Big Country Chronicles: 'In A Big Country'

For Americans, this is Big Country as "one-hit wonder". The single for "In A Big Country" was released on May 20, 1983. By the fall of that year (Nov. 12, to be exact), the song cracked the Billboard Top 40 where it spent nine weeks and peaked at No. 17. Memories? This video went up against Def Leppard's "Photograph" on NBC's Friday Night Video Fights. My parents let me vote. My band, I believe, got 17 percent of the vote in one of the most lopsided wins in video history.

The differences between the 12", 7" and album versions of this song are vast. This is especially true of the percussion. The B-sides by this point are as good as anything found on 'The Crossing'. "All of Us" was the perfect complement to "In A Big Country", in part, because the guitar hook sounded like it was taken from the hit song. The 7" was also on the flip side, but I will include the album version here becasue I feel like the 7" is just too short. As a bonus, I'm including "Heart and Soul". This song was part of a specially released "red cover" version of the 12" single. "Heart and Soul" also later appeared on the Japanese cassette version of the 'Wonderland' EP. Join me next time for the last 12" single from 'The Crossing' era.

Big Country - In A Big Country (Pure Mix) (mp3)
Big Country - In A Big Country (Album Version) (mp3)
Big Country - All of Us (mp3)
Big Country - Heart and Soul (mp3)

See Also:
Big Country Chronicles: 'Fields of Fire'
Big Country Chronicles: 'Harvest Home'