Customer Reviews

Buffalo Skinners

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The saddest loss from the 2001 suicide of Stuart Adamson was obviously the man himself, but another loss was the future of Big Country, the band for whom Adamson was lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Most people only knew them for 1983's "In A Big Country," which made them one of the few top 40 artists ever to score a hit with a song that contained the band's name in its title. However, there was a lot more to BC than one semi-eponymous song, and Adamson's passing is an unfortunate but opportune reason to reevaluate their musical legacy.

If you're going to do so, you might as well start with what might have been their best album. I'm sure many BC aficionados will argue that "Steeltown" was their finest moment, but I would beg to differ. Ultimately, though, the debate is academic, because we're comparing classics. There's no fault to find with "Steeltown," it's simply a matter of taste, and I prefer the harder edge of "Buffalo Skinners."

Like "Steeltown," "Buffalo Skinners" is conceptual; the album is an all-out attack on America's selective isolationism and excess. Adamson and Co. contend in no uncertain terms that the world's Big Brother is sleeping on the job and betraying what it stands for. From the word go, they say so with a thunder of heavy guitars, charging rhythms, and angry lyrics. All the social consciousness of BC's early work seems to have found its perfect subject in "Buffalo Skinners," and the dogs are loose. The album rocks from beginning to end, harder than anything else the band ever did. There are beautifully reflective moments ("Ships," "The One I Love"), but for the most part these songs tear out of the gate and don't slow down. Check out "All Go Together," "What Are You Working For," and my personal favorite, "Long Way Home."

I miss Stuart Adamson and I miss his band, but his body of work makes for a fine epitaph. I revisit it regularly.

Notes on the remaster: I can't honestly say that I heard much of a sound quality difference between this and the original CD pressing, but I don't have the most trained ears in the world. The added liner notes and extra songs are nice to have, though. "Eastworld" is an especially good bonus track. I'm surprised it was originally left off the album.

Listening to an album like this makes you despise the record industry and the way that fashions and slavish conformity dictate success.

The Buffalo Skinners was released in 1993, two years after Big Country had been callously and stupidly dropped by Phonogram. They then produced this astounding masterpiece, in which every track is solid and some "Pink Marshmallow Moon," "Alone," etc. - are sheer classics. Of course, gurning teenagers with grungey guitars were all the rage at the time, so the craftsmanship and quality of this earnest and soulfull collection of songs went largely unrecognised.

Big Country created a sound that could fill not only stadiums and arenas but also the vast landscapes of their native and their adopted land.

The US Master Edition is much better than the UK mix. No need to be an expert to tell. The only bad thing is that they included the demo version of "Buffalo Skinners" instead of the original song, as a bonus track.
Stay alive!!!

Everybody from the 80's generation(myself included)is familiar with "In A Big Country"(an MTV video favorite), a guitar driven tune with that familiar bagpipe sounding guitar.Big Country's 1st cd "The Crossing" was a big success(over 2 million copies sold) and contained this breakout song for the group. "Buffalo Skinners", their 1993 "comeback" cd is a more mature sounding effort and a pleasant surprise to hear. Gone are the bagpipe sounding guitars and what remains are some of lead singer Stuart Adamson's best song writing and lead vocals as well as some of the band's tightest playing. There were only a couple of minor radio hits off this release but the bottom line is this thing rocks! It sounds fresh eleven years after its release. Sadly, Stuart Adamson passed away in 2001, a casualty of depression and alcohol abuse. If you are into guitar driven rock with some heartfelt lyrics check this cd out...RIP Stuart.

I got this album in a box of free giveaway CD's as a college student in Athens, GA in the 90's. I knew nothing about the band and wasn't even sure which was the name of the band and which was the album title. However, it quickly became my favorite album as I could play it over and over without tiring of it. I lost my original CD a few years ago and my husband was kind enough to replace it with this remastered version. I'm thrilled to have my CD back and with extra tracks! I forgot how much I love it.

Rarely is a CD good enough to listen to all the way through. There are no dogs on this, and you'll find more than one favorite if you're a fan of bands like Kansas and Boston, and I think Green Day fans will appreciate the lyrics and maybe even the music as well.

