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Big Country - The Crossing Audio CD

A fair review of the Big Country "The Crossing" 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: The Crossing
Rating:
Release Date: 2002-02-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: In a Big Country 2: Inwards 3: Chance 4: 1,000 Stars 5: Storm 6: Harvest Home 7: Lost Patrol 8: Close Action 9: Fields of Fire 10: Porroh Man 11: Wonderland 12: All Fall Together 13: Angle Park 14: The Crossing 15: Chance (re-recorded single version)

There will never be another
Stuart does things with a guitar that no one will ever match. . He was the equivalent of an oil painter with a guitar while his contemporaries were using water-colors and paint-by-numbers. . .

One of the most emotive albums I have or ever will hear.


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


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. For my definition of 'classic' albums please refer to my review of 'Heaven Or Las Vegas' by the Cocteau Twins. 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 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
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What might have been....
The biggest problem that Big Country faced was that they didn't fall into any one category. 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. 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.


Rest in peace, Stuart Adamson
S. Hard not to return to the "Stay alive" refrain of this wonderful band's only big U. 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.


It's a classic!
I still think it's a great record!.
I had the vinyl version when this was first released.


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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