5 Classic Albums

I’m not going to pretend Big Country is a peer of U2 or the heir to the legacy of New Order or anything like that. Nobody can seriously put them in the same conversation with Dire Straits or The Smiths or The Police. They’re a decidedly average ‘80’s rock band. Music historians 100 years from now won’t be mentioning them even in a footnote.But “Peace in Our Time” is a nostalgia album for me. A primary school friend won a copy from a radio contest and loaned it to me to dub a copy. When I got a little older and had a little pocket money it was one of the first albums I bought (also on cassette). When I was a young and broke adult 20 years ago, and the tape was near death, I ripped very low quality digital audio from it and burned it to a CD. I thought I bought a digital download on iTunes at one point, but those files seem to be gone. So for the past few years all I had left to listen to was the warbly tape audio on CD and a few tracks from “best of” collections.The album is apparently out of print in the US and hard to find, with used CDs going for upward of $60. Ridiculous. I couldn’t find a digital download at all, so maybe there are problems with the rights. Who knows? I even resorted to browsing BitTorrent sites, but nobody’s sharing. It’s not even listed on the publisher’s website. It’s so rare that even after buying and ripping it, several digital music databases have a hard time finding a matching album. iTunes thinks it’s a collection, not the original album.It took months of searching before I finally found it included in this set. The price for all five albums is a steal! I would have paid $20 for the one album, so the four others are a bonus. Especially since it turns out my CD copy of The Crossing is scratched (I had already ripped it, but now I have a backup).

BC's albums were always hit and miss to me and the audio is not top notch, but it's nice to have them all at a bargain price.

Being a huge Big Country fan for more than 30 years, I had owned the first four of their albums. Being somewhat transient between my native Midwest (Illinois, Indiana and a formative first three months in Wisconsin) and the eastern paradise cities of the Bronx and Camden, New Jersey, I decided that 900+ LPs took up too much space and condensed them to about 90 cassette tapes and then fire-saled the LPs for about $200 dollars since my parents were moving out of their empty nest home. songs on THE SEER and ditto for PEACE IN OUR TIME. I never owned NO PLACE LIKE HOME, but I had "We're Not in Kansas" and "Ships" and a portion of "Into The Fire" on later CDs. Besides it's my least favorite of the five.In condensing the albums down I taped half of THE CROSSING, all but "Rain Dance" and "The Great Divide" from STEELTOWN, six of the tenI'm now very pleased to have all the missing songs from the first four albums - and especially glad to have "King of Emotion" without the telltale skip that it always had in it. STEELTOWN was an epic record and THE SEER had them really rocking out full tilt on "The Red Fox and "The Sailor" and being masterful on "Look Away" and "Eiledon".

This was a group that I only got to hear once in a while. I wanted to see the evolution of their work. The first 3 albums are great the fourth good but the fifth just seems lost on me. The selection is good and enjoyable.

a ridiculously low price made it a "no brainer" for me. big country was my favorite band back in high school, and the first five albums are basically all you need. "the crossing, steeltown, and the seer are the essence of that airy, "big" sound that steve lillywhite and others produced for bands like U2, simple minds, killing joke and big country in the early and mid eighties. although "peace in our time" and "no place like home" are a departure from this sound, they are decent albums in their own right. i always say that stuart adamson is the introspective,reflective, and meaningful songwriter that bono wishes he could be, and that is what carried this band, more so than its unique style and sound.

good listening

This collection has the best of Big Country on a single package.I preffer the early Big Country records but the later albums are also good.Anyways, it's all here. The only thing missing is a good live record and the package would be complete but it's great anyways.

This is a great set of music from a band that really should be much better known. The preachy politics can be a bit of a drag, but the musicianship and songwriting are top notch. Especially at the bargain price, this is a worthwhile collection, and people who might only be casually acquainted with Big Country's music should consider purchasing it.

I bought this 5cd collection purely in order to replace my worn-out vinyl copies of the first three albums, The Crossing, Steeltown and The Seer. These albums require no introduction or comment from me; they are simply magnificent. The other two albums in this 5cd set are less well known and as they had apparently not been well received at the time they were recorded, and being new to me now, I had no great expectations. But my goodness they are good, standing up on their merits, and as a representation of how this great band sought to evolve its sound. I shall enjoy listening to these two albums in the future as much as I have enjoyed listening to the other three albums over the last 35 or so years.

How can any fan of decent music pass this up. I have three of these albums on cassette or vinyl so I had to get this set with the bonus of two albums unknown to me. All are superb. The first three being the real class but the last two are both solid efforts. Play them loud and sing along!

I've had their greatest hits album for years. Now finally, after 30 years decided to get this back catalogue and I damn do I love it. Real vibrant music. Just wish they were still with us now. Shame the collection wasn't remastered but I recommend getting this collection.

This was to replace the well worn cassettes and how I've been blown away again with the sound filling my house ,my six year old dancing to every beat I hope Stuart still see,s how these songs fill people

Always liked Big Country!!! Sorry about the singers Stuart Adams. Rest in peace. The world is a Wonderland .-)