Steeltown

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Steeltown
Big Country - Steeltown.jpg
Studio album by
Big Country
Released19 October 1984
Studio Polar Studios (Stockholm)
RAK Studios (London)
Genre Alternative rock, new wave, Celtic rock
Length47:54
Label Mercury
Producer Steve Lillywhite
Big Country chronology
The Crossing
(1983)		Steeltown
(1984)		 The Seer
(1986)
Singles from Steeltown
  1. "East of Eden"
    Released: 21 September 1984
  2. "Where the Rose Is Sown"
    Released: 16 November 1984 [1]
  3. "Just a Shadow"
    Released: 11 January 1985 [2]

Steeltown is the second studio album by Scottish band Big Country. The album was recorded at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm with Steve Lillywhite producing. It was released on 19 October 1984, in the UK and 29 October 1984, in the United States. [3] It was released on CD only in Germany, as well as remastered and reissued there.

Contents

Steeltown is the band's only UK number 1 album, topping the chart for 1 week in October 1984. The title track "Steeltown" was written about the town of Corby, telling how many Scots went to work at the Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks when it opened in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression, but later found themselves unemployed when the steelworks declined in the early 1980s. [4]

The 1996 reissue contains all of the B-sides from the album's single releases as well as the extended version of non-album single "Wonderland".

"East of Eden" was the only Top 20 single from the album, reaching number 17 in the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Martin C. Strong 7/10 [7]

Critic Fred Schruers of Rolling Stone gave the album a glowing review, writing:

Clanging and crackling with energy, this second album from Big Country rings natural evolutionary changes on the band's stirring twin-guitar sound even as it frames still better news: bandleader Stuart Adamson has rapidly matured into a songwriter capable of bringing meticulous craft to his obvious passion. [6]

Some critics reacted negatively towards the album, calling it muddled and overly dense.[ citation needed ] The album's relative failure has been attributed to the fact that many American and international fans couldn't relate to its themes and lyrics, which dealt with the misfortunes of Scottish workers and contained references to British politics.[ citation needed ] However, many fans today consider Steeltown to be the band's finest work.[ citation needed ]

James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers has cited the album as being one of his all-time favourites.[ citation needed ]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Stuart Adamson; all music is composed by Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, and Bruce Watson, except where indicated.

Side one

  1. "Flame of the West" – 5:01
  2. "East of Eden" – 4:29
  3. "Steeltown" – 4:39
  4. "Where the Rose Is Sown" – 4:58
  5. "Come Back to Me" – 4:35

Side two

  2. "Tall Ships Go" – 4:38
  3. "Girl with Grey Eyes" – 4:47
  4. "Rain Dance" – 4:19
  5. "The Great Divide" – 4:50
  6. "Just a Shadow" – 5:38

1996 reissue bonus tracks

  2. "Bass Dance" – 1:39
  3. "Belief in the Small Man" – 5:17
  4. "Prairie Rose" (Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera) – 4:46
  5. "Wonderland" (12" version) – 7:07
  6. "Winter Sky" (Adamson, Watson) – 3:16

2014 30th anniversary deluxe edition – disc 2

  1. "Wonderland”
  2. "Giant”
  3. "All Fall Together"
  4. "East of Eden" (radio edit)
  5. "Prairie Rose" (Ferry, Manzanera)
  6. "Where the Rose Is Sown" (radio edit)
  7. "Belief in the Small Man"
  8. "Bass Dance"
  9. "Just a Shadow" (radio edit)
  10. "Winter Sky" (Adamson, Watson)
  11. "Wonderland" (work in progress #1)
  12. "Wonderland" (work in progress #2)
  13. "East of Eden" (rough mix)
  14. "Tall Ships Go" (rough mix)
  15. "Where the Rose Is Sown" (rough mix)
  16. "Come Back to Me" (rough mix)
  17. "Bass Concerto" (work in progress)

Personnel

Big Country
Technical
Bonus tracks

Charts

Chart (1984)Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart [8] 68
Canadian Albums Chart [9] 53
Dutch Albums Chart [10] 33
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [11] 24
German Albums Chart [12] 53
New Zealand Albums Chart [13] 15
Norwegian Albums Chart [14] 12
Swedish Albums Chart [15] 28
UK Albums Chart [16] 1
US Billboard 200 [17] 70

Certifications

OrganizationLevelDate
BPI – UKGold17 October 1984

Related Research Articles

<i>The Crossing</i> (Big Country album) 1983 studio album by Big Country

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<i>The Seer</i> (Big Country album) 1986 studio album by Big Country

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where the Rose Is Sown</span> 1984 single by Big Country

Where the Rose is Sown is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in 1984 as the second single from their second studio album Steeltown. It was written by Big Country and produced by Steve Lillywhite. "Where the Rose Is Sown" peaked at No. 29 in the UK and No. 25 in Ireland.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East of Eden (Big Country song)</span> 1984 single by Big Country

"East of Eden" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in 1984 as the lead single from their second studio album Steeltown. It was written by Big Country and produced by Steve Lillywhite. "East of Eden" reached No. 17 in the UK, and No. 12 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alone (Big Country song)</span> 1993 single by Big Country

"Alone" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1993 as the lead single from their sixth studio album The Buffalo Skinners. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Big Country. "Alone" reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.

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References

  1. ↑ "Singles". Bigcountryinfo.com.
  2. ↑ "Singles". Bigcountryinfo.com.
  3. ↑ "October Hot Album Releases". Billboard . Vol. 96, no. 40. 6 October 1984. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Source: Melody Maker, 1984
  5. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Big Country: Steeltown" at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 Schruers, Fred (17 January 1985). "Big Country: Steeltown". Rolling Stone . No. RS 439. Wenner Media. ISSN   0035-791X. Archived from the original on 13 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Big Country : Steeltown". The Essential Rock Discography - Volume 1: 87. 2006.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "RPM 100 Albums". RPM . 41 (15). archived at Library and Archives Canada. 15 December 1984. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "Big Country - Steeltown". Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Big Country". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 30. ISBN   978-952-7460-01-6.
  12. ↑ "Big Country, Steeltown". Charts.de (in German). Retrieved 18 September 2011.[ dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Big Country - Steeltown". Charts.nz. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Big Country - Steeltown". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Big Country - Steeltown". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  16. ↑ "BIG COUNTRY - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  17. ↑ Big Country. "Big Country - Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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