Search - Big Country :: Without the Aid of a Safety Net: Live

My Favorite Live Album Just Got Better

John Erle Mundle | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 01/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Big Country were one of the most under-appreciated bands of the last 25 years, and if you want proof of this, just pick up this excellent live album and see them at the top of their game.

Recorded in Glasgow, Scotland's Barrowlands Ballroom in front of a rabid hometown crowd, this concert shows a band that had been around long enough to give a very polished, professional rock & roll show, while still retaining the energy and passion that made their early concerts so memorable.



The first 10 tracks are acoustic performances, giving an earthy, authentic folk-rock feel to classics like "Chance", "Harvest Home", "13 Valleys", and "The Storm". The electric portion of the set kicks off in fine fashion with "All Go Together", while "Look Away", "Wonderland", and "Long Way Home" have never sounded better. Thankfully, this edition of the complete concert includes the unlisted, "spontaneous" performance of "Wild Mountain Thyme", a Scottish folk classic that sounds right at home in the hands Mr. Adamson and company.



If you think "In A Big Country" was the only good song this band ever recorded, this album will be a real eye-opener. And if you have the one-disc version of this album released in 1994, this full version is well worth having, if only for the jaw-dropping, six-minute-plus version of "Fields Of Fire".



The only drawback to this CD is the annoying, unnecessary copy-protection, but apart from that, it's an incredibly satisfying, invigorating live album.



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