1983. 1. In A Big Country opens the album superbly, heralding a great album is just born, just like the 1st track of Sgt. Peppers does. 2. Inwards is an incredibly good song that gives the album a sense of perfect continuation, a sense of assurance, pleasure and a desire for more, making you feel like staying in all night with a song like this. 3. Chance is among the best ballads I ever listened to. The instrumental break just a few seconds after the first verses and repeated later has a westernized Japanese-like sound that makes it unique. 4. A Thousand Stars has an U2-like texture, sounding a little like the 2nd track but faster, thus giving it a sense of emergency. 5. The Storm has the taste of a great movie sound track, suitable for a western saga. 6. Harvest Home is an altruistic song, with a sense of glory and victory, like it was joyfully celebrating a struggling achievement. 7. Lost Patrol also reminds me of a movie sound track that gives me both a sense of danger and triumph. 8. Close Action is another great ballad, it is Big Country playing The Beatles. 9. Fields Of Fire (400 Miles) is the other side of the coin that has In a Big Country. It is not a Sgt. Pepper reprise. It is a new Sgt. Pepper. Fantastic. 10. Porroh Man is the true example of how a big band must end a big album.

Alceu Natali, November 16, 2008
November 16, 2008

What might have been....

This album is a true classic; Big Country was emerging as British New Wave was screaming to the top of the world's charts, with bands like Duran Duran leading the way. The biggest problem that Big Country faced was that they didn't fall into any one category. Songs like "In A Big Country" were quite comparable to the early works of U2, but when they pound out "Inwards", you know they're able to rock harder than their contemporaries in New Wave. The third song, "Chance", is one of rock's most unappreciated ballads, a mid-tempo lament for a single mother approaching middle age, complemented by some surprising, yet fitting, power chords as the song winds to its conclusion. "Fields of Fire", the second single, feels like a rock and roll march, given some realism by the bagpipe sound created by Bruce Watson's unique guitar sound. "The Storm" has this haunting celtic feel, even without the use of traditional instruments, and "Harvest Home" almost has a classic rock feel, always giving me the sense I'm listening to a new wave spin on Zeppelin's "Misty Mountain Hop". With this auspicious debut, Big Country seemed to be a notch ahead of U2 in ability and relevance; but they never progressed from this moment, and the pressure to recreate this brilliant album always weighed on frontman Stuart Adamson, who took his life in 2001. Big Country may only have had a brief shining moment, but it's one that should still be celebrated; this is a landmark album that proved British New Wave was much, much more than bright clothes, cool hairstyles, or snotty punks. October 25, 2008

Rest in peace, Stuart Adamson

Hard not to return to the "Stay alive" refrain of this wonderful band's only big U.S. hit without appreciating its sad irony. Still, it's never too late to appreciate both that song and the rest of the album (and on from there) as a work of heartfelt melodic genius. February 23, 2008

It's a classic!

I had the vinyl version when this was first released. I still think it's a great record! January 14, 2008

Incredible band and album, but a TERRIBLE REMIX

5 stars for the music, -1 stars for the terrible remix.

This is one of my faviorite bands and albums of all time. I originally had this on vinyl back in 83 or 84 and wore the grooves out. As a previous reviewer noted, it is this kind of brilliant music that the 80s should be remembered for. The Crossing, Steeltown, and The Seer should be essentials for anyone who loves amazing guitar work and intricate arrangements. There is so much more here than "In a Big Country", and it is a crime that Big Country always gets stuck with the label of a "one hit band". Luckily, I purchased the original CD release of the Crossing back in the late 80s when it came out. I picked up this remix/remastered version mainly for the addition of the EP material included as bonus tracks, and was also hoping for some sonic improvement over the original recording.

Unfortunately, the remixing of The Crossing material here is CRAP, and is an insult to the original recording. If this is the only way you ever hear this material, you are missing out. There are two main issues: First, the sound quality of many guitar and vocal tracks is distorted and rough, either due to degraded master tapes or a bad remix engineer. Second, the new mixes do not sound like the originals, but are often way too bass and drum heavy, with thin, weak sounding vocals and guitars. It sounds like it was remixed with a producer that usually does current Top40 or Hip-Hop recordings, and that production style absolutely kills the music here. Checking the liner notes, I see that the remastering was NOT supervised by the band or by the original producer, but by someone else that I never heard of, and I find that is usually a bad thing. Interestingly, the bonus EP material sounds decent, probably because they just threw it on there without messing around with it.

Luckily, I have a late 80s CD release of this, and I would suggest that anyone who really loves this music try to find a pre-remix CD version someplace. If you do, play it side-by-side with the new one and you will hear what I mean. Unfortunately, this remix is probably the only way most people will be able to get The Crossing on CD right now, which is a real shame - they should have just left it alone.

Another alternative is to get the King Biscuit Flower Hour CD for a Big Country concert back in 83. It has most of the songs from The Crossing on it, and the mix is better. December 10, 2007

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