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The Big Wheel (album)

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The Big Wheel
Studio album by
Runrig
Released1991
StudioCastlesound Studios, Pencaitland, Scotland
GenreCeltic rock
Length51:30
LabelChrysalis
ProducerChris Harley
Runrig chronology
Searchlight
(1989) 		The Big Wheel
(1991) 		Amazing Things
(1993)

The Big Wheel is a studio album by the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig, released in 1991.[1][2] The album peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart.[3]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Calgary HeraldB[4]

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record wrote that "Donnie Munro's vocals drive the songs, but Iain Bayne's superbly produced drums power the band itself."[5] The Calgary Herald labelled the album "an inoffensive, watered-down brand of Celtic rock... Uninspiring but professional."[4]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Calum Macdonald and Rory Macdonald.

  1. "Headlights" - 5:09
  2. "Healer in Your Heart" - 5:34
  3. "Abhainn an t-Sluaigh" (The Crowded River) - 5:17
  4. "Always the Winner" - 5:41
  5. "This Beautiful Pain" - 4:15
  6. "An Cuibhle Mòr" (The Big Wheel) - 6:07
  7. "Edge of the World" - 5:00
  8. "Hearthammer" - 4:27
  9. "I'll Keep Coming Home" - 2:33
  10. "Flower of the West" - 6:36

Personnel

[edit]
Runrig

Flower of the West

[edit]
"Flower of the West"
Single by Runrig
from the album The Big Wheel
B-side"Ravenscaig"
Released28 October 1991
StudioCastlesound Studios, Edinburgh, Scotland
LabelChrysalis – CHS 3451
Producer(s)Chris Harley
Runrig singles chronology
"Every River"
(1989) 		"Flower of the West"
(1991) 		"Wonderful"
(1993)

"Flower of the West" is a 1991 single, released as the lead and only single from the album. The single was released on 28 October 1991 and was released by Chrysalis.[6] Upon its release, "Flower of the West" became the highest-charting entry for the band on the UK Singles Charts, following its peak at number forty-three.[7]

"Flower of the West" features an "intensely emotional evocation of a micro-historical landscape" as described by the National Museums Scotland.[8] AllMusic said that "Flower of the West concludes The Big Wheel in typical grandiose Runrig fashion".[9]

Commercial performance

[edit]

The release of "Flower of the West" brought Runrig the closest they had been to entering the UK Top 40 Singles Charts, after the song debuted at number forty-three in the United Kingdom. It spent a total of two weeks within the UK Top 100 Singles Charts, falling to number forty-seven in its second and final week, before falling out of the UK Top 100.[10]

Track listing

[edit]

CD, EP, single (UK)

[edit]
  1. "Flower of the West" – 4:55
  2. "Ravenscraig" – 4:30
  3. "Chi Mi'n Geamhradh" (featuring Karen Matheson) – 4:12
  4. "Harvest Moon" (Live at Loch Lomond)

Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, single (Germany)

[edit]
  1. "Flower of the West" – 4:55
  2. "Chi Mi'n Geamhradh" (featuring Karen Matheson) – 4:12

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Big Wheel by Runrig". Melody Maker. Vol. 67, no. 26. 29 June 1991. p. 30.
  2. ^ Niester, Alan (4 November 1991). "The Big Wheel Runrig". The Globe and Mail. p. C2.
  3. ^ "Runrig". Official Charts. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b Alberts, Sheldon (3 November 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C4.
  5. ^ Howe, Steve (31 October 1991). "The Big Wheel Runrig". The Kitchener-Waterloo Record. p. C9.
  6. ^ "Music Week - 2 November 1991" (PDF). Musicweek. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  7. ^ "RUNRIG". Official Charts. 8 January 1983. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Music, Land and People: Runrig and Highland History". National Museums Scotland Blog. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  9. ^ "The Big Wheel - Runrig | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  10. ^ "RUNRIG". Official Charts. 8 January 1983. Retrieved 1 September 2024.


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