I LOVE Big Country. I have since 1983 when this came out and I was 13. In fact, if you like this song, this album is 100% loaded with great songs, not a dud (or even close to one). It's beautiful music front to back.
They were using a new digital pitch- shifter unit. The device was invented to correct little stuff like a guitar slightly out of tune, but Big Country went nuts with it and got that weird guitar sound. Very similar to how the Edge went wild with digital delay units in U2.
Scottish accents, not Irish. Saw the band in Aberdeen in the late 80s - awesome concert and when the bagpipe style guitar started the crowd went nuts. 'Chance' is another great song from them with a totally different vibe.
This band is Scottish, I'm Scottish and I had all their albums, some great songs. Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. Stuart Adamson, the vocalist, had a great voice, very recognisable. Sadly he passed away in 2001.
I have been a cult follower of the band since then. They had such a unique sound right from the get go. Peace In Our Time was another huge strong album from them too. The whole CD is strong beginning to end.. I was so shocked to hear of Adamson's death back then. Their music will live on in my music catalog forever.
@@vamboroolz1612 Sorry, have to contradict you there, according to the band's website, Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson are both native of the band’s hometown Dunfermline in Scotland.😊😊
@ Bruce was born in Canada, Stuart was born in England. They did live in Dunfermline but I said none of them were born in Scotland, which is true. Pete Wishart of Runrig was a member briefly in 1982 and he was born in Dunfermline.
@@vamboroolz1612 As I said, I got the info from their website about them being native to Dunfermline, ie born there, unless it means their families are from there? Anyway, it doesn't really matter, Big Country were a great band and I had all their albums.
Big Country were awesome. I was there when they came out with the extended intro version on ep. I'm 67 and this song still blows my mind and makes my Scottish blood boil.
I think they were deliberately tuned that way. I am English and worked with a guy who said his Scottish mother liked Big Country because of their guitar sound.
They used a device called an E-Bow (Electronic/Energy Bow) to make those guitar tones. It's a device that uses a pickup and a magnet to cause steel guitar strings to self oscillate without touching them and you can use it to sustain notes infinitely
R.I.P. Stuart Adamson, gone way too soon. The "bagpipe" sound made by the guitars comes from something called an "e bow," invented in the late '60s. This song/album just gets my Scottish-American blood pumping!!
Actually, the e-bow was used for the strings/synth sound on the slower parts, like the intro to "The Storm." The bagpipe sound was achieved with a different guitar effect, the name of which escapes me. People always get this confused, but the fact is you really can't play fast lines like that with an e-bow, and if you watch their live performances of this song and the other uptempo tracks there's no e-bow in sight.
Thank you guys for covering this song, it means so much for so many people. They had so much energy, that Scottish flavour with frontier feeling .... they are so rated in the UK
Nothing puts me back in the High School parking lot on Friday talking about where the parties are this weekend like this song. Love you 2 guys doing reviews!
In the secret spot in woods behind the school where our parents will never look. Even though it's the exact same spot where they partied in High School. Lol.
Saw Big Country at a heavy rock festival in the U.K. in 1983. The band looked really nervous when they came out but quickly got huge smiles on their faces when they realised the crowd loved them. They went down a ‘Storm’, ( pun intended). Brilliant band.
Although sounding Scottish none of the band were born there Stuart in Manchester, Bruce in Canada, Mark and Tony from London but founding members Stuart and Bruce loved all their lives in Scotland. Greatest band ever still performing today playing their second album Steeltown
Finally! I've been waiting for this reaction. This still stands as one of my favorite songs. I'm always happy when it comes up on my playlist because it gets me so hyped. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.
I was in charge of the music at the National Convention for the Jaycees back in the late 90s. every time we would have an international guest, I'd fire up this song, or ABC's "One Better World"
@ That’s awesome! It’s funny that you brought up ABC because “Poison Arrow” came up on my playlist yesterday and I was thinking about how much I liked Martin Fry’s voice.
Please say hello to Andy. So good to see his name still on your channel. Sorry you lost your studio in the hurricane. Onwards and upwards. Love to all involved
I'm old enough to remember this track when it was release. It's an absolute banger, as is most of their early catalogue. I love the lyric "I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered", it's bloody outstanding. Stuart was quite the wordsmith. BC also had a gun rhythm section that featured on a lot of other peoples albums.
