that song is godawful (and it could not be def leppard, even def leppard's bad songs are better than that).
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 12 April 2008 21:10 (sixteen years ago) link
However, Bryant Reeves was pretty good basketball player in his, albeit short, time.
― mehlt, Saturday, 12 April 2008 22:03 (sixteen years ago) link
Okay WOWWWW these Steeltown extra tracks BLEW MY MIND. I mean as if listening to the entirety of the original Steeltown album today at work in my headphones wasn't enough of a delightful experience - haven't heard it in many, many years and I was amazed to learn it was a Lillywhite production, I never knew or remembered that he had produced them. Listen to the drums the way they crack as if each is a rimshot all its own. Listen to the primitive rumble of the bass. Holy hell, and as if they didn't PLAY well as musicians I mean oh my god. They fucking shred.
So then these extra tracks come along and I'm like holy hell what is this? I've never heard this before. I'm talking about "Bass Dance", "Belief In The Small Man" (my favourite - what a tune!) and "Prairie Rose". Also I DIDN'T FUCKING REALIZE I WAS MISSING OUT ON A 12" VERSION OF WONDERLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!
― Bimble, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:36 (sixteen years ago) link
The guitar on Winter Sky!!!
― Bimble, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:46 (sixteen years ago) link
i used to own the 12" of wonderland, but i didn't know there was a steeltown with extra tracks. i guess i should find it.
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:52 (sixteen years ago) link
now i really want to hear "tall ships go"
― tipsy mothra, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:55 (sixteen years ago) link
YES! THAT ONE IS ESPECIALLY GOOD@!
― Bimble, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:56 (sixteen years ago) link
Imagine if they'd got together with Eno...
― Bimble, Saturday, 19 April 2008 02:58 (sixteen years ago) link
This band are my salvation. I can't even speak.
Top Of The Pops, 1983
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Monday, 28 April 2008 06:20 (sixteen years ago) link
I feel the winter too...
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Monday, 28 April 2008 06:22 (sixteen years ago) link
Just A Shadow
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Monday, 28 April 2008 06:34 (sixteen years ago) link
Whoops
Here we go: Just A Shadow
― Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You, Monday, 28 April 2008 06:35 (sixteen years ago) link
In a Big Country Dreams stay with you Like a lover's voice far as the mountainside
― Bimble, Sunday, 25 May 2008 07:42 (fifteen years ago) link
― would you ask tom petty that? (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 12 April 2009 06:47 (fifteen years ago) link
McSweeney's in valorizing Big Country for prefiguring The Decemberists shocker.
But egads The Crossing is grebt. It's a pop churrigueresque, urgent, generous, overloaded, with what feels like an EP's worth of hooks crammed into each song. Even when the Sir Walter Scott conceit starts to groan under its own weight (e.g."The Lost Patrol") there's new a vocal or guitar line or change coming with every new bar.
― butt-rock miyagi (rogermexico.), Monday, 20 April 2009 17:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Goddammit this band, they could outdo Simple Minds for just awhile but don't tell anyone. They'll whisper it in my ear. You think I'm joking...
This band
"I am honest manI am a working manI feel the winter too"
You think I'm finished? I haven't posted the video yet.
― Sleep Tundra (Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 03:13 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZgioX6s1UI
― Sleep Tundra (Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 03:17 (fourteen years ago) link
It says "embedding disabled by request" just double click it, thanks
― Sleep Tundra (Bimble Is Still More Goth Than You), Tuesday, 16 June 2009 03:20 (fourteen years ago) link
It's all about the bass solo Tony Butler plays during the band introductions (beginning around 3:43).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nGN7638fzw
― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 16 June 2009 03:40 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/big-country-the-journey.jpg
The reconfigured Big Country — with The Alarm’s Mike Peters filling in for the late Stuart Adamson and the new addition of original Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes — will release its first new studio album in 14 years this spring and embark on a world tour that will hit the U.K., Europe and North America.
Cherry Red Records has announced it will release The Journey in the U.K. on April 15.
― Bee OK, Wednesday, 6 March 2013 05:25 (eleven years ago) link
i don't know why i'm bothered by this, but this is an outrage
― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 06:52 (eleven years ago) link
big country were the first rock group i ever saw live (supporting the jam at wembley arena)
weird to see them releasing recs on cherry red, of all places
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 6 March 2013 09:04 (eleven years ago) link
yeah they shd've just formed a new band called Get Celt Crew or something
― a phenomenological description of The Eagles (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 10:10 (eleven years ago) link
This is like the bloke from Feeder being drafted in to front Idlewild. Livid.
― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 10:15 (eleven years ago) link
with the Alarm, Big Country and Simple Minds playing together it'll be a magical night for fans of back-combing and hating the english tho
― a phenomenological description of The Eagles (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 10:21 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.bigcountry.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Inverness-13.jpg
― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 10:24 (eleven years ago) link
Must been some way of getting U2 involved and then strafing the tour bus?
― acid in the style of tenpole tudor (NickB), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 10:26 (eleven years ago) link
is The Seer worth a listen? I like "Look Away." "One Great Thing" I know because Greil Marcus wrote an essay in early '87 decrying the video as Reaganite crap.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 12 September 2014 01:29 (nine years ago) link
much like 'expensive shit' was a telling salvo in support of gerald ford's war against inflation
― mookieproof, Friday, 12 September 2014 01:50 (nine years ago) link
Adamson's best work were the three albums he did with Skids and the first two Big Country albums, IMO.
― Welcome To (Turrican), Friday, 12 September 2014 02:08 (nine years ago) link
First three songs on The Seer are all pretty good - they're at their best on this record when they're rocking out. Second song has Kate Bush on it, so you've gotta hear that at least. A lot of the rest of the album has this emotional gooeyness to it that i'm much too old and mean to enjoy much now
― john wahey (NickB), Friday, 12 September 2014 06:04 (nine years ago) link
For the smallest of sub subsets, here's some guy absolutely killing drum covers of Big Country songs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzPm5OXkbNY
Blowing my mind, because Brzezicki's drumming is some of my favorite of all time, but I never really knew for sure what he was doing, how much was overdubbed, how much was just gonzo syncopation, etc.. If these covers are accurate ... he's doing a hell of a lot!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 3 December 2019 15:51 (four years ago) link
fuccck Steeltown is so damn good.
that is all.
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 27 October 2020 17:31 (three years ago) link
drums on Tall Ships Go! ooof.
― Hmmmmm (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 27 October 2020 17:47 (three years ago) link
flame of the west hell yeah
― brimstead, Tuesday, 27 October 2020 17:54 (three years ago) link
Thanks to this, I listened to The Crossing for the 1st time in ooooh 30+ years
And heard, also for 1st time, strange premonitions of Joey Santiago
― Harthill Services (Neil Willett), Thursday, 29 October 2020 18:58 (three years ago) link
I was out with a friend last night and "In a Big Country" came on. My friend has pretty good taste, and diverse tastes, too, and he lit up. "Dude! This song is so dope!" (That's just the way he talks, I'm used to it.) "And those aren't bagpipes, those are *guitars*, dude!" I couldn't tell if he was joking, but I told him, yeah, I know. Also, the whole first album is awesome. And his eyes go wide and he says "Wait, you're serious?!" It turns out that even nearing 50 and loving the hit with all his heart, it never occurred to him that the band had more to offer, and that its "one hit wonder" novelty status somehow hid the fact that the entire first album is a wonder. I'm waiting to hear back with his first-listen reaction.
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 October 2021 13:57 (two years ago) link
imagine the shock when he discovers that steeltown is even better.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Thursday, 28 October 2021 15:04 (two years ago) link
I don't think it's better, but I do think it's an awesome reward if you liked the first one. Like, wait, there's more, and that more is even *more*!?
