• Formed out of the ashes of Scottish punk band Skids by their guitarist Stuart Adamson, BIG COUNTRY became one of the biggest British alternative rock bands of the 1980s, with a huge reputation as a live band to rival the likes of U2 and Simple Minds.
• After their initial success with a string of albums on Mercury Records, Big Country continued throughout the 1990s with new albums on a variety of labels, playing as ever around the world to their devoted fanbase. Sadly, Stuart’s untimely death in 2001 closed a chapter on Big Country’s story forever…
• WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS pays tribute to the tour de force that was Big Country in the Nineties, with recordings of five live shows released officially for the very first time and with the full blessing of the band.
• Across these various in-concert recordings, which have previously been available only on elusive, under-the-counter bootlegs, you’ll hear a band touring to promote their most recent albums The Buffalo Skinners (1993) and Why The Long Face (1995), with live sets which often climaxed with impassioned cover versions of ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ (Blue Oyster Cult), ‘My, My, Hey Hey’ and ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ (both Neil Young) and ‘Tracks Of My Tears’ (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles).
• Founder members Bruce Watson and Tony Butler have been interviewed for the Q&A sleeve-notes, which document a fascinating and largely undocumented period in the band’s history.
• Also included, as one would expect, are rousing versions of many of their evergreen hits – ‘In A Big Country’, ‘Look Away’, ‘Chance’, ‘Wonderland’, ‘Peace In Our Time’ and ‘King Of Emotion’.
Tracklist:
DISC ONE:
MINNEAPOLIS 6/11/93
1. ALL GO TOGETHER
2. WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS
3. LOOK AWAY
4. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING FOR
5. CHESTER'S FARM
6. WONDERLAND
7. PINK MARSHMALLOW MOON
8. SHIPS
9. LONG WAY HOME
10. ALONE
11. THE ONE I LOVE
12. IN A BIG COUNTRY
DISC TWO:
(MINNEAPOLIS 6/11/93)(continued)
1. CHANCE
2. LOST PATROL
3. DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
4. HEY HEY, MY MY
GLASGOW TOWER RECORDS 23/06/95
5. YOU DREAMER
6. LOOK AWAY
7. I'M NOT ASHAMED
8. ONE IN A MILLION
9. SEND YOU
10. WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS
11. HEY HEY, MY MY
12. ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD
DISC THREE:
STIRLING 29/4/94
1. ALL GO TOGETHER
2. HARVEST HOME
3. KING OF EMOTION
4. LOOK AWAY
5. THIRTEEN VALLEYS
6. ONE GREAT THING
7. WINTER SKY
8. LONG WAY HOME
9. SHIPS
10. THE STORM
11. EVERYTHING I NEED
12. RIVER OF HOPE
13. JUST A SHADOW
14. WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS
15. COME BACK TO ME
DISC FOUR:
STIRLING 29/4/94 (continued)
1. PEACE IN OUR TIME
2. IN A BIG COUNTRY
3. CHANCE
4. ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD
5. DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
ROTTERDAM ROTOWN 28/08/95
6. INTRODUCTION BY MARK
7. ALL GO TOGETHER #1
8. ALL GO TOGETHER #2
9. YOU DREAMER
10. LOOK AWAY
11. SHIPS
12. I'M NOT ASHAMED
13. JUST A SHADOW
14. LONG WAY HOME
15. THE STORM
16. THIRTEEN VALLEYS
DISC FIVE:
ROTTERDAM ROTOWN 28/08/95 (continued)
1. DON'T FEAR THE REAPER
2. WE'RE NOT IN KANSAS
3. IN A BIG COUNTRY
4. PEACE IN OUR TIME
5. FOUND OUT ABOUT YOU
6. ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD
7. CHANCE
8. TRACKS OF MY TEARS
TAPPIE TOORIES (1998)
9. YOU DREAMER
10. LOOK AWAY
11. CHANCE
12. IN A BIG COUNTRY
TUNBRIDGE WELLS HIGH ROCKS 09/06/95
13. DAYDREAM BELIEVER
Label: Cherry Red Records
Released: 2017