Why the Long Face (album)

2025-02-27T23:51:27Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Why the Long Face
| type = studio
| artist = [[Big Country]]
| cover = Big_Country_-_Why_the_Long_Face.jpg
| alt =
| released = 12 June 1995<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Reilly |first=Aileen |date=23 May 1995 |title=Big Country comes back the Emo way |newspaper=[[The Herald (Ireland)|Evening Herald]] |page=12}}</ref>
| recorded = November 1994 – March 1995
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [[Alternative rock]], [[celtic rock]]
| length =
| label = {{hlist|[[Transatlantic Records|Transatlantic]]|[[Sanctuary Records|Sanctuary]]|[[BMG Rights Management|BMG]]}}
| producer = Big Country and Chris Sheldon
| prev_title = [[The Buffalo Skinners]]
| prev_year = 1993
| next_title = [[Eclectic (Big Country album)|Eclectic]]
| next_year = 1996
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Why the Long Face
| type = studio
| single1 = [[I'm Not Ashamed (song)|I'm Not Ashamed]]
| single1date = 30 May 1995
| single2 = [[You Dreamer]]
| single2date = 21 August 1995
}}
}}
'''''Why the Long Face''''' is the seventh studio album by Scottish band [[Big Country]], released in June 1995. It was produced by [[Chris Sheldon]] and members of the band.

The album received a reissue as a deluxe four-disc box-set by [[Cherry Red Records]] in 2018. In addition to a remaster of the original album on disc one, the three additional CDs contain demos, B-sides and single edits, as well as the band's 1996 live album ''[[Eclectic (Big Country album)|Eclectic]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theseconddisc.com/2018/06/28/you-dreamer-big-countrys-long-face-gets-longer-with-cherry-red-box-set/ |title=You Dreamer: Big Country's 'Long Face' Gets Longer with Cherry Red Box Set |publisher=The Second Disc |date=28 June 2018 |access-date=25 January 2022}}</ref>

==Background==
''Why the Long Face'' was recorded between August 1994 and January 1995. The new material was met with a lukewarm response from the head of the band's label Compulsion, Chris Briggs, who felt the band needed to do more work on the material. Compulsion ended up dropping Big Country and the band subsequently signed to [[Transatlantic Records|Transatlantic]] in March 1995, with ''Why the Long Face'' being released on the label in June 1995.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Why the Long Face |others=Big Country |year=2018 |type=CD liner notes |id=CRCDBOX58 |publisher=[[Cherry Red Records]] |location=UK}}</ref>

Speaking to ''[[List of Reach plc titles|The Lennox Herald]]'' in 1995, lead vocalist and guitarist [[Stuart Adamson]] said of the album, "I think that this album flows well and that there is no filler on it. It's strong enough for us to do most of it live on stage."<ref>{{cite news |last=Lawn |first=Jim |date=29 September 1995 |title=Touring the Big Country |newspaper=[[List of Reach plc titles|The Lennox Herald]] |page=32}}</ref> He added to the ''[[The Herald (Ireland)|Evening Herald]]'', "It's not a departure from or a return to anything really. This time round though, I think the songs are more intimate and personal as opposed to being about big impersonal issues. They've got real characters, strong verses and choruses."<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Reilly |first=Aileen |date=19 September 1995 |title=Country boys to face the music |newspaper=[[The Herald (Ireland)|Evening Herald]] |page=15}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
{{Album reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r220367|label="Big Country: ''Why the Long Face'' <nowiki>[Bonus Tracks]</nowiki>" |first=William |last=Ruhlmann |accessdate=20 September 2011}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev2Score = 1/10<ref name="NME">{{cite magazine |last=Beaumont |first=Mark |authorlink=Mark Beaumont (journalist) |title=Long Play |magazine=[[New Musical Express]] |date=1 July 1995 |page=48 |issn=0028-6362}}</ref>
}}
On its release, Neil McKay of ''[[Sunday Life (newspaper)|Sunday Life]]'' felt ''Why the Long Face'' failed to meet the same standard as ''The Buffalo Skinners''. He wrote, "Solid and workmanlike, it lacks real inspiration. 'Sail into Nothing', 'God's Great Mistake', 'Wildland in My Heart' and 'Blue on a Green Planet' all try hard, but diminishing returns seem to be setting in."<ref>{{cite news |last=McKay |first=Neil |date=6 August 1995 |title=Albums - Foo for thought |newspaper=[[Sunday Life (newspaper)|Sunday Life]] |page=33}}</ref> Chris Heath of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' described the album as "rather good" and noted, "It was with minimal interest that I put on their new album, and with astonishment that I heard tune after tune of the sort which, if they had released them in 1987, would have saved their career."<ref>{{cite news |last=Heath |first=Chris |date=22 July 1995 |title=Pithy revival for Juice's front man |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |page=A9}}</ref> [[Mark Beaumont (journalist)|Mark Beaumont]] of ''[[NME]]'' was highly negative of the album, calling it "turgid bargain-bin fodder", with "a cesspool full of anonymous squidge-rawkers", "slabs of immense blandness", "a huge dollop of [[Huey Lewis]]" and lyrics "that have all the subtlety of [[Vinnie Jones]]".<ref name="NME"/>

