Big Country The Buffalo Skinners (Full Album)

[@mikewilliams9053]

this album is an absolute classic. as a lifelong BC supporter, and The Crossing never left my turntable for 6 months, why did i stop listening to them after Steeltown? I have missed out! One of the greatest Rock albumbs ever. Stuart is a beautiful genius. RIP. We miss you!

[@mrdarklight]

They weren't great after Steeltown, that's why. But then they came back with Buffalo Skinners. You're doing fine, chief.

[@stumetallicafan]

I'm the same . Shame on me .

[@mauricemorning]

This is one of a handful of perfect albums I have discovered in my life.

[@mrdarklight]

That needed to be said.

[@mrdarklight]

And one of the others is "The Crossing."

[@dem8667]

Stuart Adamson simply one of the most underappreciated rock guitarists/songwriters. They should show kids at school his songwriting skils. His up there with cobain, hetfield, lennon, grohl. What a loss. Wherever you are big man keep rocking. Stay alive.

[@phillipfurlong3507]

Brilliant album has there ever been a bad one...no

[@debjones1849]

🙌🏼🙌🏼🥲

[@shyanne6906]

Yes! Phenomenal songwriter and during his era, the best guitarist in the world. Maybe someday everyone else will wake up and realize what we've always known ...

[@stephenkerrigan2813]

@@shyanne6906 Sadly I don't think they will . Every song on this album has the best guitar riffs someone could actually play . what a wasted talent, wish he still here but I got to see him on 4 occasions when he was at his best.

[@MEWA-ft3fg]

Love this album . This band was great and criminally underrated

[@frankbaaske3449]

Das beste Album von Big Country !!Habe das letzte Konzert mit Stuart in der Hamburger Fabrik im Jahre 2000 miterlebt!!Super Geiles Konzert!! !Ruhe in Frieden Stuart du warst Big Country !!Du hattest eine einzigartige Stimme!!!!

[@711RoyGBiv]

Bestimmt!!!!

[@speleokeir]

I remember when this came out and people were saying Big Country had gone down the pan and I thought: "Seriously? Are you deaf? Have you listened to this?". Fantastic album all the way through and then "Chester's Farm" at the end where they really let loose with the drums and guitar for the finale. Awesome!

[@brucebrewer36]

A great band with poor managment. They also had the curse of being successful right away and then being stereotyped with the "bagpipe" sound.

[@guntherhendrix7028]

I've been listening to Big Country for a while but mainly their earlier stuff. I've only just got to this and its awesome! I've been looking at album reviews for them from the time they came out and they're just an underrated band. I don't know why the music press is so critical of amazing music.

[@jimboc57]

@@guntherhendrix7028 This is a great album on a par with The Seer in my opinion !

[@hotfroganimations]

@@brucebrewer36 kind of like the darkness with permission to land, If you're familiar with it

[@padraigsisk4057]

@@hotfroganimations as far as I know this is where Big country had a direct say in the production.

[@Betzebub1974]

One of the best albums ever made with one of the best songs ever made.

[@mauricemorning]

Would that be "Ships" by any chance?

[@janybema8844]

One of the greatest albums ever produced, reminds me when I was younger and me and my family drove to the sea (here in South Africa in the Western Cape, if you ever find yourself here, do yourself a favour and visit the Western Cape it's truly breathtaking) and we listened it the drive down, which makes me feel nostalgic at best. Wished the band had more exposure. The reason why it was overlooked is due to the negative lyrics, but have a open mind and you might find that this band sang and played right from the heart, a very little amount of artist have this skill. Once again my most favourite album of all time and if I had to choose one album to listen to forever it would be Buffalo Skinners!

[@brianbigcountry]

Big country for ever i will be playing there music to my time come to a end .Stuart and the boys were the real deal for sure

[@kodos100]

I own almost all the albums Big Country put out and I honestly consider this one their quintessential MASTERPIECE! Hands down! I bought it when it came out in 93 and still listen to it now. It seriously holds up.

[@davidsfr60]

I remember hiking in the hills above Loch Ness in Scotland (I'm from NY State) and plugging into this album (on cassette). The opening lines "the midday sky was gray and purple at least it wasn't blue" fit the scenery with utter perfection. I remember thinking "no wonder these guys are so inspired living in this country!"

[@brianpayne1962]

davidsfr60 What's a cassette? Ha joke. Remember telephone booths and mailboxes? They were pretty cool. I actually saw a kid reading...an actual book yesterday. Double take. I was tripping.

[@84jbones]

@@brianpayne1962 we still have mailboxes

[@Robertd-lq7jp]

Touched with god himself what a beautiful country 👌

[@denissharpe8771]

Adore this album. One of the finest ever produced.