Saw them way back in 1983 in Boca Raton with Wire Train as their opening act. I do remember these guitars were so loud in that small auditorium. It was awesome.
LOVE LOVE Big Country. Glad you finally got here. This one and Where the Rose Is Sown are my absolute favorites. The lead singer passed away and tohis day I still mourn the fact that his voice is not in this world.
Alex THANK YOU for highlighting my hometown heroes my idols and my FRIENDS BIG COUNTRY! They and I are from Dunfermline in SCOTLAND! Delighted you enjoyed the music of the man who was my guitar idol since I was only 6, StuartAdamson. Well done too for picking up on the folk music inspirations behind the sound as that is exactly right. I could keep you in song suggestions for months lol but I will begin with East of Eden which has my favourite lyric ever written, Eiledon, which has Kate Bush on backing vocals and Chance, the song I will go into the fire to, because if that's playing an I ain't singin, I'm definitely dead lol. Thanks for shouting out the bass player too, his name is Tony Butler and he is incredible, a really talented bass playing MUSICIAN who is way more than just part of the backline. The others are Bruce Watson on 2nd guitar and Mark Brzezicki on the drums. Thanks again from Bonnie Scotland ❤🏴❤
I would love to visit Scotland one day, are you still there? I really appreciate learning more about this song and the band I hear it on our radio sometimes, a great song
@tracycampbell3060 Oh aye, I forgot to say, Stuart and Bruce Watson were in the 'punky' band Skids before Big Country. The first band I ever saw live in Aberdeen '79 as a wee kid. They had a few 'hits.' The most well-known probably being Into The Valley. Their best single IMO is The Saints are Coming, which was later covered/murdered by U2 and Green Day in 2006! Have a good one.
@@paulsmith2516 I did my pilgrimage to Dunfermline in 1986, just before my freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University. Two birds, one stone, you see. Chance was the song on that first album that pierced my soul. Totally agree that if I’m not singing that, I’m well and truly dead. 😁
Stuart Adamson (the singer) . . his previous band, The Skids, played in our playground when I was a kid, it was really cool, they drove into the playground at the end of school, on the back of a cheap flatbed lorry, played 20 minutes of punk, we all jumped around in our cheap nylon school uniforms, and they left : ) Check out "Into the Valley" by the Skids, great track.
If you like drums that will drill down through your skull, past your heart right down to your feet, try Power Station's "Some Like It Hot." Lead singer is Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran play the instruments.
I saw these guys for free back in '94. They were 2nd band in a three-band lineup. Forgot the opener, but Paul Rodgers headlined. It was a radio station promotion show...all tickets were free, but only given away at previously-undisclosed locations announced live on the radio. One lucky fan was walking out with something like $100k or something like that. It wasn't me. 😂
This was one of these songs I remember premiering and then flash forward many years and I heard this while in the grocery store and felt old.... glad you both gave it a shot!
R.I.P. Stuart Adamson! 😭😭😭😭😭😭🤘🤘 One of the great, under-recognized, song-writing masters of his time on the planet! Adamson's work with: The Skids and THIS band he created: Big Country are remarkable, indelible and (thankfully) forever! 👊👊 You are deeply mourned and missed Stuart! Thank You!🤘🤘🔥❤🔥
Yeah! This is a long time requested! By the way, the 'country' in question is Scotland! Is it right calling this Scottish folk rock? What else I love are the yells and shouts, and the pace makes you want to dance!! A+!
Haunting sound. Really brings back memories for me of the 80s. I was stationed in Scotland in the US military when this came out. I had the record. That strange sound of British music in the 80s really stays in the back of my mind. It was a really unique time in music history. I am glad I got to experience it
Finally you hit my sweetspot,. For me Big Country, Golden Earring and Blue Öyster Cult are the Top of Melodic Old School Rock. Please give us more. NOT for reaction but for youre own pleasure listen to 'Porrohman' from the same album. Good Job Guys🎸
I was in high school in 1983 when this album came out and I immediately bought it. I remember this song and "Fields of Fire" getting a lot of play on MTV at the time. Great band and great album! RIP Stuart Adamson
One of my favorite bands. They were phenomenal live. Their first 3 full length albums are must-hears. This song has been a part of my life since it was released, and I still couldn't help bopping around in my seat and singing along as you listened to it. Unfortunately, Stuart Adamson lost his battle with depression and didn't "stay alive". He is so missed today. Next, try "Fields of Fire", "Wonderland", "Where The Rose Is Sown", or "Look Away".
