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This has a reputation of being one of Big Country's weakest albums, it was apparently not well recieved back in 1988 when it was released. So I came to this with low expectations.
How pleasantly surprised I was to discover that this was excellent, at least as good as BC's previous three albums.
The highlights of this album in my view are the rock tracks 'King of Emotion' {the opening track} and 'River of Hope' and the catchy 'Time For Leaving'. This also has two beautiful ballads, the atmospheric 'Everything I Need' and the heartfelt 'In This Place' which in my view should be considered one of BC's finest songs.
If the negative publicity has put you off this album, take no notice, this well worth listening to.
This does have a different sound to BC's other albums, but that does not detract from the excellent songs and songwriting.
this one is not as bad as everyone wrights. In fact I played this album dozens of times during my summerhildays in 1989
After the Bright lights and Massive worldwide acclaimof the Crossing, an almost "Back to Basics" album, released at a time when the UK was but a stone's throw from Civil War, and transformation, Miners strikes, War in the Falklands, the closing of the steeltown's, The Shipyards, the wholesale decimation of a country by a ruthless (ultra) right wing political doctrine.
It is angry, it is dark, it is dense, there are no "sitting in the sun, watching the world go by" tunes on it, even the ballads (Girl With Grey Eyes and Just a Shadow are hard edged and dour.
A perfect Snapshot of that time in the mid 80's where 3 million people were out of work, the country was bleeding, and the beginning of the 20 years of us being "America's Lapdog", (the first track shows you the intent, all about Ronald Reagan and his thirst for glory and greed) all the way to the last, about people washed up, tossed to the side and left.
ANGRY, poignant, dark and at times too intense to listen to, but you will, and you will then find the beauty in this album.
For the darkness in it,and the fact it documents a bad time in UK history, that still haunts a lot of people.... 4 Stars
The sound of a band at ease with their place in the world, still experimenting, still pushing forward, some real soulful music,some angry raucous guitars, (check out Perfect World), snippets of where they (he) was in their life at the time, and very ably assisted in the writing of a couple of the songs by Ray Davies of the Kinks.
As an unforseen "swansong", it is beautiful, and i defy you to listen (or read) the lyrics to Fragile thing or Your Spirit to me or Grace and not have tears in your eyes, especially after the terrible event that followed the album's release.
A Band still chasing their initial goal, to join their music with people, to document the trials and victories of you, me and them. A job very well done i think.
5 Stars
To my mid teenage ears, the freshest, most alive record i had heard up to that point, The start of something great, strident, soulful,angry, thoughtful, inspiring, delicate.
There isnt a bad song on the album, if you like LOUD guitars, they are here, if you prefer your music a little on the low side, or not grabbing you by the throat, it's here.
Do yourself and your best friend a favour, get it, get him (or her) one too, they will be unsure what it is, but tell them to listen to it at least three times., (Maybe not all at the same time) then you too will see why this is an album that will never leave you. It has never left me. it is 26 years old, and still fresh.
5 Stars
The first, and probably best album. All the best known anthems are here - In A Big Country, Fields of Fire and Chance. My favourite tracks though are the longer, less well known ones, The Storm and Porrohman.
There really isn't a bad track on this album, but for many of the tracks, I prefer later live recordings - the vocals definitely improved over the years.
I still think of this album as the two sides of the original vinyl release. Side 1 is the best half-album Big Country ever released, with a much harder sound than The Crossing. Every track is a Big Country classic.
But side 2 (with the exception of Just A Shadow, another classic) isn't as good. Not particularly bad, just much more forgettable.
A bit of a mixed bag. Some great tracks, such as Im Not Ashamed, the return of the the trademark Big Country guitar sound (Gods Great Mistake and Blue On A Green Planet), and even a bit of ebow on One In A Million. But a lot of the other tracks are rather forgettable.
Noisier than the other albums, and a little less tuneful as a result. But there are still some very good tracks. Seven Waves, The One I Love and Chesters Farm are the highlights for me, and I prefer the version of Ships here to the one on No Place Like Home.
The last album with the 'original Big Country sound'. It's strange how my favourite tracks on this have changed a lot over the 20+ years since it was released. I never much liked The Teacher when it was released, but I it's now my favourite track on here. Red Fox and Sailor I have always liked, and Eiledon is another favourite.
One of my favorite of the later albums. There's a much more acoustic sound than any of the others, and some great songs.
I prefer this version of We're not in Kansas to the noiser version on The Buffalo Skinners. Comes A Time, Republican Party Reptile and The Hostage Speaks are other highlights.
This is a much maligned album, largely for it's softer, more American sound. But it does have some great tracks - Broken Heart, Thousand Yard Stare and Time For Leaving are my favourites.
Definitely not the best of the albums, but still worth listening to.
The last 'proper' album, and by this time most traces of the Scottish sound of the early albums is long gone. But there are some great songs on here. Driving To Damascus, Dive In To Me and Fragile Thing are as good as anything they recorded.