[@markhughes8387]

Found this on cd in a charity shop...best £ I ever spent!

[@filipberg4913]

Im 25 years old and I love this band!

[@brianbigcountry]

Keep loving them mate always play BC loud and proud

[@hailhail6763]

Great album, CD, record, what ever you call it now a days

[@the_katman2181]

Damn, haven't heard this album since the mid 90's. Alone is such a kick-ass opening track. This whole album rocks so much.

[@Sudoshutdown]

This is the 1st cd i ever bought! A real gem , a true masterpiece. Greetings from Sweden.

[@guymorgan3648]

Buffalo Skinner's and why the long face should of been number 1 albums?

[@donaldjoy4023]

Timeless....haunting....thank you Stuart and rest in peace my brother

[@jamesnoble2753]

Outstanding Album by the best band to emerge from my country.

[@andrewkimber6183]

well, I reckon SAHB were best,but BC very fine indeed!

[@danieltaylor2037]

I didn't appreciate this album in light of the glory of their earlier work but listening to it again, nearly 25 years later it's an awesome piece of work. Whilst I love Brzezickis drumming, this album seems to be brought to life by Simon. Phillips driving drum beats and huge open sound. Still mis Stuart so much.

[@oldgit4260]

Daniel Taylor drums are amazing I agree

[@ministryofanti-feminism1493]

That's more to do with sound engineers and production than the actual drummer. Brzezicki one of the GREATEST rock drummers of ALL TIME easily.

[@philkimber8086]

Jon Coktoastin you obviously no nothing about drummers ,Phillips was then and even more so now one of the most brilliant,influential and peer respected musicians,drummers,producers that's there's ever been. Credit where is due !!

[@markhardwick1570]

Simon Phillips killing it on drums. This is I believe the o ly Al um he played the coveted Zildjian / Noble & Cooley solid bronze snare drum.... and the engineers struggled to tame it! As you can hear! 😆🥰

[@8bitrocketstudios]

Incredible album from start to finish

[@bleore]

Loved their first three albums and then lost track of them after Peace in our Time. Only discovered Buffalo Skinners years later but play this album the most after The Crossing. Not a bad song on the record with my favorite being "Long Way Home". Stuart had our plutocratic nightmare of a world pegged years before we could see where it was going. I guess he saw what was happening under Thatcher and Reagan and followed the logic. "The poor do time, the rich go free" sums it up.

[@colmbolger2109]

Amazing Band. Excellent Album.😊😊😊❤❤❤

[@davidpegg4082]

one of the rare albums where the skip track button or forward wind is rarely used! been in my top ten since i bought it in 93

[@2000mk1]

I'm a huge Big Country fan and for me this is their best album by far. Not a bad track on it. Proper "balls out " rock bordering heavy metal.

[@oldgit4260]

2000mk1 that's partly the awesome drums by Simon Phillips, he's a monster!

[@76marex]

lol

[@ministryofanti-feminism1493]

Hahaha. Maybe to BC fans it 'borders heavy metal', but those familiar with Judas Priest, Saxon, Sabbath, Maiden, etc would laugh at you.

[@johnhamilton7797]

@@ministryofanti-feminism1493 This album has an edge to it. However, it’s far from something Dream Theater might put out.

[@padraigsisk4057]

@@ministryofanti-feminism1493 why should they, during The Crossing tour, metal hammer gave Big country a mention

[@dannyalba1]

Simply fantastic!

[@davidfarrell5574]

SIMPLY THE BEST! ENOUGH SAID.

[@dennisharrison2739]

Haven't listened to this for years brillant seen them live at barrowlands 95 proud to be a scot

[@stkaris]

An outstanding album not enough people heard.

[@scotbotvideos]

This album has the best version of Ships. Love that country guitar twang.

[@donaldjoy4023]

....and thank you Nalani, for posting this!!!

[@guymorgan3648]

Adamson s voice like fine wine. A musical genius and for me the best.Rip William x I named my son William to x

[@tommygunhunter]

I used to hate this world, the step change from mighty previous albums but now just recently I've fallen in love with it... it's got great crystal clear tempo from start to finish, great stuff!

[@frankod100]

Great album.... underrated....tough time pearl jam ,nirvana etc. ...no one was listening to some great stuff. .. they were great band whole time.

