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On a cold new town
As he carried you away
From your father's hand
That always seemed like a fist
Reaching out to make you pay
He came like a hero from the factory floor
With the sun and moon as gifts
But the only son you ever saw
Were the two he left you with
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Now the skirts hang so heavy around your head
That you never knew you were young
Because you played chance with a lifetime's romance
And the price was far too long
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Much hyped as The New U2.
Didn't work out that way
Totally different style, totally different sound, Ireland vs Scotland.
Much hyped as The New U2.
Didn't work out that way
SO mistaken. When this album dropped, no one was hyping anyone as the "new U2". U2 was barely U2 in 1983.
Didn't work out that way
Very sad that Stuart didn't make it through to enjoy the later years...
I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.
Please thank Steve for Johnny Thunders So Alone album, the great album he always had in him but for the drugs
Fields of Fire = another Great B.C. song! This whole album is great.
B.C....before COVID?
"Rivers of Babylon" by the Melodians (The Harder They Come soundtrack) --> this.
It is hard to believe I uploaded this 15 years ago! I don't know if Bill got a better file since then, but it does sound great!
Every now and again it's good to be reminded of how badly the eighties sucked in general.
zigzag wrote:
Indeed.
Ha, ha, I haven't seen that in years!
I was cheap.
To which Townsend albums are you referring? He's done some amazing work, and if he recruited two Big Country musicians, I'd love to check into it further!
Replying a mere 7 years later in the hopes that you'll see it:
Big Country's drummer and bass player also served as the rythym section for Townsend's albums "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes" and "White City." They're quite distinct affairs, but both great. The former is fairly heart wrenching in parts (but definitely honest) with a Pretenders-style early 80s rock feel, and the latter is more pop-ish and polished. Give 'em a listen and report back...before another 7 years passes. 😉
didn't Starland Vocal Band win Best New Act at the Grammy's over Elvis Costello? Yikes...
Nah, they wouldn't have nominated Costello in 1977, but they did in '79 (A Taste Of Honey won). Here were the other 1977 nominees according to Wiki: Boston, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, The Brothers Johnson, Wild Cherry. Well, the Bros. Johnson had a few good tunes.
And to think Starland Vocal Band was voted Best New Act at the Grammy's in the late 70's.I can't remember who all the competion was but there were some major. long lasting acts. These bozos won with a stupid song called "Afternoon Delight." I still remember the female with the idiotic grin on her face as she was singing.
Was I disgusted? Yeah. Didn't watch the grammies for years and years.
Last time I watched most of the show was when Prince opened and blew the place apart.
didn't Starland Vocal Band win Best New Act at the Grammy's over Elvis Costello? Yikes...
John Peel (god rest his soul), the font of all musical knowledge etc etc once described Stuart Adamson as the new Hendrix. Quite an accolade indeed. He must have seen something to make such an outstanding prediction. Shame Stuart didn't make it on thru.
Nice to see both resurrected from time to time!
Only on RP!!
What gem will Willbecca segue off this? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Springsteen, Tunnel of Love?
Edit: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Dave Mishmash. Time for the PSD!!EXACTLY!!! And RP should really add "Fields of Fire" here as well.
Anybody else up for some "bagpipe guitars"?
Fields of Fire = another Great B.C. song! This whole album is great.
Good point. The term originally meant an act who had one hit and then were never heard from again, (i.e., The McCoys, Starland Vocal Band, The Champs, Norman Greenbaum, etc.), not an act which released several albums and had a career lasting several years.
And to think Starland Vocal Band was voted Best New Act at the Grammy's in the late 70's.I can't remember who all the competion was but there were some major. long lasting acts. These bozos won with a stupid song called "Afternoon Delight." I still remember the female with the idiotic grin on her face as she was singing.
Was I disgusted? Yeah. Didn't watch the grammies for years and years.
Last time I watched most of the show was when Prince opened and blew the place apart.
I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.
