Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 1989
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Length
10 tracks
By 1986, Dave & Barbara had reached a level of musical sophistication where aiming their work at the UK singles-buying market no longer seemed a smart career move. The duo decided to concentrate instead on making albums, and work began on a project which was to take three years to complete: the awesome 'Big Idea' album. Every track is a labour of love, with no 'fillers'. Starting with a lush and emotional exploration of Billy Bragg's touching Tamla Motown homage 'Levi Stubbs' Tears', and continuing with the ballad 'Grey Skies' (about the English weather, and England), 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' (a savagely deconstructed electronic version of the old Dylan song), 'Mr. Theremin' (a tribute to the Russian inventor - see 'The Theremin'), The Big Idea goes from strength to strength, culminating in the monumental 'New Jerusalem', a sonic epic complete with 25-voice Welsh choir, the pipe organ of St. Georges Hanover Square and drums recorded in the Grand Canyon. Students of audio technology may be interested to know that the synthesizer solo played by Dave Stewart at the end of 'New Jerusalem' was recorded by two studio assistants whirling microphones on 8-foot leads around their heads like lassoes.
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