The song is great but you should check out other songs. The band was great and The lead singer , as mentioned in others comments , was brilliant. Great vocalist great lyricist and unbelievable guitarist I recommend the album The buffalo Skinners, which I think beginning to end is one of my favorite albums I recommend the song "The Selling of America" Stuart Adamson was an underrated guitarist . He was born around the same time I was so his musical taste are similar His band covers of many 70s tunes and they were brilliant They could rock as well as sing beautiful soft songs They covered (Don't Fear) The Reaper, whose lead guitarist said their version was his favorite cover Eighteen by Alice Cooper Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles Paranoid by Black Sabbath Just a brilliance band
There was an entire 80s alternate music scene that a lot of people are unaware of because they kept playing Pink Floyd albums and their only exposure to 80s music was whatever was playing on the mainstream radio at Pizza Hut.
@@Lexy-O I was a prog rock geek that listened to bands like Rush, Yes, ELP, Kansas, Genesis, and of course, Pink Floyd. However, I don't know why you are disparaging them. Pink Floyd were hardly mainstream in the 80s, with the exception of a few songs from Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. And both of those albums are highly regarded by most. Yes, they are concept albums that folks would listen to front to back, again and again. They were and are still good. I would say the 80s were dominated by, and ruined by, the hair/glam metal bands, like Motley Crew, Guns N' Roses, Ratt, Slayer, Poison, Stryper, etc. etc. ad nauseum. There is your mainstream music holding back the alt groups, not Pink Floyd.
@@RaymondBCrisp well you made my point about people having a very skewed superficial knowledge of 80s music because they only listened to 70s prog during the 80s
Genius song! In 1983, everyone asked the late, great singer of Big Country, Scottish singer, Stuart Adamson, "How did you get that guitar to sound like bagpipes?"
Loved this album!! This was a time in the 80s when everything was FRESH AND NEW! Pretenders! The Alarm! INCS had just put out their 1st! The Police were riding high! This song really takes me back to a world fullo opportunities...❤ Ahhh, nostalgia. Shoulda been a sexy stew, baby! 😏
This wasn't recorded digitally. It was recorded on analogue tape in 1983. Their 2nd album 'Steeltown' was recorded digitally at Abba's Studio in Stockholm.
I flew out of Edinburgh airport 2 weeks ago, the band stood right in front of me at check in with all their guitars, going to Frankfurt, Germany. I think there's only one original member left. Always liked them.
I was a freshman at Montclair State in NJ and had just joined the campus radio station, WMSC. They had this song in rotation, and every time I hear it, it brings me back to that time.
Anthemic Scottish song which was prevalent on MTV in the 1983-4 era. I wish you had reviewed the video...as that was how we absorbed songs at that time...Cheers!!!
Mark Brzezicki: One of THE GREATEST drummers in the Rock pantheon. EVER! [also responsible for: the Cult's (classic, sophomore release!) LOVE album (save for one song!) among tens-and-tens of other SUPERB albums and tours (and Big Country's entire catalogue!)! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥]
Jim (Hotsauce) Magellan of South Brunswick Scotland used to say this band played like they were some sort of mythical flying monster that could make fire come from its mouth.
I’ve always loved this song immensely. Excited that y’all reacted to it! The bagpipe sound was actually created using a guitar. Another great ‘80s song that has bagpipe sounds created without bagpipes is “Under the Milky Way” by The Church. In this song, a synclavier was very effectively used to create the bagpipes. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s not only one of my favorite songs from the ‘80s. It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. Once you hear it you’ll quickly understand why!
Bombastic drums for sure. It's been a long time. Still a good song. It could be monotonous because the same chord progression throughout, but they keep it interesting. Good job guys. ☮ wish Andy well.
The whole record is good with a number of good songs. It was a breakout 80s hit that straddled rock and pop but with a singer-songwriter level of quality. I think I remember the second album being good too but it’s been awhile. I’m thinking they were easily one of the biggest bands from Scotland but I’ll let a Scottish person say for sure. One of the most unique bands of just about any era.
The whole first album and Wonderland e.p. are worth hitting. So many gems with a distinctive personality and real sense of place. It wasn't just aping mainstream American rock.
"I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert but I can live and breathe and see the sun in winter time". One of my all time favorite song lyrics.
