Celts Big Country invade U2
territory with 'The Crossing'
By Cort Fernald
Of the Emerald
"The Crossing"
Big Country
Mercury
Heed the advice on the first
track of Big Country's debut
album: "come up screaming" and
play this album loud. It's better
that way.
Big Country is something of an
anachronism — they sound as if
they are Led Zeppelin clones
straight out of the early 70s. Rock
critics in Britain are already hailing
Big Country as the new U2. If
there is any correlation between
the two, it's that Steve Lillywhite
produced "The Crossing" and
U2's albums.
What's remarkable about Big
Country is that in the face of a
multitude of synth-pop duos and
groups, they've adhered to
rock’n’roll's traditional two
guitars, bass and drums. It stirs
the stagnant blood to hear the
deep thump of a genuine bass
drum and the snap of a snare
drum. The synth-pop drums-by
computer are all right, but at times
they sound like a wind-up monkey
tapping coconut shells.
Big Country uses the double
lead guitars of Bruce Watson and
Stuart Adamson. And both
guitarists get a dirty sound that's
refreshing in the light of the
synth-popsters cleanliness. More
than a dirty sound, Adamson
manages a sound that seems un
cannily like bag pipes.
The strongest tracks on "The
Crossing" are those Big Country
have previously released as
singles in Britain: "In a Big Coun
try," "Fields of Fire" and "Harvest
Home."
"In a Big Country" starts with a
drum intro that rocks. Mark
Brzezicki's drum work on this
track and others is surehanded
and powerful. His stickwork is a
definite strength of Big Country.
"I've never seen you look like
this
Without a reason
Another promise fallen through
Another season passes by you."
Lyrically, Big Country isn't
anything to quote in letters home
about. Big Country have forsaken
the urban smarminess for a more,
umm, earthy lyricism. They hail
from the north and are part of the
Celtic rock revival, if that explains
anything. Their lyrics achieve an
ambiguity that sounds as if they
were written by a rock'n'roll
Thomas Hardy. A sampling from
"Fields of Fire" leaves a listener
scratching their head wondering
Noted yodeler-songwriter
to W.O.W. them in Eugene
Bill Staines, singer-songwriter, champion yodeler and left-handed
guitarist extraordinaire will make his first Eugene appearance next Tues
day night, Oct. 4, at the W.O.W. Hall, 8th Avenue and Lincoln Street.
Staines is the most requested guest performer on the weekly na
tional public radio show A Prairie Home Companion, according to Gar
rison Keillor, the host of that broadcast. In addition to his radio ap
pearances, Keillor reports that "Bill Staines plays to sellout crowds and
standing-room-only extra shows here in St. Paul (Minnesota, where
APHC originates)."
The same is true wherever Staines has appeared before; by word ot
mouth, the message is spread that this is a very special performer.
Based in New Hampshire, Staines, 36, spends close to 300 days a
year on the road. And the road and its world are where many of his
songs originate from — he sings of rodeos and cowboys, of rivers and
highways, of travel and home, and of loves lost and found.
Staines has six albums to his credit, and unlike many other per
formers who have "made it," he still plays the small towns and byways
hidden in the nooks and crannies of America.
His song titles reflect his eclectic search for inspiration, from towns
like Sitka, Alaska and Piney River, Virginia — and when he sings "The
Rivers of Texas," you believe that he has seen all 14 of them.
He is better known in New England, however, and a Boston Globe
readers' poll recently ranked him among the top four folk performers.
what these fellows in sleeveless
flannel shirts (collars, of course,
turned up) and baggy trousers are
singing about.
"The shining eye will never cry
The beating heart will never die
The house on fire holds no
shame
I will be coming home again
400 miles without a word until
you smile
400 miles on fields of fire."
"The Crossing" is a solid debut
album, if not for the lyrics than for
the integrity of Big Country's
dedication to guitars and drums.
Big Country does a lot with very
little musically. Loudness adds
weight to most of the track on
the album.
Big Country may not be the new
U2, that's assuming U2 isn't ready
to be replaced. Yet, success for
Big Country is as sure as a batch of
brownies at a fat farm. Though,
unless they mature musically and
lyrically, their longevity may be
just as brief as those brownies.
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