The Raphaels
Supernatural

Take a skilled and established Nashville country songwriter and pair him with a Scottish singer/guitarist with a rock background and a distant love for punk.

You get The Raphaels, a spectacular duo that masterfully combines multi-instrumentalist Marcus Hummon with the late former Big Country leader, Stuart Adamson, who died by suicide in the same year this album was released, at just over forty years old.
Thirteen songs in which they, supported by a band of remarkable country rock instrumentalists, alternate in singing and writing tracks that embody the flavors of the traditions of their lands, so distant yet so close in spirit and musicality.

Tradition and connection to origins are well expressed in the danceable and cheerful "Old Country Country" or in the poignant "Learning to row," where Adamson's delicate voice narrates the struggles and hopes of a young fisherman with the same evocative power as songs like "Steeltown" or "East of Eden" written and published with his old and never forgotten Scottish friends, imbued with a passion for the profound meaning of work (there, it was about miners...) and sacrifice.

Nonetheless, the album is dotted with small gems whose common denominator is a pronounced religiosity. Not by chance, Marcus Hummon is also a respected author of Christian music songs and the track that closes the album, "Life is a Church," is the ideal conclusion to this little masterpiece that, unfortunately, represents the swan song of one of the most brilliant and misunderstood musicians of the last two decades:

"ashes to ashes, earth to earth the preacher throws in the first handful of
dirt. My little boy asks me, does goodbye always hurt? life is a church... life is a church"

Words spoken at a funeral and thus sadly prophetic yet at the same time loaded with a hope uncommon in the rock world.

Hope that fatally vanished for a moment from Adamson's heart on that tragic day in September 2001.

Tracklist

1. Supernatural
2. Simple man
3. Private battlefield
4. Old Country Country
5. Learning to row
6. Shattered cross
7. Toujours aimez
8. My only crime
9. Stand up
10. Too many Ghosts
11. Blue rose
12. Mexican trout
13. Life is a Church

Recommended discography:

THE RAPHAELS - Supernatural (2001)

BIG COUNTRY - The Crossing (1982)
BIG COUNTRY - Steeltown (1984)
BIG COUNTRY - Come up Screaming (live)(2001)