Bigger Than America

Bigger Than America is the sixth studio album by the English synth-pop band Heaven 17. It was originally released in September 1996, on the label Eye of the Storm, eight years after their previous album, Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho.

Bigger Than America
Studio album by Heaven 17
Released	20 September 1996 (1996-09-20) (UK)
Genre	Synth-pop
Length	54:42
Label	Eye of the Storm WEA
Producer	B.E.F.
Heaven 17 chronology
Higher and Higher: The Best of Heaven 17 (1993) Bigger Than America (1996) Before After (2005)
Singles from Bigger Than America
"Designing Heaven" Released: 15 August 1996 (Germany) Released: 11 November 1996 (UK) "We Blame Love" Released: 17 February 1997 (Germany) Released: 5 May 1997 (UK/Europe)[1]

The album peaked at number one on Germany Alphabeat Redaktionscharts' Rock/Pop/Alternative Charts in November 1996, but did not chart in the UK. It was listed as number 6 on the online music magazine Addicted to Noise's Writers Poll.^[2]

In an interview with The Guardian in 2010, Ware recalled: "This went under the radar to the extent that hardly anybody in this country knew about it; we did do an album in '95 called Bigger Than America, which was our attempt to re-engage early analogue synths and create an album based on that. It just got lost in the big Warner Brothers machine."^[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[4]
Select	[5]

Upon its release, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian commented: "Heaven 17 have hardly changed [and] things are much the same - just less melodic. Marsh and Ware still produce plinky, one-tempo backbeats, [and] Gregory's lyrics are disillusioned, even morose. "We Blame Love" has the closest thing to a tune, which brings us to the crux of the matter - their status as godfathers of techno is unchallenged, but these songs are hollow and too samey."^[4]

Robert Semrow of Keyboard wrote: "[Heaven 17] were outstanding before, and have only improved with time. Each song is solid and very dancefloor-friendly. Bigger Than America is similar to their previous sound, with pads and dance grooves providing a backdrop for Gregory's unmistakable strong vocals. Lots of movement, lots of changes, and lots to enjoy."^[6] Howard Cohen of Knight Ridder summarised: "Erasure-like Europop cuts 'Freak!' and 'Another Big Idea' are danceable enough, and there's a throbbing Giorgio Moroder dance remix. But this is largely tuneless, boring stuff. Which explains why few missed Heaven 17 in the first place."^[7]

Track listing

1. "Dive" – 4:30
2. "Designing Heaven" – 5:15
3. "We Blame Love" – 4:49
4. "Another Big Idea" – 4:57
5. "Freak!" – 4:09
6. "Bigger Than America" – 4:00
7. "Unreal Everything" – 4:10
8. "The Big Dipper" – 4:57
9. "Do I Believe?" – 4:57
10. "Resurrection Man" – 4:06
11. "Maybe Forever" – 4:42
12. "An Electronic Prayer" – 4:06
13. "Designing Heaven – (Mies Van Der Rohe mix)" +
14. "Designing Heaven (Den Hemmel Designen) – (Gregorio remix)" +

Tracks marked with "+" are bonus tracks added to the other version of the CD album.

Personnel

• Glenn Gregory
• Ian Craig Marsh
• Martyn Ware

Production

• Ray Smith – cover art

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for Bigger Than America

Chart (1996/97)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[8]	155