The Crossing (Big Country album)

The Crossing
Studio album by Big Country
Released 15 July 1983
2 February 2002 (reissue)
Recorded May 1983
The Manor, Oxfordshire and
RAK Studios, London
Genre Alternative rock, New Wave, folk rock, Celtic rock, post-punk
Length 48:24
Label Mercury, Universal (reissue)
Producer Steve Lillywhite
Big Country chronology
The Crossing
(1983)		 Steeltown
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Blender [2]
Robert Christgau (B) [3]
Rolling Stone [4]

The Crossing is the first studio album released by Scottish band Big Country. The album reached #18 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.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, Bruce Watson except as indicated.

  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
  6. "Harvest Home" – 4:19
  7. "Lost Patrol" – 4:52
  8. "Close Action" – 4:15
  9. "Fields of Fire (400 Miles)" – 3:31
  10. "Porrohman" – 7:52

Bonus tracks (1983 Cassette Release)

  1. "Angle Park" (Adamson, Watson) – 4:08
  2. "Fields of Fire (400 Miles) - (Alternate Mix)" – 5:19
  3. "Heart & Soul" – 5:13
  4. "In a Big Country - (Pure Mix)" (Listed as '12" Mix') – 6:19

Bonus tracks (1996 Remastered Edition)

  1. "Angle Park" (Adamson, Watson) – 4:08
  2. "All Of Us" - 4:09
  3. "The Crossing" – 7:09
  4. "Heart & Soul" - 4:33 (This version fades out earlier than the version on the 1983 Cassette release)

Bonus tracks (2002 Reissue)

Wonderland EP (US only)

  1. "Wonderland" – 3:58
  2. "All Fall Together (Jimmy Iovine remix)" – 5:16
  3. "Angle Park (Adamson, Watson) – 4:08
  4. "The Crossing" – 7:10

Additional Bonus Track

  1. "Chance" (re-recorded single version) – 4:37

Personnel

Chart performance

Album

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Canadian Albums Chart[5] 4
Dutch Albums Chart[6] 11
New Zealand Albums Chart[7] 8
Swedish Albums Chart[8] 17
UK Albums Chart[9] 3
U.S. Billboard 200 18

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1983 "In a Big Country" Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play 47
1983 "In a Big Country" Billboard Mainstream Rock 3
1983 "In a Big Country" Pop Singles 17
1983 "In a Big Country" The Billboard Hot 100 35
1984 "Fields of Fire" The Billboard Hot 100 52

Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPI – UK Gold 15 September 1983
CRIA – Canada Gold November 1, 1983
CRIA – Canada Platinum December 1, 1983
RIAA – USA Gold January 19, 1984
BPI – UK Platinum 9 February 1984

References

  1. ^ Demalon, Tom. "Big Country: The Crossing" at Allmusic. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. ^ Blender review
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Big Country". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=big+country. Retrieved 18 September 2011. 
  4. ^ Loder, Kurt (15 September 1983). "Big Country: The Crossing". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media) (RS 404). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070329001229/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/bigcountry/albums/album/250904/review/5944030/the_crossing. 
  5. ^ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM (archived at Library and Archives Canada) (Volume 39, No. 11). 12 November 1983. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.6720a&type=1. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
  6. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Big Country - The Crossing" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Big+Country&titel=The+Crossing&cat=a. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
  7. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Big Country - The Crossing". charts.org.nz. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Big+Country&titel=The+Crossing&cat=a. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
  8. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Big Country - The Crossing". swedishcharts.com. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Big+Country&titel=The+Crossing&cat=a. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
  9. ^ "Big Country - The Crossing". chartstats.com. 1986-08-23. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=41487. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
Big Country
Studio albums and EPs
Other albums
Singles
  • "Harvest Home"
  • "Fields of Fire"
  • "In a Big Country"
  • "Chance"
  • "Wonderland"
  • "East of Eden"
  • "Where the Rose Is Sown"
  • "Just a Shadow"
  • "Look Away"
  • "The Teacher"
  • "One Great Thing"
  • "Hold the Heart"
  • "King of Emotion"
  • "Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)"
  • "Peace in Our Time"
  • "Save Me"
  • "Heart of the World"
  • "Republican Party Reptile"
  • "Beautiful People"
  • "Alone"
  • "Ships (Where Were You)"
  • "The One I Love"
  • "I'm Ashamed"
  • "You Dreamer"
  • "Fragile Thing"
  • "Another Country"
Related articles