This exact lyric has saved me twice, from suicide, in my life. To this day, I cannot hear this song without bursting into thankful tears.
Such a beautiful lyric.
I LOVE Big Country. I have since 1983 when this came out and I was 13. In fact, if you like this song, this album is 100% loaded with great songs, not a dud (or even close to one). It's beautiful music front to back.
Such a defining 80s pop song. Tons of air play back in the day
Yeah this has to be one of my most watched MTV videos. It was played constantly.
Takes me back to getting ready for school with MTV blasting in my room.
Finally, great track, great drum intro and guitar that sounds like bagpipes! RIP Stuart Adamson.
The 'B' word is banned around Big Country fans.
They were using a new digital pitch- shifter unit. The device was invented to correct little stuff like a guitar slightly out of tune, but Big Country went nuts with it and got that weird guitar sound. Very similar to how the Edge went wild with digital delay units in U2.
@@StewartyMac probably just the Scottish ones 😆 the rest of us were "love the bagpipe guitar"
Scottish accents, not Irish. Saw the band in Aberdeen in the late 80s - awesome concert and when the bagpipe style guitar started the crowd went nuts. 'Chance' is another great song from them with a totally different vibe.
I thought I was the only one who really loved Big Country!
❤
"Fields of Fire" by Big Country is another great track.
I'd add Look Away and The Crossing, the title track of their debut album which weirdly was left off the album on release.
The Storm or Porrohman.
This band is Scottish, I'm Scottish and I had all their albums, some great songs. Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although they have retained a cult following for many years since. Stuart Adamson, the vocalist, had a great voice, very recognisable. Sadly he passed away in 2001.
I have been a cult follower of the band since then. They had such a unique sound right from the get go. Peace In Our Time was another huge strong album from them too. The whole CD is strong beginning to end.. I was so shocked to hear of Adamson's death back then. Their music will live on in my music catalog forever.
Actually none of the band were born in Scotland.
@@vamboroolz1612 Sorry, have to contradict you there, according to the band's website, Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson are both native of the band’s hometown Dunfermline in Scotland.😊😊
@ Bruce was born in Canada, Stuart was born in England. They did live in Dunfermline but I said none of them were born in Scotland, which is true. Pete Wishart of Runrig was a member briefly in 1982 and he was born in Dunfermline.
@@vamboroolz1612 As I said, I got the info from their website about them being native to Dunfermline, ie born there, unless it means their families are from there? Anyway, it doesn't really matter, Big Country were a great band and I had all their albums.
Great to see Adam, the substitute A in A&A. Excellent tune. All the best to Andy--the show's in good hands.
The "spare" A.
Adam doesn't have the "O" face when listening like Andy. Not the sitting indian-style.
From one Andy to another... get well Drew Part 2.
@@bomagosh1252 Big dude. Makes Alex look small.
@andyford8587 okay? he's his own person. if he O faced and sat Indian style, then he'd get called out for that.
The drummer is Mark Brzezicki. He was also a drummer in some of Pete Townsend’s solo stuff and went on tour with him and Roger Daltrey
He also played with the Cult.
The bass player played with Townsend too.
@@LaserRanger15 Tony Butler. he also plays on the Pretenders song "Back on the Chain Gang"
@@s.s.2048Yes, I was going to mention this. He is in the She Sells Sanctuary video.
Appeared on Procol Harum live DVD. OUTSTANDING.
About fucking time. A great song that still inspires. RIP Stu-miss you still.
Feckin A Right
I was in high school when this came out. Loved it. The screaming guitar that sounds like a bagpipe got my attention. I have scots irish ancestry.
Loved the drums ! Thanks Alex for keeping things going. We miss you Andy. Be well.
Big Country were awesome. I was there when they came out with the extended intro version on ep. I'm 67 and this song still blows my mind and makes my Scottish blood boil.
They are Scottish, loved bagpipe style guitar
I’ve always thought the guitar sounded just like bagpipes!
I think they were deliberately tuned that way.
I am English and worked with a guy who said his Scottish mother liked Big Country because of their guitar sound.
They used a device called an E-Bow (Electronic/Energy Bow) to make those guitar tones. It's a device that uses a pickup and a magnet to cause steel guitar strings to self oscillate without touching them and you can use it to sustain notes infinitely
@@trickygoose2 Wow that`s the most tenuous link to anything I`ve ever heard 😂😂
Y@@telstar4772 the mother concerned would have been born in the 1930s which is older than you'd expect a fan to be.
