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Rating: It certainly cannot be denied that for a brief and intense period, Big Country, at least in Europe, represented an original and interesting musical proposal. Far from the hype stirred in those early Eighties by U2 and absolutely more credible and skillful than bands like Simple Minds and the Alarm, the group led by the talented Stuart Adamson had the merit of proposing a personal musical project that consisted of merging themes inspired by Scottish folk music within a purely post-punk sound context.
Big Country was particularly adept at creating decisive rock sounds, blending them with the sounds of bagpipes, flutes, and Scottish violins, directly reproduced with their electric guitars. With this particular style, they managed to create an extremely original sound that would, over time, become their trademark but also an insurmountable boundary of their stylistic choices. Choices that have always been well-rooted at a political level and expressed in the lyrics of their songs, often addressing controversial social issues regarding Margaret Thatcher's policies or the wound generated by the Falklands conflict.
"Steeltown" was released in 1984, preceded by a successful single, the captivating "Wonderland", a suggestive track that, however, would not find a place on the album. "Steeltown" fulfills all the promises already expressed by the remarkable debut the year before, that "The Crossing", which had brought much fortune to Adamson's group. Steve Lillywhite's careful and professional production highlights the band's art in a committed and inspired work that, more than twenty years later, still sounds fresh and thoroughly enjoyable. This record indeed includes some of the best tracks to have come out of Britain during that period. The bombastic and already full of intent opener "Flame On The West", the poignant tale of "East Of Eden", the melodic sweetness of "Girl With Grey Eyes", the plea of "Come Back To Me", and the ride of "Tall Ships Go" are episodes that cannot be ignored and add weight to the work. However, the beauty of the album lies in the powerful political critique of the rousing anthem "Where The Rose Is Sown", a classic of their concerts, and the enchanting "Just A Shadow" with its long guitar tail.
At the time of its release, "Steeltown" achieved great success both with the public, reaching the top of the UK charts, and with critics. The group even celebrated the new record triumph with a series of shows at Wembley Arena, where Elton John was invited as a guest. Unfortunately, despite the passion and esteem shown by a host of loyal supporters, this work will remain the highest point of their production. In the years following "Steeltown", Big Country would release albums that were absolutely decent, well-made, and enjoyable but far from the glories of their early brilliant periods. Their story tragically concluded in December 2001 with the suicide of Stuart Adamson. A suicide that would put an end to a musical story that tried to be epic and seemed impossible to even imagine when Stuart Adamson wondered, "Who Knows Where All Our Days Gone," while singing "East Of Eden". Indeed, we wonder, where have those days gone?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 East of Eden (04:30)
I feel the way the wind blows
It tells me where you've been through
I watch the way the sun sets
Until the night's inside you
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I need to bury
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I let salvation be
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me..... had to walk with me
I watch the way the crow flies
And though it seems so easy
But if I see it in a grey sky
Can I be sure about the way it leaves me
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I call upon
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I watch your soul run free
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
Some days will stay a thousand years
Some pass like the flash of spark
Who knows where all our days go ?
Out here we lie together
Outside the thunder gathers
Why care about the weather
It always ends in dark
I looked west in search of freedom
And I saw slavery
I looked east in search of answers
And I saw misery
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I walk into
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I let my conscience be
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
03 Steeltown (04:40)
Here I stand with my own kin
At the end of everything
Finally the dream has gone
I've nothing left to hang upon
I came here with all my friends
Leaving behind the wait of years
Leaving alone in a flood of tears
Out on a prospect that never ends
All the landscape was the mill
Grim as the reaper with a heart like hell
With a river of bodies
Flowing with the bell
We built it all with our own hands
But who could know we built on sand
But now it's barren all too soon
There's no miracle in ruin
We set the flame and it burned so blue
With open eyes I watched it grow
A sea of palms in an ocean of snow
Hands with the courage to start anew
Here was a home for the lost and scared
Out of the yards and dry docks
The call of the steel that would never stop
There was a refuge for those who dared
In a steeltown
When the heat's on
I went down
And the heat turned on me
Here I stand with my own kin
At the end of everything
Finally the dream has gone
I've nothing left to hang upon
In a steeltown
When the heat's on
I went down
And the heat turned on me
04 Where the Rose Is Sown (04:59)
we're at war all the papers say
we will win i read today
we are strong it wasn't us
we are right who started this?
