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Big Country - Driving to Damascus Audio CD

A fair review of the Big Country "Driving to Damascus" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Big Country reviews here, or go back to the Big Country tabs.

Big Country Band: Big Country
Title: Driving to Damascus
Rating:
Release Date: 2000-04-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Driving to Damascus 2: Dive in to Me 3: See You 4: Perfect World 5: Somebody Else 6: Fragile Things 7: President Slipped and Fell 8: Devil in the Eye 9: Trouble the Waters 10: Bella 11: Your Spirit to Me 12: Grace 13: Loserville [*] 14: This Blood's for You [*] 15: I Get Hurt [*] 16: John Wayne's Dream [*]

The end of the road
" They would never again achieve the broad recognition in the States that that song had brought them, which in and of itself is a tragedy, but when coupled with the eventual suicide of Stuart Adamson it makes this album all the more poignant. Shortly after "In A Big Country" faded from American airwaves, Big Country was, for the most part, forgotten about and miscatagorized as a "one hit wonder.
Along with Adamson's superb song writing, the band had one of the best rhythm sections to come out of the 1980's. And their distinctive Scottish sound surely set them apart from the throng of New Wave bands that they would inevitably be lumped in with.
And so we come to Driving To Demascus, the final chapter in the bands career and it is a magnificent and bittersweet end.
Though they have traded their Scottish accent for a far more American tone, this album still contains all the core traits that made the band so great. The incomperable bass and drum combo of Butler and Brzezicki, the seamless guitar interplay of Adamson and Watson, and of course Adamson's wonderful vocals.
The song writing is touching and powerful, dealing with lost love, tragedy and dissapointment, but also hope and humor.
It's a rare occasion when any album can grab me the way this one has. But in the two weeks since I've purchased it I've listened to little else. Songs like "Perfect World" Fragile Thing" and "Trouble The Waters" provided and immediate hook, but three or four listens later, the entire work had me fully engrossed.
If your an old fan of the band you will definiately love this one. If you're one of the masses that forgot about them, or never heard of them in the first place, I can only recommend you give this album a listen. It's simply one of the best and most well written I've heard in a very long time. .


Gets better the more you listen to it
I love the classic material and those other albums are among my favorite cds. It's nice to see that Big Country drifted away from their "Crossing/Steeltown/Seer" type of sound and ended up evolving in lots of different ways. This one took me a few additional listenings to really get into. "Fragile Thing" and "Perfect World" really started to stand out to me over time (and especially after seeing the videos). Great album and excellent if you liked Big Country in the 80s and want to see how they evolved without ever really "selling out".


'Desert Island Disc' pertinent! Incredible and moving!
I guess in the end, no matter how talented and loved you may be, personal demons can snatch you from this earth. It is especially poignant and sad to have to listen to this overlooked masterpiece given the untimely and sudden sad ending to the great Stuart Adamson's life. I can't pretend to know Stu's mind and what was going through it. That said, this release is a helluva 'swansong' for the band. It is truly an example of 'best of the best' melodic songwriting prowess and passionate vocals, and I try and celebrate and honor the band's musical contributions when I listen to this magnificent CD. The songs are tight, passionate, and hooky! As excellent as Big Country was previous to 'Driving To Damascus', they really 'took it to the next level' with this one. Please do yourselves a favor and get your hands on this one. . . it's THAT GOOD!!! .


Powerful, beautiful, and sad
As brilliant and unique as The Crossing was, it seems that Adamson was really just getting rolling artistically when he decided life wasn't worth living. I'm rediscovering Stuart Adamson and Big Country after many years of having forgotten them. The last project he worked on, The Raphaels, yielded a fabulous debut.

But the final Big Country recording, Driving to Damascus, is just stunning. It retains the best qualities BC and Adamson always possessed: fabulous playing, unique sounds and song structures, and poetic lyrics. But it's all distilled into a ferociously powerful and seemless package.

The influence of Nashville on Adamson results in a couple of great songs that sound nothing like anything BC has done before ("See You" and "Fragile Thing" in particular). Two collaborations with Ray Davies work beautifully ("Somebody Else" and "The Devil in the Eye"). And the rockers should be rocking arenas everywhere (especially the stunning "Dive into Me").

I find all this late work by Adamson enormously moving. In "Dive into Me" he sings, "Sometimes swirling waters drag you down/Knowing how to swim doesn't mean you never drown/Come the storm you hold in fear whoever's by your side/Sometimes you're just drifting on the tide. " If that doesn't rip you up, you need therapy.


bury me where the rose is sown
What is most evident is the influence of his new home, Nashville, on the sound. Unfotunately, Stuart Adamson took his own life and this album is the last Big Country recording he gave it his all to. Instead of a blast of Scotland, we get a much more country feel, which is fine. Fragile Thing is one of the finest songs recorded by this band. This album is a fine swan song.


You can see a complete list of all Big Country discography, or go back to the Big Country tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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