Cherry Red's longtime association with Scottish rockers Big Country - which manifested in a release of the group's last album The Journey in 2013 and continued with deluxe reissues of latter-day and live bootleg material in 2017 and 2018 - continues with another multi-disc anthology project due this September.

Out Beyond The River - The Compulsion Years Anthology showcases the group's journey through the mid-'90s as they released The Buffalo Skinners, their sixth album, in 1993. After seeing all their albums reach the U.K. Top 10 in the '80s (plus a No. 2 compilation, Through a Big Country, in 1990), the group fell on hard times as musical tastes shifted. They left longtime label Phonogram for Vertigo in the U.K. and recorded the difficult No Place Like Home in 1991. Drummer Mark Brzezicki left the group during recording, leaving frontman Stuart Adamson, guitarist Bruce Watson and bassist Tony Butler to continue as a trio; following poor sales of 1988's Peace In Our Time in America, the album was not released stateside.

But hope was around the corner: veteran A&R man Chris Briggs, who'd recently begun mentoring Robbie Williams of Take That fame, was lured to Chrysalis/EMI with the allowance to create Compulsion Records, a new label. His first signee: Big Country - a fitting reunion, as Briggs had signed the group to Phonogram more than a decade earlier. With a renewed sense of energy - the group produced this one themselves - The Buffalo Skinners was a return to and refreshment of the classic guitar-driven Big Country sound, continuing the group's foray into pointed political lyrics ("What Are You Working For," "The Selling Of America," "We're Not In Kansas" - the latter revisited after kicking off No Place Like Home). Best of all, the group returned to the U.K. Top 40 twice for the first time since 1989 with "Alone" and another re-recorded track from No Place, "Ships." An American deal with 20th Century-Fox's fledgling music arm yielded a moderate modern rock cut, "The One I Love."

The group continued doing what they did best - namely, hitting the road. With Brzezicki back behind the drum kit, the quartet packed European theaters and American small clubs, rousing audiences with favorites new and old (and, in a nod to current rock trends, often offering an "unplugged" portion of the set - an accidental moment of brilliance after a venue they performed at that year lost power). At the close of 1993, Big Country performed a trio of dates in Scotland and England recorded for a live album and video, Without The Aid Of a Safety Net. Considered by fans to be one of the definitive concert documents of the group, the album earned them another U.K. Top 40 placement.

That rousing period, and everything in between, makes up Out Beyond The River. This 5CD/DVD set includes previously expanded editions of The Buffalo Skinners and Without The Aid Of a Safety Net issued by EMI in 2005 (the latter of which was presented across two discs for a complete concert experience). Another two bonus discs collect The Buffalo Skinners' various, uncompiled B-sides, remixes and early versions, including unreleased instrumental demos and monitor mixes alongside demos released on rare fan collections. The box wraps up with a DVD of the original Without The Aid Of a Safety Net film and two music videos. (Unfortunately, the DVD seems to be PAL-only.) Like previous Big Country boxes from Cherry Red, each disc is housed in its own mini-jacket, encased in a clamshell case.

Out Beyond The River is due September 25. Pre-order links and the full track list are below.

Out Beyond The River - The Compulsion Years Anthology (Cherry Red CRCDBOX98 (U.K.), 2020)

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

Disc 1: The Buffalo Skinners (this pressing issued as Compulsion/EMI 7243 5 63393 2 3 (U.K.), 2005)

1. Alone
2. Seven Waves
3. What Are You Working For
4. The One I Love
5. Long Way Home
6. The Selling Of America
7. We're Not In Kansas
8. Ships
9. All Go Together
10. Winding WIng
11. Pink Marshmallow Moon
12. Chester's Farm
13. The One I Love (U.S. Mix)
14. Never Take Your Place
15. Eastworld
16. Buffalo Skinners (Demo)

Tracks 1-12 released as Compulsion NOIS 2 (U.K.)/Fox 07863 66294-2 (U.S.), 1993
Track 13 from "The One I Love" U.S. promo CD single - Fox RDJ 62654-2, 1993
Tracks 14-15 from "Alone" U.K. CD singles - Compulsion CDPULS/S 4, 1993