R.I.P. Stuart Adamson, gone way too soon. The "bagpipe" sound made by the guitars comes from something called an "e bow," invented in the late '60s. This song/album just gets my Scottish-American blood pumping!!
Also, they were a different band live- a force of nature.
Nice, someone else mentioned E-Bow
That's exactly how this was done
Scottish-American here too! I've loved this song since it first came out, and the percussion and bagpipe sound still give me goosebumps!
23 years this coming December? can't believe its been that long. RIP.
Actually, the e-bow was used for the strings/synth sound on the slower parts, like the intro to "The Storm." The bagpipe sound was achieved with a different guitar effect, the name of which escapes me. People always get this confused, but the fact is you really can't play fast lines like that with an e-bow, and if you watch their live performances of this song and the other uptempo tracks there's no e-bow in sight.
I bought this album immediately after hearing this song. Love the guitar and the vocals. R.I.P. Stuart Adamson.
Same here. Bought the cassette in the 7th grade. "Fields of Fire" is really good too
Thank you guys for covering this song, it means so much for so many people. They had so much energy, that Scottish flavour with frontier feeling .... they are so rated in the UK
I still dance like a dork listening to this. One of my 80s faves ❤
80s FM radio was just so, so good. I hope you can get to David & David, "Welcome to the Boomtown."
Good call.
Yes!
Great song and album
funny boomtown was on the radio last week we had the record but long gone
Absolutely fantastic song. It’s on most of my playlists that I make.
Nothing puts me back in the High School parking lot on Friday talking about where the parties are this weekend like this song. Love you 2 guys doing reviews!
In the secret spot in woods behind the school where our parents will never look.
Even though it's the exact same spot where they partied in High School. Lol.
Cocaine would probably also do it
This has always been a favorite 80's song of mine ever since I first heard it, a feel good song. RIP Stuart Adamson.
Saw Big Country at a heavy rock festival in the U.K. in 1983. The band looked really nervous when they came out but quickly got huge smiles on their faces when they realised the crowd loved them. They went down a ‘Storm’, ( pun intended). Brilliant band.
Although sounding Scottish none of the band were born there Stuart in Manchester, Bruce in Canada, Mark and Tony from London but founding members Stuart and Bruce loved all their lives in Scotland. Greatest band ever still performing today playing their second album Steeltown
Finally! I've been waiting for this reaction. This still stands as one of my favorite songs. I'm always happy when it comes up on my playlist because it gets me so hyped. I'm glad you guys enjoyed it.
I was in charge of the music at the National Convention for the Jaycees back in the late 90s. every time we would have an international guest, I'd fire up this song, or ABC's "One Better World"
@ That’s awesome! It’s funny that you brought up ABC because “Poison Arrow” came up on my playlist yesterday and I was thinking about how much I liked Martin Fry’s voice.
Please say hello to Andy. So good to see his name still on your channel. Sorry you lost your studio in the hurricane. Onwards and upwards. Love to all involved
The 80's would not be the 80's if Big Country did not release this amazing song. One of my favorite songs regardless of era.
Love me a bagpipe sounding guitar, genius!
Saw them live! Great performers and stage presence!!
I'm old enough to remember this track when it was release. It's an absolute banger, as is most of their early catalogue. I love the lyric "I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered
But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered", it's bloody outstanding. Stuart was quite the wordsmith. BC also had a gun rhythm section that featured on a lot of other peoples albums.
Saw them way back in 1983 in Boca Raton with Wire Train as their opening act. I do remember these guitars were so loud in that small auditorium. It was awesome.
Wire Train was also a fun band at that time, although not well known. That would have been a fun double bill for sure. 😎
LOVE LOVE Big Country. Glad you finally got here. This one and Where the Rose Is Sown are my absolute favorites. The lead singer passed away and tohis day I still mourn the fact that his voice is not in this world.
Quality Tune. R.I.P. Stuart.
Big Country was from Scotland. The official music video is also like 3 videos in one! Thanks, Guys.
