Big Country - The Seer (1986)

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Big Country - The Seer (1986)

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Big Country comprised Stuart Adamson (formerly of Skids, vocals/guitar/keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar/mandolin/sitar/vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar/vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums/percussion/vocals). Before the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band, featuring Peter Wishart (later of Runrig and now an SNP MP) on keyboards, his brother Alan on bass, and Clive Parker, drummer from Spizz Energi/Athletico Spizz '80. Parker had approached Adamson to join his new band after the demise of Skids.
The third proper album by Scottish quartet Big Country kicks off with the stellar "Look Away," a rocking outlaw tale with very cool guitar work from Bruce Watson and lead singer Stuart Adamson. However, the simple, anthemic choruses and effects-laden guitars are beginning to wear a little thin four years after the band's promising breakthrough. Big Country does little to expand on their sound or lyrical themes and The Seer is somewhat disappointing. There are a few solid tracks like the moody title song (with Kate Bush lending vocals) and the stirring "Eiledon," but the band had done these songs better. It managed to chart three singles in the U.K., with "Look Away" going Top Ten, but the American audience had dwindled to hard-core fans. It's the hardcore fans that The Seer is most likely to be of interest to.

1986's The Seer, the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2.It produced three further Top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "Look Away", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the UK, peaking at No. 7.Kate Bush provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and as was the norm for the band at the time, the album received good reviews from the music press. In the US, The Seer sold a little bit better than Steeltown, reaching No. 59 on the Billboard chart.

The run of success continued throughout the 1980′s with the release of the anthemic single ‘Wonderland’ and the second album ‘Steeltown’ (1984), which debuted at Number 1 in the UK and contained the hit singles ‘East Of Eden, ‘Just a Shadow’ and ‘Where The Rose Is Sown’ . In 1985, Big Country appeared at Live Aid in London followed by further successful album releases ‘The Seer’ (1986, which included the bands biggest UK hit ‘Look Away’, which also reached Number 1 in the Irish Singles chart) and ‘Peace In Our Time’ (1988), which saw the band playing the first ever privately promoted gig in Russia at the Moscow Sports Stadium.

At the start of the 90’s ‘Through A Big Country’, featuring all the bands classic hits was released, followed by the fifth studio album ‘No Place Like Home’ (1991) taking the band’s total record sales to well over five million copies.

Further studio albums Buffalo Skinners (1993) and ‘Why The Long Face (1995) followed, which saw Big Country landing the special guest slot on the Rolling Stones ‘Voodoo Lounge’ European tour and several shows in the UK and Ireland with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in 1995.

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Big Country - The Seer (1986)

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Big Country - The Seer (1986)

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Big Country - The Seer (1986)

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