leave your work i just left school
leave your home i am no fool
take up arms it left me strong
sound alarms the school bell rings
sons of men who stand like gods
we give life to feed the cause
and run to ground our heathen foe
our name will never die
this time will be forever
join up here i wave goodbye
we need you oh my breast sighs
have no fear i must try
god will be with braver men
take the vow i know its right
praise the flag the good fight
we're at war i'm on my way
we will win why do i pray ?
i wait here in this hole
playing poker with my soul
i hold the rifle close to me
it lights the way to keep me free
if i die in a combat zone
box me up and ship me home
if i die and still come home
lay me where the rose is sown
sons of men who stand like gods
we give life to feed the cause
and run to ground our heathen foe
our name will never die
this time will be forever
10 Just a Shadow (05:39)
It went so well for you
With a place right where you wanted and the ones to fill it to
But some blows break the spell
That it hits you every day until you need to hit as well
It's just a shadow of the man you should be
Like a garden in the forest that the world will never see
You have no thought of answers only questions to be filled
And it feels like hell
It all seemed fine for you
Till the struggle of ambition turned in violence upon you
Sometimes a landslide comes
If you're hiding in that avalanche you need a place to run
It's just a shadow of the woman you should be
Like a garden in the forest that the world will never see
And you have no thought of answers only questions to be filled
And it feels like hell
I know there is no need for what's been done
I know there is enough for everyone
Frustration brings a heavy hand to bear
And there's never been a hand
Did we ever have it good
While we lived in Eldorado did we find the gold we should
If it really was the truth
Why are faces filled with anger that should only shine with youth
It's just a shadow of the people we should be
Like a garden in the forest that the world will never see
You have no thought of answers only questions to be filled
And it feels like hell
I know there is no need for what's been done
I know there is enough for everyone
Frustration brings a heavy hand to bear
And there never is a hand outside that cares
Still the promise comes of living fit for all
If we only get our back against the wall
I look at backs that pushed the wall for years
Scarred by many knives and too much fear
11 Wonderland (07:08)
If you could feel
How I must feel
The winds of quiet change
If you could see
What I must see
Still hidden in the rain
But when the thunder rolls
It comes and covers up my soul
And you will take my hand
And be with me in wonderland
Chorus
I am an honest man
I need the love of you
I am a working man
I feel the winter too
If you could hear
What I must hear
Then nothing would replace
The fifty years of sweat and tears
That never left a trace
But when I look at you I see
You feel the same way too
And you will take my hand and be
With me in wonderland
Chorus
You still remember other days
When every head was high
I watched that pride be torn apart
Beneath a darker sky
With innocence within ourselves
We sing the same old song
And you will take my hand
And make believe it's wonderland
I need the love of you
I am a working man
I feel the winter too
Chorus
Wonderland (four times, fading out)
12 East of Eden (06:29)
I feel the way the wind blows
It tells me where you've been through
I watch the way the sun sets
Until the night's inside you
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I need to bury
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I let salvation be
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me..... had to walk with me
I watch the way the crow flies
And though it seems so easy
But if I see it in a grey sky
Can I be sure about the way it leaves me
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I call upon
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I watch your soul run free
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
Some days will stay a thousand years
Some pass like the flash of spark
Who knows where all our days go ?
Out here we lie together
Outside the thunder gathers
Why care about the weather
It always ends in dark
I looked west in search of freedom
And I saw slavery
I looked east in search of answers
And I saw misery
Some days I just don't worry
I let it pour through me
Some days I walk into
The very depths of me
So I wait out here to the east of Eden
I let my conscience be
I was waiting, I was watching
Would it ever be there for me ?
When I felt that hope and a lucky card
Were all I had to walk with me
13 Angle Park (04:07)
The autumn howled around the heads
That hung so slack with lips so red
The blooms had withered leaves were shed
Tongues stuck in jaws sad clowns parade
The crushing whine began its call
And pointed fingers at us
In Angle Park
The lights are dim, the statues grim
In Angle Park
The fountains crack
In Angle Park
The beaten cry behind white dress
The clowns stuck fast upon the mesh
While mothers wring their hands of tears
The spelling books are in arrears
The evil genius hugs his wife
As tiles ring with fear of life
The window fills with beating hearts
Beat on blindly beat it
In Angle Park
The lights are dim, the statues grim
In Angle Park
The fountains crack
In Angle Park
In Angle Park
The lights are dim, the statues grim
In Angle Park
The fountains crack
In Angle Park
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