Alex THANK YOU for highlighting my hometown heroes my idols and my FRIENDS BIG COUNTRY! They and I are from Dunfermline in SCOTLAND! Delighted you enjoyed the music of the man who was my guitar idol since I was only 6, StuartAdamson. Well done too for picking up on the folk music inspirations behind the sound as that is exactly right. I could keep you in song suggestions for months lol but I will begin with East of Eden which has my favourite lyric ever written, Eiledon, which has Kate Bush on backing vocals and Chance, the song I will go into the fire to, because if that's playing an I ain't singin, I'm definitely dead lol.
Thanks for shouting out the bass player too, his name is Tony Butler and he is incredible, a really talented bass playing MUSICIAN who is way more than just part of the backline. The others are Bruce Watson on 2nd guitar and Mark Brzezicki on the drums.
Thanks again from Bonnie Scotland ❤🏴❤
I would love to visit Scotland one day, are you still there? I really appreciate learning more about this song and the band I hear it on our radio sometimes, a great song
@tracycampbell3060
Wi' sound o' trumpet, pipe and drum
The Campbells are coming Ho-Ro Ho-Ro!
@tracycampbell3060
Oh aye, I forgot to say, Stuart and Bruce Watson were in the 'punky' band Skids before Big Country.
The first band I ever saw live in Aberdeen '79 as a wee kid.
They had a few 'hits.'
The most well-known probably being Into The Valley.
Their best single IMO is The Saints are Coming, which was later covered/murdered by U2 and Green Day in 2006!
Have a good one.
@@paulsmith2516 I did my pilgrimage to Dunfermline in 1986, just before my freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University. Two birds, one stone, you see. Chance was the song on that first album that pierced my soul. Totally agree that if I’m not singing that, I’m well and truly dead. 😁
Alex has made it to the Bright Side of the 80's. 😂😂
The greatest live act I ever saw. Stuart Adamson is sorely missed.
Stuart Adamson (the singer) . . his previous band, The Skids, played in our playground when I was a kid, it was really cool, they drove into the playground at the end of school, on the back of a cheap flatbed lorry, played 20 minutes of punk, we all jumped around in our cheap nylon school uniforms, and they left : ) Check out "Into the Valley" by the Skids, great track.
If you like drums that will drill down through your skull, past your heart right down to your feet, try Power Station's "Some Like It Hot." Lead singer is Robert Palmer and members of Duran Duran play the instruments.
A one hit wonder group, and a nice one hit to have written. I really liked the guitar tuning on this tune.
They were much more than one hit wonders in the UK.
100% wrong
Great song. Great album. Big Country were an incredible band.
I saw these guys for free back in '94. They were 2nd band in a three-band lineup. Forgot the opener, but Paul Rodgers headlined. It was a radio station promotion show...all tickets were free, but only given away at previously-undisclosed locations announced live on the radio. One lucky fan was walking out with something like $100k or something like that. It wasn't me. 😂
The first guy to make his guitar sound like bagpipes. That was one of the coolest songs of the '80s.
Absolute 80s Banger! .. you can feel the wind rippling through the heather !
Now hit "Chance "
I'm so glad you listened to this song. An underappreciated band in the 80's here in the US. Love this song.
I thought the bagpipe runs played on guitar were brilliant.
Agreed
@@andyandalexFields of Fire is the track where that was perfect. You should try it.
Saw these guys 5 times back in the 80's. Phenomenal band, could never get enough of them 😃
This was one of these songs I remember premiering and then flash forward many years and I heard this while in the grocery store and felt old.... glad you both gave it a shot!
This song for me had that Scottish, Celtic sound for whatever reason, thanks guys.
🏴 My maw loved this band god rest her soul. Nice reaction fellas ✌️
R.I.P. Stuart Adamson! 😭😭😭😭😭😭🤘🤘
One of the great, under-recognized, song-writing masters of his time on the planet!
Adamson's work with: The Skids
and THIS band he created: Big Country
are remarkable, indelible and (thankfully) forever!
👊👊
You are deeply mourned and missed Stuart! Thank You!🤘🤘🔥❤🔥
Exactly! Stuart Adamson was a song writing genius and excellent musician. One of the worst days of my life was when he passed away. RIP.
Yeah! This is a long time requested! By the way, the 'country' in question is Scotland! Is it right calling this Scottish folk rock? What else I love are the yells and shouts, and the pace makes you want to dance!! A+!
The only country that can be identified by sounds that aren't words.
This takes me back to 1984 and and a school camp. This song was constantly pumping. 40 years on and it still takes me back to my happy place.