Disc 2: B-Sides, Bonus Tracks & Rarities

1. Rockin' In The Free World
2. Woodstock
3. Oh Well
4. (Don't Fear) The Reaper
5. Buffalo Skinners
6. Cracked Actor
7. Paranoid
8. Ships (Radio Edit)
9. Alone (Radio Edit)
10. We're Not In Kansas (U.S. Alternate Mix)
11. The One I Love (Dave Thoener Mix)
12. I Am a Small Republic
13. Dragging My Name (Audiocraft Demo)
14. Seven Waves (Instrumental Demo)
15. Eastworld (Instrumental Demo)
16. What Are You Working For (Instrumental Demo)

Tracks 1-7 from "Ships" U.K. CD singles - Compulsion CDPULS/S 6, 1993
Track 8 from "Ships" U.K. promo CD single - Compulsion CDPULSDJ6, 1993
Track 9 from "Alone" U.K. promo CD single - Compulsion CDPULSDJ4, 1993
Track 10 from "We're Not In Kansas" U.S. promo CD single - Fox RDJ 62695-2, 1993
Track 11 from U.S. Big Sampler - Fox RDJ 62593-2, 1993
Track 12 from Rarities III - Track Record BCRTRK006 (U.K.), 2002
Track 13 released as downloads to bigcountry.co.uk, 2001

Disc 3: The Buffalo Skinners Demos

1. Alone (Demo)
2. Seven Waves (Demo)
3. What Are You Working For (Audiocraft Demo)
4. The One I Love (Demo)
5. Long Way Home (Demo)
6. The Selling Of America (Demo)
7. We're Not In Kansas (Monitor Mix)
8. Ships (Monitor Mix)
9. All Go Together (Demo)
10. Winding Wind (Demo)
11. Pink Marshmallow Moon (Demo)
12. Chester's Farm (Audiocraft Demo)
13. Eastworld (Demo)
14. Rockin' In The Free World (Monitor Mix)

Tracks 1-2, 4-6, 9-11 and 13 from Rarities VIII - Track Record TRA1056 (U.K.), 2006
Tracks 3 and 12 released as downloads to bigcountry.co.uk, 2001
Tracks 7-8 and 14 previously unreleased

Discs 4-5: Without The Aid Of a Safety Net (Live) (this pressing released as Compulsion/EMI 72435 63559 2 7 (U.K.), 2005)

1. Introduction
2. Harvest Home *
3. Peace In Our Time *
4. Just a Shadow *
5. Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) *
6. Winter Sky *
7. The Storm *
8. Chance *
9. Tracks Of My Tears *
10. Rockin' In The Free World *
11. All Go Together
12. We're Not In Kansas
13. Look Away
14. What Are You Working For
15. Steeltown

1. Stuart and The Audience
2. Ships
3. Wonderland
4. Long Way Home
5. Alone
6. In a Big Country
7. The Audience (Encore)
8. Lost Patrol
9. (Hey Hey My My) Out Of The Blue (Into The Black)
10. Fields Of Fire **

* acoustic tracks
All tracks recorded live at Glasgow Barrowlands - 12/29/1993 except ** recorded live at Aberdeen Capitol Theatre - 12/31/1993
Disc 4, Tracks 2-5, 7, 13-15 and Disc 5, Tracks 2-4, 6 and 8 released as Compulsion CDNOIS 5 (U.K.), 1994

DVD: Without The Aid Of a Safety Net (Live) (released as Compulsion 72434 913023 4 (U.K.), 1994 - PAL only)

1. Introduction/Harvest Home *
2. Peace In Our Time *
3. Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys) *
4. The Storm *
5. Chance *
6. Look Away
7. What Are You Working For
8. Steeltown
9. Stuart and The Audience
10. Ships
11. Wonderland
12. Long Way Home
13. Alone
14. In a Big Country
15. Lost Patrol
16. Alone (promo video) **
17. Ships (promo video) **

* acoustic tracks
All tracks recorded live at Glasgow Barrowlands - 12/29/1993
** bonus material