Big Country Info Big Country Info



12 June 1995
59:54

LP, CD & Cassette


Notes



Included in the US CD edition (but NOT the US cassette edition)
¥  Included in the Japanese CD edition
Listed as ‘unplugged version’ on the US edition and as ‘acoustic version’ on the Japanese edition,
 
Stuart Adamson - Vocals, Guitars, E-bow, Slide Guitar, B-bender Guitar

Bruce Watson - Guitars, Mandolin, E-bow

Tony Butler - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals

Mark Brzezicki - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Additional Musicians -
Josh Philips - Keyboards
James McNally - Low Whistle (Appearing Courtesy of the Pogues)
 
 
“I remember wanting to call this album Message Of Love, because that’s what this album is all about. It is the thread that ties the whole thing together. I am knocked out by this album, knocked out by the beauty and emotion that lies at the root of all the songs.

You Dreamer is a fab opener, melodic, powerful and tuneful.

Message of Love was the first of many surprises after not having heard this album for so many years. It’s an awesome track with some brilliant playing and a great sound.

I'm Not Ashamed is a great anthemic track. I always felt that the lyrics were to sophisticated to be a single but it does have some of my favourite chord progressions in the intro section.

Sail Into Nothing is a nice track. It represents the side of BC that I appreciated because the songs and tunes a good and the fact that it was Stuarts preferred style, but emotionally sometimes leaves me cold.

Thunder And Lightning. I'm really not sure what I think of this tune. I must have liked it when we originally put it together but it sounds forced and unconvincing. Not one of the strongest choruses I have heard.

Send You. I rekindled my love affair with this track after hearing it again. This is what we did best, melody, descending chord structure fantastic guitar motifs. Brilliant.

One In A Million is my all time favourite BC track. It has got everything that I love about music. I almost cried when I heard this. A phenomenal work. Lyrics are heart crushingly beautiful, every drum beat is in the perfect place and every note in every guitar chord echoes the emotion of this track. AWESOME!.

Gods Great Mistake is vintage BC, epic, grand, melodic (that word again) expansive with a cool bass line.

Wildland In My Heart was a welcome pressure valve release after the previous tracks, a classic album track. Great mid America laid back rock beat with riffing guitars

Far From Me To You. Quite frankly, this should have gone on a Stuart Adamson solo album. I didn't feel that it felt like a band thing. Don't get me wrong, its a good song (and maybe that's why it made the album) but today, it does not work for me.

Take You To The Moon. My feelings about this song are identical to Far From Me actually. It was nice to play live when we did but that was short lived.

Charlotte was the adventurous side of the band I loved. Imagination and boundary pushing is what the song represents, I love it.

Post Nuclear Talking Blues is vintage Adamson writing. This is the good side of his American/country influence. His concern for environmental issues was genuine. Believe it or not but he was very reticent about soap-boxing these issues.

Blue On A Green Planet. I was genuinely knocked out by this track. I always thought of this song in its original form but this is more like the rocking side of BC that I favoured. And yes, there is just a hint of Pretty in Pink in the main riff but I worked very hard at trying to change it so it was not so obvious.

It was great listening to this album again. I guess it was due to the changing fortunes of the band at the time that this album was not received as highly as it could have been. An album not to be forgotten. Next. No Place Like Home.” (Tony Butler 5 November 2006, BC Forum)