The Seer (Big Country album)

The Seer saw Big Country return to the sweeping Scottish sound that had made them famous on The Crossing. It is sometimes considered to be the band's most overtly Celtic album, with many of the songs containing explicit or veiled references to Scottish history - for example, "Remembrance Day" deals with the Highland Clearances (in which thousands of Highlanders were relocated to British colonial possessions such as Canada and New Zealand), "Red Fox" is about the 1752 Appin Murder, and the title track concerns the seventeenth century mystic the Brahan Seer.

The album was given two separate mixes. The first was done by producer Robin Millar with the input of the band. This mix was rejected by the band's record label for being not commercial enough, and Walter Turbitt was brought in to remix the album. Turbitt's mix, which was eventually released, was disliked by the band, as it had more overtly poppy elements (such as added reverberation) in contrast to Millar's drier, crisper mix. The original mix remains unreleased, with the exception of "Look Away," the single version of which was released before the remix had been completed.

Critic Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone gave The Seer a positive review, calling it "possibly [the band's] strongest effort to date":

Happily, Big Country's vision – articulated by Adamson's songwriting – is as generous and determined as ever. The single "Look Away" and the ballad "Hold the Heart," both chronicles of lost love, capture Adamson's grim romanticism, his characteristic urge to transcend but not deny emotional ravishment. "One Great Thing," "I Walk the Hill" and "Eiledon" are stirring expressions of the desire for individual integrity and a future filled with peace.[8]

*Note: writing credits as per original vinyl edition and the ASCAP song database.[9]

All songs written by Stuart Adamson, except where noted.

1. "Look Away" – 4:23
2. "The Seer" (featuring Kate Bush) (Adamson, Bruce Watson) – 5:26
3. "The Teacher" – 4:05
4. "I Walk the Hill" (Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler) – 3:30
5. "Eiledon" – 5:35
6. "One Great Thing" (Adamson, Butler) – 4:00
7. "Hold the Heart" – 6:04
8. "Remembrance Day" (Adamson, Butler, Watson) – 4:28
9. "Red Fox" – 4:09
10. "Sailor" (Adamson, Brzezicki) – 4:52

1996 reissue bonus tracks

11. "Song of the South" [B-side of "One Great Thing"] – 3:48
12. "Look Away" (12" mix) – 6:31
13. "One Great Thing" (Adamson, Butler) (Disco Mix) – 6:11
14. "Giant" (Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson) [B-side of "Wonderland", 1984] – 3:55

Adapted from the album liner notes.[21][22]

Big Country

• Stuart Adamson – vocals, guitar, EBow
• Mark Brzezicki – drums, percussion, vocals
• Tony Butler – bass, bass pedals, vocals
• Bruce Watson – guitar, mandolin, sitar

Additional personnel

• Kate Bush – additional vocals on "The Seer"
• June Miles-Kingston – backing vocals on "Eiledon" and "Remembrance Day"
• Davie Duncan – bodhran

Technical

• Robin Millar – original production
• Walter Turbitt – additional production, mixing
• Will Gosling – engineer
• Dave Anderson – assistant engineer
• Phil Legg – assistant engineer
• Nick Lacey – assistant engineer
• Russell Leahy – assistant engineer
• Julian Balme – sleeve
• David Da Silva – illustration

Bonus tracks

• Robin Millar – production on "Song of the South"
• Steve Lillywhite – production on "Giant"[23]
• Geoff Emerick – production on "Restless Natives", "I Will Run for You", "Margo's Theme", "Highland Scenery" and "Home Came the Angels"
• Will Gosling – mixing on "Song of the South"[24]
• Tony Butler – mixing on "Song of the South"[24]
• David Batchelor – mixing on "Honky Tonk Woman"[25]