The Big Wheel (album)

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The Big Wheel
The Big Wheel.jpeg
Studio album by
Runrig
Released10 June 1991
StudioCastlesound Studios, Pencaitland, Scotland
Genre Celtic rock
Length51:30
Label Chrysalis
Producer Chris Harley
Runrig chronology
Searchlight
(1989)		The Big Wheel
(1991)		 Amazing Things
(1993)

The Big Wheel is the seventh studio album by the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig, released on 10 June 1991. [1] [2] [3] The album peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. [4] It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), before being certified Gold on 1 September 1991, indicating record sales in excess of 100,000 copies. [5] It spawned only one single, "Flower of the West", which reached number forty-three on the UK Singles Charts. [6]

Contents

Release and promotion

The album was released on 10 June 1991 via Chrysalis Records and was released in the United Kingdom, Greece, Canada, Japan as well as mainland continental Europe. In 2001, the album was re–released as part of a 3 CD boxset was released including The Cutter and the Clan and Amazing Things , and again as part of a 3 CD boxset alongside The Cutter and the Clan in 2002. In 2014, it was again re–released, this time as part of a five CD box set which included four other studio albums released by the band. [1]

To promote the release of the album, the band appeared on Brag broadcast on BBC Two Scotland which documented the recording and rehearsal sessions of The Big Wheel. On 6 September 1991, Runrig performed "Hearthammer" on Top of the Pops on BBC One and their concert, Runrig On The Rock, was broadcast that same year on STV. [7]

Recording

During the recording sessions for The Big Wheel, the band were joined by several session musicians in the studio, mostly for backing vocals. Lorna Bannen, Ann Turner, Colin Chisholm, Patrick Logan and Chris Harley accompanied Runrig during the recording sessions for the album, providing backing vocal arrangements on several of the albums tracks. [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Calgary Herald B [8]

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record wrote that "Donnie Munro's vocals drive the songs, but Iain Bayne's superbly produced drums power the band itself." [9] The Calgary Herald labelled the album "an inoffensive, watered-down brand of Celtic rock... Uninspiring but professional." [8]

Track listing

All songs written by Calum Macdonald and Rory Macdonald.

  1. "Headlights" - 5:09
  2. "Healer in Your Heart" - 5:34
  3. "Abhainn an t-Sluaigh" (The Crowded River) - 5:17
  4. "Always the Winner" - 5:41
  5. "This Beautiful Pain" - 4:15
  6. "An Cuibhle Mòr" (The Big Wheel) - 6:07
  7. "Edge of the World" - 5:00
  8. "Hearthammer" - 4:27
  9. "I'll Keep Coming Home" - 2:33
  10. "Flower of the West" - 6:36

Chart performance

Charts

Chart (1991)Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC) [10] 4

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [11] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Runrig

Singles

Flower of the West

"Flower of the West"
Flower of the West by Runrig.jpeg
Single by Runrig
from the album The Big Wheel
B-side "Ravenscaig"
Released28 October 1991
Studio Castlesound Studios, Edinburgh, Scotland
Label Chrysalis – CHS 3451
Producer(s) Chris Harley
Runrig singles chronology
"Every River"
(1989)		"Flower of the West"
(1991)		"Wonderful"
(1993)

"Flower of the West" is the only single from the album, released on 28 October 1991. [12] It became the highest-charting entry for the band on the UK Singles Charts, following its peak at number forty-three. [13]

"Flower of the West" features an "intensely emotional evocation of a micro-historical landscape", as described by the National Museums Scotland. [14] AllMusic said that "Flower of the West concludes The Big Wheel "in typical grandiose Runrig fashion". [15]

Commercial performance

The release of "Flower of the West" brought Runrig the closest they had been to entering the UK Top 40 Singles Charts, after the song debuted at number forty-three in the United Kingdom. It spent a total of two weeks within the UK Top 100 Singles Charts, falling to number forty-seven in its second and final week, before falling out of the UK Top 100. [16]

Track listing

CD, EP, single (UK)
  1. "Flower of the West" – 4:55
  2. "Ravenscraig" – 4:30
  3. "Chi Mi'n Geamhradh" (featuring Karen Matheson) – 4:12
  4. "Harvest Moon" (Live at Loch Lomond)
Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, single (Germany)
  1. "Flower of the West" – 4:55
  2. "Chi Mi'n Geamhradh" (featuring Karen Matheson) – 4:12

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Big Wheel". Runrig Rocks. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "The Big Wheel by Runrig". Melody Maker. Vol. 67, no. 26. 29 June 1991. p. 30.
  3. ↑ Niester, Alan (4 November 1991). "The Big Wheel Runrig". The Globe and Mail. p. C2.
  4. ↑ "Runrig". Official Charts. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "BRIT Certified". BPI. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "RUNRIG". Official Charts. 8 January 1983. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "1991". runrig.rocks. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 Alberts, Sheldon (3 November 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C4.
  9. ↑ Howe, Steve (31 October 1991). "The Big Wheel Runrig". The Kitchener-Waterloo Record. p. C9.
  10. ↑ "Runrig | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "British album certifications – Runrig – Big Wheel". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Music Week - 2 November 1991" (PDF). Musicweek. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  13. ↑ "RUNRIG". Official Charts. 8 January 1983. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "Music, Land and People: Runrig and Highland History". National Museums Scotland Blog. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  15. ↑ "The Big Wheel Runrig". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "RUNRIG". Official Charts. 8 January 1983. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
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