Driving to Damascus

Driving to Damascus
Studio album by Big Country
Released	1999
Recorded	Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales, 1999
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	56:49
Label	Track
Producer	Big Country, Rafe McKenna
Big Country chronology
Eclectic (1996) Driving to Damascus (1999) The Journey (2013)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 2002 U.S. remaster of the album, renamed John Wayne's Dream.
Singles from Driving to Damascus
"Fragile Thing" Released: 3 August 1999 "See You" / "Perfect World" Released: 25 October 1999 "Somebody Else" Released: 30 May 2000

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic (Driving to Damascus)	[1]
AllMusic (John Wayne's Dream)	[2]
Record Collector (Driving to Damascus)	[3]

Driving to Damascus is the eighth studio album by Scottish rock band Big Country. It was released in 1999 as both a standard edition and a limited edition digipack, and with bonus tracks in 2002. In the U.S., it was released under a different name, John Wayne's Dream.^[2] The limited edition version featured different cover artwork, and included two tracks by Stuart Adamson's alt-country side project, The Raphaels ("Shattered Cross" and "Too Many Ghosts", subsequently released on the 2001 album Supernatural), although there was no indication in the credits that these were not by Big Country.

Driving to Damascus marks the band's last studio album to feature vocalist Stuart Adamson (who would die in 2001) and bassist Tony Butler (who retired from the band in 2012), and the last studio album until The Journey was released in 2013 with the Alarm vocalist Mike Peters taking over for Adamson and Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes replacing Butler.

The album was re-released on both CD and vinyl format to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary in 2012.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Driving to Damascus"	Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Bruce Watson	3:58
2.	"Dive in to Me"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Tony Butler, Watson	5:02
3.	"See You"	Adamson	3:50
4.	"Perfect World"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson	4:02
5.	"Somebody Else"	Adamson, Ray Davies	4:04
6.	"Fragile Thing"	Adamson, Watson	4:33
7.	"The President Slipped and Fell"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson	2:57
8.	"Devil in the Eye"	Adamson, Davies	4:15
9.	"Trouble the Waters"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Watson	4:10
10.	"Bella"	Adamson	3:34
11.	"Your Spirit to Me"	Adamson	5:13
12.	"Grace"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler, Watson	5:10

John Wayne's Dream extra tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Loserville"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler	5:18
14.	"This Blood's for You"	Adamson	3:43
15.	"I Get Hurt"	Adamson	4:28
16.	"John Wayne's Dream"	Adamson, Brzezicki, Butler	8:44

Limited edition digipack extra tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Shattered Cross"	Adamson, Boonstra	4:02
14.	"Too Many Ghosts"	Hummon, Adamson	4:12

Personnel

• Stuart Adamson – vocals, guitar, mandolin, slide guitar, Moog synthesizer
• Bruce Watson – guitar, mandolin, sitar, slide guitar
• Tony Butler – bass, vocals, vibraphone
• Mark Brzezicki – drums, vocals, programming

Additional personnel

• Eddi Reader – backing vocals
• Kirsten Adamson – backing vocals
• Rafe McKenna – backing vocals
• Sally Herbert – string arrangements
• Anne Stephenson – strings
• Claire Orsler – strings
• Dinah Beamish – strings
• Ginni Ball – strings
• Jules Singleton – strings
• Sally Herbert – strings
• Josh Phillips – keyboards
• Rowan Stigner – loops

Charts

Chart (1999–2000)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4]	96
Scottish Albums (OCC)[5]	60
UK Albums (OCC)[6]	82

References

1. Badgley, Aaron. "Big Country: Driving to Damascus > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
2. Schnee, Steve. "Big Country: John Wayne's Dream > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
3. "Record Collector | Big Country - Driving to Damascus | Album Review". Recordcollectormag.com. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
4. "Offiziellecharts.de – Big Country – Driving to Damascus" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
5. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
6. "Big Country | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 January 2022.