[@aarondavies5363]

God this man I've been following from the 70s pure song writer with that voice missing thank you tube

[@knightvalin]

I'd followed BC from the beginning, The Crossing. There were 3 bands that came from the UK in that era: Big Country, Simple Minds, and U2.. Of the 3 of them, Big Country was the most talented by far, and , given the subject matter on their albums, most political. Bono and the boys pretended, but they never wrote an album like Steeltown, Joshua Tree wasn't even close. You always got the sense on the recordings that BC was playing as hard in the studio as they did live. This where The Buffalo Skinners comes in. There's some songs on this ( Not In Kansas, Alone) you get the impression that they are playing like this is the last time they get to do it at this level. Yes, Mark isn't on drums, but Simon Phillips is a monster drummer. Highlights for me are ' Not In Kansas' Ships ( the one ballad that's like a breath catch before stomping the pedal again) Seven Waves, The Selling Of America....but there isn't a bad track on this album. The fact that it was totally overlooked and forgotten , I personally think, had a major effect on both Stuart and the Band.....I keep waiting for one of those ' Rediscovered ' lists with this album on it. If you don't have it, BUY IT. If you think you know what Big Country was all about based on ' In A Big Country' or ' Fields Of Fire'....you're in for a audio bitchslap....I'll put this one up against anything of the period, and anything from the last 25 years.

[@darylreidy1389]

+Jim Sharp BC were great but U2 were from IRELAND

[@2000mk1]

Totally agree Jim. Although to say it was totally overlooked is a bit harsh. It got to number 25 in the charts and got them back on top of the pops. But i know what you mean, should have been a minimum top 10 album.

[@johnvandommelen6998]

I like you Jim.But THE CROSSING is untouchable in my humble opinion.UNTOUCHABLE! Don't get me wrong my friend. STEELTOWN is great.Plus that mini album is so great I basically melt.There is no doubt they are one of the most forgotten artists in all rock history and I know that is a cliche......consider their immense talent.

[@johnvandommelen6998]

Thanks for understanding.Thank the gods for their eternal legacy.Stuart is deeply missed......deeply.

[@ProjectblackOfficial]

Well said, sir. And I think you are absolutely right about the negative effect the relative bad reception of this magnificent record had on the band. They really did their best on this album, but still not many cared...Must have shaken their confidence and made the future look grey and purple.

[@tomboswt98]

Love this album!!!!

[@simontaylor2723]

long way home is pure class.

[@jimmycricket8170]

Still blasting this out 2023 brilliant album

[@Cleverogue]

As I said in my reply... With all due respect to Doc Oc I’ll never forget the day that I found out that my favourite drummer however briefly joined my favourite band

[@dickymint8049]

Possibly the most underrated album ever ?

[@janybema8844]

+Dicky Mint That is a fact, reality is very few people in my country know of Big Country... So Sad

[@troudecul69]

most underrated and unknown band ever

[@pkmnmaster6474]

@@troudecul69 that sentence still hurts everyday

[@Cleverogue]

With all respect to Doc Oc... I’ll never forget the day that I found out that my favourite drummer “briefly” joined my favourite band

[@ministryofanti-feminism1493]

It's a great album for sure, but that's a bit of a stupid statement.

[@stephenphilpott222]

Awesome album great drums and guitar.

[@astroknott5263]

In all honesty this is the first i've heard of Big Country besides 'In a Big Country'...wish i had looked into their albums before. Stuart could play, god damn

[@BlackFlag1719]

+AstroKnott Couldn't he though? :) One of the great overlooked guitarists. Unfortunately he was mostly known for his bagpipe-sound in the early days, and that seemed to draw everyone's attention away from the other things he could do. He made a point of getting away from the bagpiping after the first two albums. I love his unique practice of composing a melody line and interspersing it throughout a song, but he could also ad-lib a solo with the best of them.

[@carlangas977]

@@Larry19611961 Great album!👍🎸

[@padraigsisk4057]

Steeltown their best.

[@padraigsisk4057]

Driving to Damascus second

[@donchovanec]

...even though the gift of rain is destined to remain.

[@carlangas977]

Excellent rockin' album

[@ianross6920]

brilliant

[@aidzomcg6761]

great band )

[@padraigsisk4057]

I remember when Alone came out and thought , they are back with a bang. Pity about the radio stations not playing it. Have to question management as well

[@jerryconnor8650]

Pure class

[@padraigsisk4057]

Remember when Alone came out. We are back with a bang . Pity management didn't do their job

[@bigcountry3413]

Great Album, really kicks Ass,🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😎😎😍

[@ianross6920]

brilliant.

[@oldgit4260]

Lovely drums from Simon Phillips

[@bleore]

"What Are You Working For?" is one prophetic song.

