Tag: Mark Brzezicki

I first found out about this band in the 1980s with a dose of a bagpipes sound with the song Big Country. The first thing I thought of was BIG…not because of the name. The song came out of the radio like an elephant. The drums and the sound were so huge. This one has the same effect on me, a large sound, but it isn’t sanitized and polished to death.

It was released in 1983 on the album The Crossing. This was their debut album, and it made them known throughout the world. Steve Lillywhite produced this album and track. This came at a time when he was emerging as one of the top producers in the business, known for his work with Peter Gabriel and U2.

As I mentioned earlier, they incorporated a bagpipe sound into their songs, and they utilized the E-bow effect on their guitars. E-bows (Electronic Bows) are handheld, battery-powered devices that create infinite sustain and harmonics on stringed instruments, especially electric guitars, by generating a magnetic field that vibrates the strings, mimicking the effect of a violin bow. They enable guitarists to produce synth-like sounds, bowing effects without the use of a traditional pick. Now I want one!

Here is an example of one:

I did it again…drifted too far into guitar effects, but I just cannot help myself.

Stuart Adamson formed this band in 1981 in Scotland. Adamson was their main songwriter and the lead singer. He was joined by guitarist Bruce Watson, bassist Tony Butler, and drummer Mark Brzezicki. They would go on to release 9 studio albums and 18 live albums. They would release 29 singles, and 16 ended up in the top 40 in the UK.

Fields of Fire peaked at #10 in the UK, #26 in New Zealand, and #52 on the Billboard 100. This album peaked at #18 on the Billboard Album Charts, #4 in Canada, #3 in the UK, and #8 in New Zealand in 1983.

In 1999, they released their last album with lead singer Stuart Adamson, called Driving to Damascus but without much success. Adamson moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s, where he met country music singer/songwriter Marcus Hummon, and together they released an alternative country studio album as The Raphaels in 2001.

Fields of Fire

Between a father and a son
Between the city and the one
Before the teacher and the test
Before the journey and the rest

The shining eye will never cry
The beating heart will never die
The house on fire holds no shame
I will be coming home again
400 miles without a word until you smile
400 miles on fields of fire
Between a woman and a boy
Between a child and his toy
Between a woman and a boy
Between a child and a toy
Before the following of the west
Before the journey and the rest
400 miles without a word until you smile
400 miles without a word until you smile
400 miles on fields of fire

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