If you're looking for standard Big Country, skip this CD. However, if you are a fan of The Alarm and early U2, this is right up your alley. The trademark bag pipe sounds are almost completely gone (there's a hint on one or two songs), but they make up for it in straight forward rock and roll. Yes, they keep their political views out front on many of the songs, one of the most blatant being "We're Not In Kansas", which deals with corporations selling out to oversea's businesses. "The One That I Love" and "Chester's Farm" are incredibly strong rock tracks, with the latter being set up perfectly for a soundtack album. I could see it playing over end credits for a movie on the song's subject (which has to do with government experiments on a farm).

Having just picked this CD up in 2003, it holds up incredibly well for a ten year old CD. With a few tweaks, it could be released as a current CD in the pop/rock genre.

I have been a big fan of this band since 1985, and, while I thought that no other Big Country album could match the excellence found in "Steeltown", after listening to this album, I realized that Big Country had surpassed their one-time Masterpiece.

I was lucky enough to see Big Country live in 1993 in New Haven at a small bar (Toad's) where the Rolling Stones had initiated their SteelWheels tour about 4 years earlier. The crowd was energized by the power and soul of Big Country, and the songs of this album highlight that power and soul. In fact, this album clearly demonstrates Big Country's maturation as a band and as a sound, because, through this ablum, they exploded past the boundaries of brilliance which they had originally constructed through their music in "Steeltown".

Since Stuart Adamson's tragic and untimely demise, listening to Big Country, especially this album, parallel's the reading of Poe's "The Raven" or "The Cast of Amontillado", or listening to Mozart's "Eroica" or "The Emperor" - One undertands that one is witnessing godly genius which could not be caged in a frail, mortal structure.

This is one great album by one great band. It rocks so hard, it will make your ears bleed. It is a desert island recording, no doubt about it. If you like these blokes, this is a must. And you gotta love 'em.

With judicious use of the "program" button on your CD player, this is actually ax excellent, straight-ahead rock album. "Ships" is a classic lament that gives power ballads a good name, "All Go Together" is a blistering wake-up call about the continued destruction of this planet we all share, and "Seven Waves" is as poignant a piece of Power Pop as you'll ever hear. "It doesn't hurt any more/ It doesn't get me down/ But I might just swim out on the waves tonight/ And lay right down and drown." Those were chilling, powerful lyrics long before Stuart Adamson took his own life.

On the other hand, "We're Not In Kansas", "The Selling Of America", and "What Are You Working For" are a bit preachy with a sound overly reminiscent of 80's L.A. metal. On these tracks, the band was trying a little too hard to capture the magic of Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World", a track Big Country once recorded as a B-Side.

"Alone" works well as a guitar heavy, angst-ridden album opener, "The One I Love" is almost too catchy, and "Pink Marshmallow Moon" is much darker and more interesting than the title implies. "Long Way Home" is pretty solid, but lacks the spontaneity and passion of the version featured on the "Safety Net" live album/DVD, which I recommend whole-heartedly.

Overall, the album has barely a hint of the Celtic influence and bold experimentation that made early albums like The Crossing, Steeltown, and The Seer must-have classics, but it's still one I listen to when I just want to bang my head and play air guitar while bouncing around my apartment like a bloody fool.

A typically frustrating Big Country move was to toss out some of their best songs as B-sides, and this album is no exception. The title track, "The Buffalo Skinners", is a gorgeous epic that should have closed off this album, and "Never Take Your Place" and "Eastworld" have that signature Big Country mix of folk and rock that made their early albums so distinctive. The latter two were thankfully included on this remaster, but the title track only appears as a vastly inferior demo. Unfortunately, tracking down Big Country's best material continues to be far more difficult than it needs to be.

Once again, Big Country made BEAUTIFUL music on this CD that came out in 1993. I believe a few of the songs actually came out on their previous outing, "No place like home". (Ships, etc).

Ships has to be one of the best songs BC ever did; and one of my fav songs from ANY group.

I also love Seven Waves...
every tune on here is great.

Stuart Adamson had a gift for songwriting, folks.
this band NEVER sold out. they augmented their sound as they went into the 90s but any band has to do that stay alive. they couldnt keep redoing The Crossing for 20 years!!!

I believe up til the very end, Adamson just couldnt handle not getting the recognition they deserved and succumbed to a losing battle with alcohol. its a shame.


though BC has since gotten back together and toured sans Adam, its just not the same.