[@lotusmaglite]

I honestly believe Big Country were about 25 years too early to be properly appreciated in the USA. When The Crossing came out, Reagan America was in full swing, and that meant 15 minutes of anything different, then Americans got bored. It was as if everyone were on cocaine; everything was the Best Thing Ever for 15 minutes, then promptly forgotten. Very few artists who arrived at the time stuck around, and most of them had to fight back into the public consciousness after being discarded. The Buffalo Skinners makes me sad. It was solid work by a mature band, and nobody in the US even noticed. They were too busy pretending the 1980s never happened, throwing their Poison and Cinderella(1) albums in the trash and trying to buy their souls back with Nirvana and Pearl Jam(2). Listening to it makes me think of the many times in music history a band decides they're just going to do this one last album, and if it doesn't sell, they're calling it quits, and them pow! It becomes their breakthrough. That wasn't the case with The Buffalo Skinners, of course, but it has that feel. Only, instead of being the big turning point in the VH1 special, it was the album that broke the band. Nowadays, with the US atomized into market cantons and balkanized political blocs, niche marketing would have guaranteed much longer success for Big Country - though their brief "In A Big Country" stardom would have been diminished. They'd have a smaller, though fanatic following who would show up album after album, keeping them in business, and maybe the world wouldn't have lost Stuart Adamson. Musically, The Buffalo Skinners is good work. Emotionally, it's exhausting. I'd rather stick to the The Crossing/Steeltown/The Seer era, before the band really strove for US success and ran face-first into the fickle buzzsaw of American consumers. Moving to the US was the worst thing Adamson could have done. IMHO, it killed him as much as the alcoholism and depression. America has a way of grinding down sincerity and earnestness, and unless you're born here, it's easy to get taken down with it. Ugh. That's depressing. I guess I'm done, now. (1)...and Whitesnake and Motley Crue and Guns n Roses and Tigertailz and Winger and Bang Tango and every other sad clone of the same, tired shtick. (2) Volkswagon hit this right on the nose with the US relaunch of the "Beetle", and their very successful ad campaign, "If you sold your soul in the 80s, here's your chance to buy it back."

[@ministryofanti-feminism1493]

(1) tad unfair. Whitesnake and Winger had two BRILLIANT guitarists in Reb Beach and (British) John Sykes. Lyrically shit, yes, but many of the songs were great, and the guitarwork was far superior to much of what Adamson could muster with his own limited lead skills. [long time BC fan here, btw] You should give Winger's fourth album a listen - it's excellent, and deserves as much respect as BC's Buffalo Skinners. The lyrical content is more mature and the songs are more accomplished and sincere.

[@briandonnelly8749]

Thanks a good read .Scotland

[@711RoyGBiv]

Nice summary. Let's not forget that Big Country were big fans of The Gin Blossoms and The Gin Blossoms were big fans of BC. Both bands played covers of each other's songs at their concerts. And sadly both lead singers ended their lives too soon😕

[@jimboc57]

Loved BC for many years then they changed tack and ended sounding poor mans Eagles so I ignored this album, what a mistake!! It`s awesome back to the Big Country sound we all love. RIP Stuart, solely missed.

[@marcoledda4254]

Peccato che ad oggi Big Country siano un gruppo di nicchia, grandemente sottovalutati. In una parola : epici, come forse solo gli U2. Stuart Adamson : Grande chitarrista, con un sound personalissimo ed immediatamente riconoscibile, grande cantante e grandissimo compositore. Un Pete Townsend degli anni 80/90, e credetemi, non potrei fare un miglior accostamento. RIP.

[@lorenzofarina1110]

condivido marco grande fan dei big country ,a mio avviso l album the buffalo skinners rimane il migliore in assoluto

[@Diadema033]

Midday sky was grey and purple, at least there was no blue..

[@americouhima5507]

superb

[@marleybu7984]

Great album by one of the greatest bands ever. Hate the title though. Miss ye big man ❤

[@JWCFB]

My God what a brilliant lead guitar player

[@blurke]

Steel Town is their best album but even at their worst BC are amazing!

[@johnvandommelen6998]

I agree BC at their worst are amazing,but THE CROSSING is totally untouchable......totally and I know them better than most .Steeltown is truly fantastic but I;m sticking by my guns .PORROHMAN is one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.Bless you paul for loving this band like I do.

[@stifflittle1]

big country at there BEST

[@EnosEverything]

THEIR

[@phayzyre1052]

For me this was the album that put Big Country back in the spotlight and returned them to their signature sound! Unfortunately this was in 1993 and by that time that bullshit grunge music (a style of music that I grew to hate with a deep red passion) was in full swing and albums like this weren't given much recognition. This album was a much better improvement over their last 2 releases. When I heard their album "Peace in Our Time" All I could think was holy shit, this is awful!!! Their next effort "No Place Like Home" wasn't much better. In my opinion Big country should have stayed with producer Steve Lillywhite; he was the one who refined their signature sound and put them on the map. Why they quit using him was anyone's guess!