==Track listing==
===Original release (1995)===
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Stuart Adamson]]; except where noted
| title1 = [[You Dreamer]]
| length1 = 4:50
| title2 = Message of Love
| length2 = 4:05
| title3 = [[I'm Not Ashamed (song)|I'm Not Ashamed]]
| length3 = 4:13
| title4 = Sail into Nothing
| length4 = 3:47
| title5 = Thunder & Lightning
| length5 = 3:38
| title6 = Send You
| length6 = 4:11
| title7 = One in a Million
| length7 = 5:05
| title8 = God's Great Mistake
| writer8 = Adamson, [[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]]
| length8 = 4:48
| title9 = Wildland in My Heart
| length9 = 4:04
| title10 = Take You to the Moon
| length10 = 4:55
| title11 = Far from Me to You
| length11 = 4:11
| title12 = Charlotte
| writer12 = Adamson, [[Bruce Watson (Scottish guitarist)|Bruce Watson]]
| length12 = 3:54
| title13 = Post Nuclear Talking Blues
| writer13 = Adamson, Butler, Watson, [[Mark Brzezicki]]
| length13 = 3:21
| title14 = Blue on a Green Planet
| writer14 = Adamson, Butler, Watson, Brzezicki
| length14 = 4:52
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = US CD release bonus tracks
| title15 = Vicious
| writer15 = [[Lou Reed]]
| length15 = 3:14
| title16 = In a Big Country
| note16 = Unplugged Version
| writer16 = Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson
| length16 = 3:13
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Japan 1996 CD release bonus tracks
| title15 = In a Big Country
| note15 = Acoustic Version
| length15 = 3:13
| title16 = All Go Together
| note16 = Acoustic Version
| writer16 = Adamson, Watson
| length16 = 3:21
}}

===Cherry Red deluxe edition (2018)===
====Disc One – ''Why the Long Face''====
{{Track listing
| title1 = You Dreamer
| length1 = 4:50
| title2 = Message of Love
| length2 = 4:06
| title3 = I'm Not Ashamed
| length3 = 4:13
| title4 = Sail into Nothing
| length4 = 3:47
| title5 = Thunder & Lightning
| length5 = 3:38
| title6 = Send You
| length6 = 4:12
| title7 = One in a Million
| length7 = 5:05
| title8 = God's Great Mistake
| length8 = 4:48
| title9 = Wildland in My Heart
| length9 = 4:04
| title10 = Take You to the Moon
| length10 = 4:55
| title11 = Far from Me to You
| length11 = 4:11
| title12 = Charlotte
| length12 = 3:54
| title13 = Post Nuclear Talking Blues
| length13 = 3:21
| title14 = Blue on a Green Planet
| length14 = 4:54
}}

====Disc Two – Bonus Tracks====
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Stuart Adamson]]; except where noted
| title1 = I'm Not Ashamed
| note1 = Single Edit
| length1 = 3:46
| title2 = One in a Million
| note2 = 1st Visit
| length2 = 5:21
| title3 = Monday Tuesday Girl
| writer3 = Adamson, Brzezicki, Watson
| length3 = 3:56
| title4 = In a Big Country
| note4 = Acoustic Version
| writer4 = Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson
| length4 = 3:16
| title5 = Crazytimes
| length5 = 4:05
| title6 = Blue on a Green Planet
| note6 = Cool Version
| writer6 = Adamson, Butler, Watson, Brzezicki
| length6 = 4:40
| title7 = You Dreamer
| note7 = Single Edit
| length7 = 3:39
| title8 = Ice Cream Smile
| length8 = 3:54
| title9 = Magic in Your Eyes
| length9 = 2:59
| title10 = Bianca
| writer10 = Adamson, Butler
| length10 = 4:41
| title11 = Hardly a Mountain
| note11 = HITW Tapes
| length11 = 3:58
| title12 = Golden Boy Loves Golden Girl
| note12 = HITW Tapes
| length12 = 4:39
| title13 = Can You Feel the Winter
| note13 = HITW Tapes
| length13 = 6:36
| title14 = [[I'm Eighteen]]
| writer14 = [[Alice Cooper]], [[Michael Bruce (musician)|Michael Bruce]], [[Glen Buxton]], [[Dennis Dunaway]], [[Neal Smith (drummer)|Neal Smith]]
| length14 = 2:55
| title15 = Vicious
| writer15 = [[Lou Reed]]
| length15 = 3:15
| title16 = [[On the Road Again (Canned Heat song)|On the Road Again]]
| writer16 = [[Floyd Jones]], [[Alan Wilson (musician)|Alan Wilson]]
| length16 = 4:22
| title17 = All Go Together
| writer17 = Adamson, Watson
| length17 = 3:21
}}