Holy cow! I think Lillywhite was such an incredible influence on some of the greatest albums of the time. Wow.
That includes this song.
(Even the term "one hit wonder" bugs me - it's one more hit than I've had. I'd be happy with one!)
Good point. The term originally meant an act who had one hit and then were never heard from again, (i.e., The McCoys, Starland Vocal Band, The Champs, Norman Greenbaum, etc.), not an act which released several albums and had a career lasting several years.
EXACTLY!!! And RP should really add "Fields of Fire" here as well.
Anybody else up for some "bagpipe guitars"?
Eh?? He's about the worst producer in music! Listen to the drum sound on this sog for instance..... they sound like carboard boxes and all the U2 albums he produced are compressed and sh1tty sounding! I actually wonder if he's completely deaf to be frank!
Twaddle.
Steve Lillywhite is responsible for the thunderous sounds on Psy Furs amazing Talk Talk Talk and the exceptional XTC - Drums and Wires albums just to name a few.
Anyone who makes a claim as categorically ignorant as that clearly has little idea of production.
Every now and again it's good to be reminded of how badly the eighties sucked in general.
(Even the term "one hit wonder" bugs me - it's one more hit than I've had. I'd be happy with one!)
I saw that tour near Newcastle--Sunderland, I think. The singer for the SBM would pick up the mikestand and spin frantically in small circles while not singing. Can't remember much else about the band. As I've said elsewhere on RP, a lot of the audience came for Big Country...and left before Bowie even came on. They were also great in Sunderland, DaidyBoy.
That was one of the few rock concerts I've gone to, actually. Some random guy near my friends and me seemed fine before the music started...and the drugs kicked in and they had to carry him out on a stretcher. I've seen this has happen at most of the other concerts I've gone to--that, or the drugged/drunk person is obnoxious. Just cannot stand being around that crap.
Rest in Peace Stuart.
Eh?? He's about the worst producer in music! Listen to the drum sound on this sog for instance..... they sound like carboard boxes and all the U2 albums he produced are compressed and sh1tty sounding! I actually wonder if he's completely deaf to be frank!
tanyhon wrote:
Yep, I agree with you for sure.
Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are listed as the producers for Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Steve worked on some songs those albums, All That You Can't Leave Behind and No Line on the Horizon.
Lillywhite did produce Boy, October, War and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb for U2.
Love this song. It's a shame that bands like Big Country got pigeonholed in the States as one-hit wonders.
Sad loss of Stuart though.
Apparently a great live band.
Back in the day, that green cover was a collectors' item. It is a great album, green or blue!
They're on tour in N America shortly and are worth seeing.
Thanks for the tip---unfortunately, they ain't coming to the Midwest.
Wah, wah, wah....
Big Country U.S. tour dates:
June 6: The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ June 7: Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY June 8: The Paramount, Huntington, NY June 19: Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA June 21: Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA June 22: The Canyon, Agoura Hills, CA June 23: St. Rock, Redondo, CA June 28: Wein’s Family Cellars, Temecula, CA June 29: Updtown Theatre Napa, Napa, CA (with Berlin) July 10: Belly Up, Aspen, CO July 13: Belmont, Austin, TX
They're on tour in N America shortly and are worth seeing.
Yeah, it instantly takes me back to the fall of '83, when I had a crappy job which didn't pay squat, but I seemed to have way more fun at 24 than I do now at 53...
...steve lillywhite produced so many landmark albums that's difficult to even measure his influence: he was integral to the voice of an entire generation of popular music...that's an epic legacy, how often can someone lay claim to that?..
Big stuff. Great stuff. Tell me the early 80's were not as good as the late 50's !
That you never knew you were young
Because you played chance with a lifetime's romance
And the price was far too long..."
Always gives me chills - great lyrics.
Sad loss of Stuart though.
Apparently a great live band.