[@constantinsanna7]

big country .c est pas le vilain petit cannard de u 2 et simple minds .mais c est un veritable groupe de rock .tout en préservant leurs racine ecossaise .ils ont su melanger le rock et la musique traditionnel ecossaise et le son rock et la et bien puissant .au top.big country number one . dommage qu il a fini aussi tragiquement .j espere qu il est au paradis et que les guitares sonnent comme des cornemuse .on pense a l ecosse

[@yokithud6928]

Wow !!!!nothing more to say

[@vector_23]

I've been a huge Big Country fan since "The Crossing", and agree with the common sentiment here: they were criminally overlooked. I've always had the impression they were simply too earnest for the cynical world around them - particularly early on. It just wasn't cool to care... I've always been invigorated by the scorching indictment of America on this album. Seems prescient now, from where I sit. This album is also the "largest", most up front mix I've ever heard, and in no small part due to studio wizard Simon Phillips' drumming. If you're a BC fan and are just now hearing this album, you're in for a real treat. It's pretty much a clinic on rock anthems from beginning to end. If those anthems also were meant to cut deep...

[@ROOKTABULA]

Had no clue this album came out when it did and I wore out The Crossing: Thanks record label fuckwits for burying this album, chasing after what was "hot" at the time, as always.

[@jumpinjojo]

Simon Phillips power drumming and full sound really make this album!! Their drummer, Mark Brezecki, didn't play on this album.

[@oldgit4260]

joseph migliore I have to agree, the drums are so excellent here, especially on searching for the long way home...

[@lindawolffkashmir2768]

If I remember right, Mark was drumming with the reboot of Procol Harum at the time.

[@ckordzinskitv]

1993 - I bought this, and now I play it. 23 years to get it - not bad eh? Better late than never. Or is it that I've spent 23 years living off the crossing, Steeltown, and the SEER. If what I say resonates please check out Spear of Destiny at kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6imh56efMqje9E

[@christiankoch5646]

Runrig on steroids!

[@alanrockunited]

Sucks ass that when they do fesivals they never touch this or "Why The Long Face", in my opinion their two best albums

[@albertococchini7113]

sapete cosa penso? i big country facevano musica positiva fa bene allo spirito e all'anima per me sono alla pari di bruce springsteen come purezza di messaggio

[@binzardoalanzo1798]

sensible playing stuart thats what all the donuts think me myself think diferently nobody else can play like stuart

[@aerohard]

Is anyone else getting a heavy Pete Townshend/Who vibe off of "We're not in Kansas"?

[@harnois75]

Simon Phillips had just completed The Who's 25th Anniversary tour when he drummed on this album. He had worked on Pete Townshend's solo projects since the late 1970s, as had Mark Brzezicki.

[@johnny5805]

It's a shame they had already killed their career with 'Peace in our time' and 'No place like home' by the time this was released. Once you start bending strings and playing shitty old blues, then you are creatively bankrupt. It's obviously not to the standards of the first 3 albums (although alot of people think 'The Seer' was the first step towards mediocrity). Stuart was incapable of ever producing more than 3 albums worth of good material. But it's liked mainly because it's not shit, and that's seen as a plus with Big Country. Oh, and Stuart had mainly dropped his nasal American singing style for this album. Although he doesn't use his magnificent Crossing/Steeltown baritone really.

[@mrdarklight]

He was a damned socialist, but I still loved him so.

[@themovierad]

Giant Big Country fan but this album sounds is produced like a Rod Stewart album. It sounds too commercial. SA has a strange affect on his vocal delivery as well like he’s fighting his accent. I bought this to support the lads but I do t spin it too often.

[@mkng4752]

Nope......

[@ROOKTABULA]

Snare: 5db too high in the mix

[@uretanairobi]

The sound quality could be better...

[@teddyl7006]

Wants to have a country slant but is more of an 80s pop feel. The lyrics run out of ideas before the songs are over. A pick scrape? It also sounds like the vocalist is trying to be someone he isn't.

[@brianbigcountry]

Teddy L Boulden made many albums yourself?? AHOLE

[@SaturnGirl66]

I beg to differ. As a huge Big Country & Stu Adamson fan, the lyrics in this are ahead of their time. Doesn't sound like 80s pop... its a rock album, with lyrics calling out all the bad in the world. Excellent musicianship by the band... and you can hear Stu means every word he sings. I think this is their best album.

[@bigcountry7852]

One and only staurt adamson,