The Crossing (Big Country album)


The Crossing is the debut album released by Scottish band Big Country. The album reached #3 in the UK; overseas, it hit #4 in Canada on the RPM national Top Albums Chart and #18 in the US on the Billboard 200 in 1983. It went on to be certified platinum in the UK and Canada. It contains the song "In a Big Country" which is their only U.S. Top 40 hit single. The song featured heavily engineered guitar playing, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes; Adamson and fellow guitarist Watson achieved this through the use of the MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the e-bow, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer.
The album has been remastered and reissued on three occasions. The latest version released by Universal in 2012 in advance of the album's 30th anniversary includes a second disc of previously unissued demos. Also included in the set is a track produced by Chris Thomas from the first abortive attempt to record the band's debut album. The demos include the earliest recordings done by Adamson and Bruce Watson, some of which were recorded on four-track prior to recruiting either a drummer or bassist for the band.
The set also includes a booklet with interviews by the journalist and author Tim Barr. Lyrics for all of the key songs are also included, and the album has been remastered by Paschal Byrne from the original master tapes. In total, ten previously unreleased tracks were included in the deluxe, digitally remastered edition.

Music and Lyrics

The songs on The Crossing deal with topics including loss, separation, dehumanization, and the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. Many of the songs are characterized by Brzezicki's highly-compressed drums and the heavily effects-treated, layered guitars of Adamson and Watson. The music often demonstrates a clear influence of Scottish traditional music, particularly obvious in the pipe-band rhythms of "In a Big Country" and "Fields of Fire" and the swirling, Gaelic guitar intro to "The Storm." This caused the band to be categorized as a Celtic rock band, which sometimes led to unfavorable comparisons with other bands such as Thin Lizzy.

Reception

Critic Kurt Loder of Rolling Stone gave the album a glowing review, writing:

Track listings

All songs written by Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, Bruce Watson, except as indicated. On the USA vinyl LP, the songs "1000 Stars" and "Fields of Fire" are in reversed order. The USA CD release keeps the same order as below.
;Side one
  1. "In a Big Country" – 4:44
  2. "Inwards" – 4:36
  3. "Chance" – 4:26
  4. "1000 Stars" – 3:50
  5. "The Storm" – 6:19
;Side two
  2. "Harvest Home" – 4:19
  3. "Lost Patrol" – 4:52
  4. "Close Action" – 4:15
  5. "Fields of Fire " – 3:31
  6. "Porrohman" – 7:52
;Additional tracks
  1. "Angle Park" – 4:08
  2. "Fields of Fire " – 5:19
  3. "Heart & Soul" – 5:13
  4. "In a Big Country" – 6:19

    1996 re-issue

Bonus tracks:
  1. "Angle Park" – 4:08
  2. "All of Us" – 4:09
  3. "The Crossing" – 7:09
  4. "Heart & Soul" – 4:33

    ''Wonderland EP'' (US, 1984)

  5. "Wonderland" – 3:56
  6. "All Fall Together" – 5:05
  7. "Angle Park" – 4:07
  8. "The Crossing" – 7:04

    ''Wonderland EP'' (Canada, 1984)

  9. "Wonderland" – 3:58
  10. "Angle Park" – 4:08
  11. "All Fall Together" – 5:16
  12. "Chance" – 6:10
  13. "Heart and Soul" – 5:13
  14. "The Crossing" – 7:10

    ''Wonderland EP'' (US only, 2002)

  15. "Wonderland" – 3:58
  16. "All Fall Together" – 5:16
  17. "Angle Park" – 4:08
  18. "The Crossing" – 7:10
  19. "Chance" – 4:37

    2012 re-issue

Disc 1
  1. "Balcony"
  2. "Flag of Nations "
  3. "Angle Park"
  4. "All of Us"
  5. "Heart and Soul"
  6. "The Crossing"
  7. "Tracks of My Tears"
Disc 2
  1. "Angle Park"
  2. "Harvest Home"
  3. "We Could Laugh"
  4. "In a Big Country"
  5. "The Storm"
  6. "Big City"
  7. "Fields of Fire"
  8. "Lost Patrol"
  9. "Inwards"
  10. "1000 Stars"
  11. "Lost Patrol"
  12. "Inwards"
  13. "Close Action"
  14. "Fields of Fire"
  15. "1000 Stars"
  16. "Ring Out Bells"
  17. "Chance"

    Personnel

Album
Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart21
Canadian Albums Chart4
Dutch Albums Chart11
New Zealand Albums Chart8
Swedish Albums Chart17
UK Albums Chart3
U.S. Billboard 20018

Single
YearSingleChartPosition
1983In a Big CountryBillboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play47
1983In a Big CountryBillboard Mainstream Rock3
1983In a Big CountryBillboard Hot 10017
1983In a Big CountryRPM 50 Singles 3
1984Fields of FireBillboard Hot 10052

Certifications