Big Country's Guitar Sounds on The Crossing

Big Country produced their Scottish-style, bagpipe-like sound using electric guitars. Guitarists Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson arranged their instruments so that the guitars evoked the drones, grace notes, and melodic character of bagpipes. Before his work in Big Country, Adamson had already developed an innovative approach to guitar with the Skids. When playing together in Big Country, Adamson and Watson did not rely on a separation between rhythm and lead guitar. Instead, the two musicians built interwoven guitar lines across their music.

Effects devices served as important equipment in creating these specific sounds. In particular, units such as the MXR Pitch Transposer were important tools used to produce their bagpipe-like guitar tones. This guitar approach was not restricted to a single recording such as In a Big Country, as it was featured throughout the material on the band's 1983 debut album, titled The Crossing.

On that release, the opening guitar motif of the song In a Big Country became an instantly recognizable sound. Other songs on The Crossing, including Fields of Fire and The Storm, also display the band's guitar sounds. Working alongside Adamson and Watson, the rhythm section of Big Country consists of drummer Mark Brzezicki and bassist Tony Butler.