When touring in early 1989 this was called You're Never Too Small to Hit the Big Time until the title was shortened to Big Time but this tune seems like the ultimate road song about no matter how small you are you can still make the big time. It is an optimistic piano-based boogie in the style of Once Bitten Twice Shy and it deals with hope. Is it wishful thinking by the untalented or more biographical since Ian didn't seem to enjoy his claim to fame during his most popular era? And, it can be interpreted as in his diary, Diary of a Rock ' Roll Star, that fame is not all it is cracked up to be because your heart grows cold. The road is tedious, unhealthy, filled with temptation, but "you are never too small to make the big time." Artists strive for stardom no matter what the drawbacks are.
Hunter moved back to Manhattan in 1985 to kick-start his writing and this was the first song that emerged. The move immediately reinvigorated his work. He wrote this tune after only two months which got him thinking he could get a few more for an album. The record is about hope and as a reminder it should be played during early morning work for motivation. If you are single-minded you will develop the focus needed to do better. Anything can happen.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
Big Time
(Ian Hunter)
One more town on the merry-go-round
One more room with no view
One more punk eatin' nothing but junk
Trin' to make a phone call to you
Well maybe I'll never, get myself together
But something's in the back of my mid
It only takes one call-you can laugh at 'em all
You're never too small to hit the big time
One more slob feeling sick as a dog
After one more night on the booze
One more dive more dead that alive
Tryin' to get my message through
Now, maybe I'll never get my self together
Maybe its the end of the line
But I'm having a ball-bouncin' off the walls
You're never too small to hit the big time
You're never too small, you're never too small
You're never to small to hit the big time
They can make you crawl, they can make you fall
But you're never to small to hit the big time
You're never too small, you're never to small You're never too small to hit the big time
If you're fat, if you're bald it don't matter at all
'cos you're never to small-I said you're never to small
To hit the big time (Yes indeed)
(The big time(- limousines)
(The big time)-you can have it all
(The big time)- I say you're never too small
One more crowd shoutin'-turn it up loud
One more rose at my feet
One more ring from that cute little thing
One more reason to cheat
Well, maybe I'll never get myself together
Maybe its the end of the line...Ian Hunter CD: "YUI Orta"
Sleeve and track listing
Lemon CD LEM 6.
Review
Ian teamed up with his old mate Mick Ronson once again to record this album in the middle of 1989. Ian and Mick had toured the USA and Europe in late 1988/early 1989, before the album was even recorded, and the result is a highly polished album - one of their best.
Highlights include the Stonsey Women's Intuition (if only Mick 'n' Keef were still this good!), the full-tilt rocker How Much More Can I Take, Big Time (Ian borrows his own riff from Once Bitten...), Tell It Like It Is (Mick borrowing the Get It On riff) and Mick's guitar showcase Sweet Dreamer which is breathtaking beautiful.
When the album was released, they toured the USA and Europe again to promote it. Intended in some ways as a comeback album for both men, the record company did little to promote it themselves, and it didn't sell in great numbers. They were dropped by the record company, and all plans for a follow-up were put on hold when Mick Ronson was diagnosed with liver cancer.
Unavailable for many years, this CD has finally been reissued on the Lemon label (a planned reissue on NMC having fallen through when NMC went bust). This reissue includes a couple of Ronno bonus tracks from 1971 - great for the completist but somewhat at odds with the rest of the album. The insert includes the lyrics from the original CD, but the sleeve notes are appallingly inaccurate - a shame really that Campbell Devine's notes for the aborted NMC release weren't used.
In 1995, Windsong issued an official release of their 15-Feb-89 concert, which had been recorded by the BBC for radio broadcast. This live album has since been reissued on Strange Fruit.
As is normal these days, there was material left over in the vaults, some of which is circulating amongst fans. This includes (Give Me Back My) Wings, which was demoed but never recorded, Ill Wind (now available on the Once Bitten Twice Shycompilation), More To Love Than Meets The Eye and Look Before You Leap, which IMO would have been a great single and features some beautiful guitar work from Mick Ronson
The album title is derived from "Why you... I ought to...", a phrase popularised by The Three Stooges.
Technical
The original CD
The reissued CD
Comments
Analysis of the reissued CD shows some compression being used; this has boosted overall loudness slightly (by some 2.2dB) without any noticeable affect on sound quality.
| Big Time | 4:03 | Originally issued on YUI Orta. |
| Big Time (live 15th February 1989) | 6:47 | This live version (recorded The Dominion, London England) can be found on BBC Live in Concert. |
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