Big Country's output was uneven in parts (mostly the mid-late releases), but you have to give them credit for having their own sound and excellent production on this album thanks to my hero, Steve Lillywhite. Seriously, who else sounded remotely like this in the early 1980s? Also, the bassist and drummer from Big Country formed a great rhythm section for two of Pete Townsend's better solo albums.
I really dig this tune!
I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.
Not even close.
Not in the UK. Don't even try saying that in Scotland—you'll wind up losing teeth.
I'm Scottish, I agree....
Man ... I played the grooves out of this album when it came out. Not claiming "all-time top-10" or anything, but sort of like Bat Out of Hell, it was in very heavy rotation on my turntable for quite a while. It defined a certain period of time and is therefore significant.
Amen. It will always remind me of driving my wife to the hospital at 4 am to have our first child. I had this cd in the car at that time in my life and so, there it is.
Not in the UK. Don't even try saying that in Scotland—you'll wind up losing teeth.
Man ... I played the grooves out of this album when it came out. Not claiming "all-time top-10" or anything, but sort of like Bat Out of Hell, it was in very heavy rotation on my turntable for quite a while. It defined a certain period of time and is therefore significant.
I'm guessing the red & yellow covers were only available in The Great White North, as I only remember it packaged in blue (and I was managing a record store at that time). However, after the initial U.S. pressings, Polygram "cheaped out" & eliminated the sleeve with lettering which was slightly depressed, which gave it a cool, somewhat "3-D" look.
Sorry, I should have clarified: I lived in Britain at the time, so the alternative colours may have only been a local promotion. The cover also had a "grainy" texture, and foil lettering. Pretty fancy. They were huge over there, so I suppose the record company could justify splashing out.
I really dig this tune!
To which Townsend albums are you referring? He's done some amazing work, and if he recruited two Big Country musicians, I'd love to check into it further!
What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...
That is funny. I didn't know it was issued in 3 colors, but if I had I would have done the same as you. I'm pretty sure I bought my copy at the "Record Bar", if anyone remembers that chain, and it is blue.
What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...
I'm guessing the red & yellow covers were only available in The Great White North, as I only remember it packaged in blue (and I was managing a record store at that time). However, after the initial U.S. pressings, Polygram "cheaped out" & eliminated the sleeve with lettering which was slightly depressed, which gave it a cool, somewhat "3-D" look.
What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...
Big Country's output was uneven in parts (mostly the mid-late releases), but you have to give them credit for having their own sound and excellent production on this album thanks to my hero, Steve Lillywhite. Seriously, who else sounded remotely like this in the early 1980s? Also, the bassist and drummer from Big Country formed a great rhythm section for two of Pete Townsend's better solo albums.
I really dig this tune!
True on both points. Very underrated and very sad.
Oh, they were so fabulous live! And they looked so happy performing; no post-adolescent angst with these guys. Just first rate tunes.
Agreed. Saw them in NYC at a small venue - (I think the Cat Club). They were smokin!
I think they would have put on the same show if it was their parents' living room and there were only 3 people present. Clearly - they were having a blast.
Good decision, for me it's definitely one of the top 10 albums in Rock History.
Fabulous track cheers me up during nightshift
Too bad songs like this never got airplay in the U.S. when this was released. They are largely considered a "one-hit-wonder" here but clearly were a talented group. Like this song so much better than their "hit". Thanks for playing it Bill...
Yes, other commenters on here from the States say that BC were seen as a 1-hit wonder, but from this side of the Pond be assured that they had many chart hits, this amongst them. Big sound from a big band from, yes, a Big Country (as anyone who hillwalks in Scotland knows only too well).
Just bumped it to a 10
Couldn't agree more. A really top-notch album, and it holds up quite a bit better than a number of its contemporaries. Big Country's live show was something else.
Thanks for the good memories, Bill and Rebecca.
Oh, they were so fabulous live! And they looked so happy performing; no post-adolescent angst with these guys. Just first rate tunes.
I logged on to write that exact comment and your's was on top. and this is three weeks later.