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 October 2021 15:21 (two years ago) link
agree. i was just being a foole.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Thursday, 28 October 2021 15:27 (two years ago) link
The bass in "In a Big Country" is quite awesome.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 28 October 2021 15:30 (two years ago) link
very weird case where the song a “one hit wonder” is known for is like idk the 5th best track on (arguably obv) their second best record
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Friday, 29 October 2021 13:48 (two years ago) link
lol my bagpipe-guitar radar lit up, I knew someone had revived the Big Country thread. I have listened to the first two albums at different points over the last 6-8 months, still love them. The grandiose mythologizing feels pretty adolescent and as such doesn't resonate with me like it did when I was one. But the music and tunes and that big Lillywhite sound do.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 29 October 2021 15:02 (two years ago) link
And Adamson could write more grown-up lyrics too. "Girl With Grey Eyes" is nice.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 29 October 2021 15:05 (two years ago) link
almost 20 years since stuart died :(
over lockdown i was kind of tinkering with the idea of making an ambient album out of big country samples - lots of weird atmospheric sounds in their music and also some of the lyrics would make the best ambient song titles. was going to call it 'a garden in a forest that the world will never see'
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Friday, 29 October 2021 15:13 (two years ago) link
wld listen
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Friday, 29 October 2021 16:52 (two years ago) link
same.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Friday, 29 October 2021 18:44 (two years ago) link
Heh reminds me of the Godspeed you black emperor ambient collage I pasted together years ago. no crescendos, all spooky glockenspiels and trains and guitar echoes
― brimstead, Friday, 29 October 2021 19:40 (two years ago) link
spooky glockenspiels a pretty ripe band name, i reckon.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Friday, 29 October 2021 19:43 (two years ago) link
I imagine that ambient album as described would be pretty awesome. It might also sound a bit like Frippertronics.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 30 October 2021 01:05 (two years ago) link
Speaking of ambience, the opening minute-plus of "Porrohman" could be sampled to endless purposes. This live clip may be one of the videos I posted above in this thread that have since disappeared. It's great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQRxbjyQceo
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 31 October 2021 18:50 (two years ago) link
I've posted him before because he's awesome but:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBpXK5LMzXA
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 31 October 2021 19:18 (two years ago) link
talking of ambient, it was fun to revisit some skids' deep cuts knowing what i know now about eno and fripp and cluster et al
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dAJxkfcehQSkids - Snakes & Ladders (Peel Session, 1980) - sounds like some sort of ambient guitar pedal demo from 2017 tbh, knobs eat yr heart out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_sY9ljUFacSkids - A Man For All Seasons (The Absolute Game bonus disk, 1980) - lots of pitch-shifted guitar over some roedelius-esque bloopiness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mznYLqLicxESkids - Peaceful Times (Days In Europa, 1979) - big dose of bill nelson backwards magic on this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avbvgbGBnCYSkids - Surgical Triumph (The Absolute Game bonus disk, 1980) - another another green world
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Sunday, 31 October 2021 20:14 (two years ago) link
I haven't heard a Big Country album yet, but I listened to Days in Europa last year. Can't say that I loved the songs, but it sounded to me like the unexpected bridge between Devo and U2 that I'd never imagined existed.
― Halfway there but for you, Monday, 1 November 2021 00:54 (two years ago) link
i like that characterisation of them! they were actually an influence on u2 - i think that when staurt adamson died, the edge said something like stuart was the guitarist that the edge always wanted to be. also there was that horrendous u2/green day cover of 'the saints are coming'
the devo-ish nerd punk thing did carry over to some of the early big country songs. this one definitely springs to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8G-VQom2kM
(there is an early demo version of that somewhere with synths instead of guitars)
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Monday, 1 November 2021 16:45 (two years ago) link
Good long feature: https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-life-and-hard-times-of-big-country-and-stuart-adamson
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 1 November 2021 16:54 (two years ago) link
thanks alfred, enoyed reading that
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Monday, 1 November 2021 20:32 (two years ago) link
Really interesting to read that the bagpipe guitars were in some ways a happy accident by way of avoiding playing anything bluesy. Lots of melodic scales, harmonies, drones, etc.,
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 1 November 2021 20:52 (two years ago) link
Yeah, that was a good read. Also confirms the huge role Lillywhite played in creating their sound.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Monday, 1 November 2021 21:56 (two years ago) link
Great set here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UlnVnQ06ZM
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 2 November 2021 00:53 (two years ago) link
tough read tbh but a good one.re the whole guitars/bagpipes thing, the comparison’s always struck me as a disservice. it was never a gimmick, and to the extent that any particular riff “sounds like bagpipes” what we’re hearing is less an effect than a melodic/harmonic sensibility.show me a rock guitar genius suckled on highland folk music and I’ll show you a guitar that sounds like a bagpipe.
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 2 November 2021 15:28 (two years ago) link
hot take: nothing in big country's music sounds like bagpipes.
sidebar: this revive has me jamming the skids for the first time in my life and i'd just like to say to the collective here that you guys are fucking awesome. thank you so much for letting me eavesdrop on your conversations and take notes.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Tuesday, 2 November 2021 15:49 (two years ago) link
Just watched the drummer video above, it's good. I liked in the article how Brzezicki talked about taking marching band inspiration from Steve Gadd, I wouldn't have made that connection but it makes sense.
― a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 2 November 2021 16:02 (two years ago) link
exactly. but something in big country's music made some people think of bagpipes. given the former, I'm curious about the latter.
― poster of sparks (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 2 November 2021 16:13 (two years ago) link