====Disc Three – ''[[Eclectic (Big Country album)|Eclectic]]''====
{{Track listing
| title1 = River of Hope
| writer1 = Adamson
| length1 = 4:06
| title2 = [[King of Emotion]]
| writer2 = Adamson
| length2 = 4:10
| title3 = [[Big Yellow Taxi]]
| writer3 = [[Joni Mitchell]]
| length3 = 3:50
| title4 = The Buffalo Skinners
| writer4 = Adamson, Watson
| length4 = 5:58
| title5 = [[Summertime (Gershwin song)|Summertime]]
| writer5 = [[George Gershwin]], [[DuBose Heyward]], [[Ira Gershwin]]
| length5 = 3:57
| title6 = [[The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down]]
| writer6 = [[Robbie Robertson]]
| length6 = 3:44
| title7 = [[Eleanor Rigby]]
| writer7 = [[John Lennon]], [[Paul McCartney]]
| length7 = 3:47
| title8 = Winter Sky
| writer8 = Adamson, Watson
| length8 = 4:06
| title9 = Sling It
| writer9 = [[Steve Harley]]
| length9 = 3:04
| title10 = [[I'm on Fire]]
| writer10 = [[Bruce Springsteen]]
| length10 = 2:39
| title11 = [[Where the Rose Is Sown]]
| writer11 = Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson
| length11 = 4:10
| title12 = Come Back to Me
| writer12 = Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson
| length12 = 4:43
| title13 = [[Ruby Tuesday (song)|Ruby Tuesday]]
| writer13 = [[Mick Jagger]], [[Keith Richards]]
| length13 = 4:16
| title14 = [[Teenage Lament '74|Teenage Lament]]
| note14 = Bonus Track
| writer14 = Cooper, Smith
| length14 = 3:54
| title15 = [[Down on the Corner]]
| note15 = Bonus Track
| writer15 = [[John Fogerty]]
| length15 = 2:49
| title16 = [[Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)|Hey Hey My My]]
| note16 = Bonus Track
| writer16 = [[Neil Young]]
| length16 = 5:04
| title17 = You Dreamer
| note17 = Bonus Track - Acoustic Version
| length17 = 4:09
| title18 = I'm Not Ashamed
| note18 = Bonus Track - Acoustic Version
| length18 = 3:46
}}

====Disc Four – Demos====
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Stuart Adamson]]; except where noted
| title1 = You Dreamer
| note1 = Demo
| length1 = 4:45
| title2 = Message of Love
| note2 = Demo
| length2 = 3:40
| title3 = I'm Not Ashamed
| note3 = Demo
| length3 = 4:41
| title4 = Sail into Nothing
| note4 = Demo
| length4 = 4:31
| title5 = Thunder and Lightning
| note5 = Demo
| length5 = 4:01
| title6 = Send You
| note6 = Demo
| length6 = 5:17
| title7 = God's Great Mistake
| note7 = Demo
| writer7 = Adamson, Butler
| length7 = 5:53
| title8 = Wildland in My Heart
| note8 = Demo
| length8 = 4:03
| title9 = Take You to the Moon
| note9 = Demo
| length9 = 4:41
| title10 = Far from Me to You
| note10 = Demo
| length10 = 4:27
| title11 = Charlotte
| note11 = Demo
| writer11 = Adamson, Watson
| length11 = 4:03
| title12 = Post Nuclear Talking Blues
| note12 = Demo
| writer12 = Adamson, Butler, Watson, Brzezicki
| length12 = 2:59
| title13 = Crazytimes
| note13 = Demo
| length13 = 4:34
| title14 = What About Peace
| note14 = Demo
| length14 = 3:30
| title15 = Normal
| note15 = Demo
| writer15 = Adamson, Watson
| length15 = 2:25
| title16 = God's Great Mistake
| note16 = Alternate Version
| writer16 = Adamson, Butler
| length16 = 3:11
}}

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1995)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|28|date=19950618|rowheader=true|access-date=17 January 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|UK|48|artist=Big Country|rowheader=true|access-date=17 January 2022}}
|}

==Personnel==
*[[Stuart Adamson]] - [[guitar]], [[e-bow]], [[slide guitar]], [[B-Bender]] guitar, [[lead vocals]]
*[[Mark Brzezicki]] - [[drums]], [[percussion]], [[backing vocals]]
*[[Tony Butler (musician)|Tony Butler]] - [[bass guitar]], [[backing vocals]]
*[[Bruce Watson (Scottish guitarist)|Bruce Watson]] - [[guitar]], [[e-bow]], [[mandolin]]

;Additional personnel
*[[Josh Phillips (musician)|Josh Phillips]] - [[Keyboard instrument|keyboards]]
*[[James McNally (musician)|James McNally]] - [[low whistle]] on "God's Great Mistake"

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Big Country}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Big Country albums]]
[[Category:1995 albums]]
[[Category:Transatlantic Records albums]]

Vero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Why the Long Face (album)