First band I ever saw - Hammersmith Odeon, London 1984 😃
I was in the UK in the late 70s. Saw many great bands at the Hammersmith Odeon - good times!
@@HeyfordF yeah, great venue 😃 it’s still there although it’s called the Apollo now. Happy days!
Saw them there too. Everyone in the tartan no sleeve shirts. Brilliant!!!
@@madjackster66 😂
I grew up in the UK and remember this song when it was released. It's still awesome 40 years later.
This was an anthem and a huge part of my early 20’s
How they got the guitar to mimic the bagpipes is great. Scotland is a great place to visit.
Haunting sound. Really brings back memories for me of the 80s. I was stationed in Scotland in the US military when this came out. I had the record. That strange sound of British music in the 80s really stays in the back of my mind. It was a really unique time in music history. I am glad I got to experience it
Thank you for your service!
I absolutely loved so much of the music that came out of Great Britain during the 80’s, nothing will ever come close to that time in history.
Dunfermline's finest. RIP Stuart. Soundtrack to my childhood in the 80s. Great Album The Crossing..
Finally you hit my sweetspot,. For me Big Country, Golden Earring and Blue Öyster Cult are the Top of Melodic Old School Rock. Please give us more. NOT for reaction but for youre own pleasure listen to 'Porrohman' from the same album. Good Job Guys🎸
I was in high school in 1983 when this album came out and I immediately bought it. I remember this song and "Fields of Fire" getting a lot of play on MTV at the time. Great band and great album! RIP Stuart Adamson
Mark Brzezicki has such a special drum style and is so much underrated. 👍👍👍
One of my favorite bands. They were phenomenal live. Their first 3 full length albums are must-hears. This song has been a part of my life since it was released, and I still couldn't help bopping around in my seat and singing along as you listened to it.
Unfortunately, Stuart Adamson lost his battle with depression and didn't "stay alive". He is so missed today.
Next, try "Fields of Fire", "Wonderland", "Where The Rose Is Sown", or "Look Away".
The song is great but you should check out other songs.
The band was great and The lead singer , as mentioned in others comments , was brilliant. Great vocalist great lyricist and unbelievable guitarist
I recommend the album The buffalo Skinners, which I think beginning to end is one of my favorite albums
I recommend the song "The Selling of America"
Stuart Adamson was an underrated guitarist . He was born around the same time I was so his musical taste are similar
His band covers of many 70s tunes and they were brilliant
They could rock as well as sing beautiful soft songs
They covered (Don't Fear) The Reaper, whose lead guitarist said their version was his favorite cover
Eighteen by Alice Cooper
Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles
Paranoid by Black Sabbath
Just a brilliance band
I saw Big Country perform at The American Music Awards back in the 80"s and Annie Lennox also performed.
They were all great.
The 80s is way better than people realize
It was a mixed bag for me really, but I'd still go back in a heartbeat.
Those of us who were teens during this decade are definitely biased.
There was an entire 80s alternate music scene that a lot of people are unaware of because they kept playing Pink Floyd albums and their only exposure to 80s music was whatever was playing on the mainstream radio at Pizza Hut.
@@Lexy-O I was a prog rock geek that listened to bands like Rush, Yes, ELP, Kansas, Genesis, and of course, Pink Floyd. However, I don't know why you are disparaging them. Pink Floyd were hardly mainstream in the 80s, with the exception of a few songs from Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. And both of those albums are highly regarded by most. Yes, they are concept albums that folks would listen to front to back, again and again. They were and are still good. I would say the 80s were dominated by, and ruined by, the hair/glam metal bands, like Motley Crew, Guns N' Roses, Ratt, Slayer, Poison, Stryper, etc. etc. ad nauseum. There is your mainstream music holding back the alt groups, not Pink Floyd.
@@RaymondBCrisp well you made my point about people having a very skewed superficial knowledge of 80s music because they only listened to 70s prog during the 80s
Genius song! In 1983, everyone asked the late, great singer of Big Country, Scottish singer, Stuart Adamson, "How did you get that guitar to sound like bagpipes?"
This entire album is a vibe. Total classic. I must have listened to it a thousand times throughout the 80s.
Loved this album!! This was a time in the 80s when everything was FRESH AND NEW! Pretenders! The Alarm! INCS had just put out their 1st! The Police were riding high! This song really takes me back to a world fullo opportunities...❤ Ahhh, nostalgia. Shoulda been a sexy stew, baby! 😏
This wasn't recorded digitally. It was recorded on analogue tape in 1983. Their 2nd album 'Steeltown' was recorded digitally at Abba's Studio in Stockholm.
I flew out of Edinburgh airport 2 weeks ago, the band stood right in front of me at check in with all their guitars, going to Frankfurt, Germany. I think there's only one original member left. Always liked them.
Bruce Watson is the only original member still performing under the band name
I was a freshman at Montclair State in NJ and had just joined the campus radio station, WMSC. They had this song in rotation, and every time I hear it, it brings me back to that time.
My grandniece is there, and my grandson will be going next Fall.
Good old NJ (grew up in Oradell) - MSC - old Bruce Willis territory
Anthemic Scottish song which was prevalent on MTV in the 1983-4 era. I wish you had reviewed the video...as that was how we absorbed songs at that time...Cheers!!!
Agreed. I think they could do a whole offshoot channel just watching music videos from the 80s and early 90s. It was an art form in itself!
Mark Brzezicki: One of THE GREATEST drummers in the Rock pantheon. EVER!
[also responsible for: the Cult's (classic, sophomore release!) LOVE album (save for one song!) among tens-and-tens of other SUPERB albums and tours (and Big Country's entire catalogue!)! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥]
Always loved this and always will!❤
Always loved this song. I feel it's been under rated
This video/song was all over MTV and FM radio in the early '80s, and I was there for it. Much love from Texas. Thanks for the great reaction.
Love this song .. plenty of energy
there is a live video of them at Barrowlands in 1983...I don't think the first dozen rows ever stops pogoing up and down. incredible live performers
and that place is nuts. I saw the Mission there in 1989 and it was one of the craziest gigs I've ever been to.
Your next Big Country song should be their live version of Porrohman - it's superb.
GOOOOOOOOD MORNING A&A FAMILY!☮️💟♾️
Good Morning, John!!!
Morning Allison 😁@@allisonreed7682
The whole album The Crossing is fantastic! Every track is great! Been a fan since age 15 back in the 80's!
We were sooo lucky to have such great music in the 80’s! Great time to be a music loving teen!!!
Jim (Hotsauce) Magellan of South Brunswick Scotland used to say this band played like they were some sort of mythical flying monster that could make fire come from its mouth.
Saw them live twice in the 80s. Loved how their guitars were made to sound like bagpipes.
Defined the 80's for me.................and countless others.
Memories...oh, i miss the 80s!💛✨️💛✨️
Loved this band and their distinctive highland flavor.
One of my favorite groups from the 80's. Iconic sound.
I’ve always loved this song immensely. Excited that y’all reacted to it! The bagpipe sound was actually created using a guitar. Another great ‘80s song that has bagpipe sounds created without bagpipes is “Under the Milky Way” by The Church. In this song, a synclavier was very effectively used to create the bagpipes. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s not only one of my favorite songs from the ‘80s. It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. Once you hear it you’ll quickly understand why!
Totally brings me back to fall days walking home from school, kicking leaves with my walkman on. Beauty song.
Big country has a lot of great songs. Don't miss the lyrics...they are exceptional as well
I always loved how they did the bagpipe sound with an electric guitar.
If the "wrong" version was Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, ABSOLUTELY post that reaction!
It was
Bela Fleck is outstanding. Rick Beato did a sit down episode with him, as I recall, or at least he should have by now.
Totally underrated band
Very cool that you were able to get Burton Cummings to be your co-host.
Lol, he Does look him 😅
@@janetroberts3202 I know, right?
I have been waiting so long for this!!!
Bombastic drums for sure. It's been a long time. Still a good song. It could be monotonous because the same chord progression throughout, but they keep it interesting. Good job guys. ☮ wish Andy well.
The whole record is good with a number of good songs. It was a breakout 80s hit that straddled rock and pop but with a singer-songwriter level of quality. I think I remember the second album being good too but it’s been awhile. I’m thinking they were easily one of the biggest bands from Scotland but I’ll let a Scottish person say for sure. One of the most unique bands of just about any era.
Listen to it live (without the aid of a saftey net)at the barras ballroom glasgow ,unbeatable
The whole first album and Wonderland e.p. are worth hitting. So many gems with a distinctive personality and real sense of place. It wasn't just aping mainstream American rock.