A MUSICIAN based in Canada has paid homage to Dunfermline's favourite son Stuart Adamson with an album in his honour.

The late Big Country frontman has inspired generations of songwriters and guitarists both in his hometown and overseas, with Allister Thompson the latest to pay tribute.

The 47-year-old cites Adamson as his "single biggest influence" when it comes to playing lead guitar and is evidenced on The People We Should Be: The Songs of Stuart Adamson.

The release, available now on Bandcamp, is 11 tracks in depth and the record is completed by an instrumental 'thank you' from Thompson.

Speaking to Press:ON, he said: "I don't think I can remember the exact moment (I heard Big Country for the first time).

"I was a bit too young to be part of their first wave of fans.

"I was really into folk-rock starting at the age of 16, so the trad-style stuff like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. I also got into bands like the Waterboys and Pogues, we're talking about 1989.

"At some point around that year, I heard Big Country and was immediately entranced by several aspects: the Scottish melodies and rhythms; the more textured 'bagpipey' stuff they created using Ebows; and the lyrics, which were very introspective and poetic.

"There was so much passion in the music, and the fusion of folk melody with thundering rock was really inspiring to me.

"I obviously can't pretend to know what he was like as a person, never having met him. But it's obvious from his writing that he was a very empathetic person – songs like Chance, Come Back to Me, and Just a Shadow are clear evidence of that. He clearly cared a lot about people. I really respond to that.

"As a musician, the guitar stuff is great, but if you read his lyrics, particularly from The Crossing and Steeltown, it's clear this was a major poetic talent, not a mere rock lyricist.

"The lyrics are deep and have a timeless melancholy."

The People We Should Be is Thompson's second tribute to date following a prior release in dedication to the late Grant McLennan and his band, The Go-Betweens.

A chance listen to Big Country one day sparked the idea for this album, as he felt he "knew" the songs his ears were hearing, having spent so much time with them.

"Adamson was a huge influence on how I play lead guitar – probably the single biggest influence," he said.

"So I thought, why not give a couple of songs a go and see if arrangements started coming to me? And it went from there."

He had two aims with the album, he says. He chose his favourites and tracks that he could add a new layer of interpretation to.

"If you just try to parrot the original song, you're a tribute act or cover band," Thompson remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with that but I've always admired it when someone does a really interesting new interpretation of a song that draws out some different aspect of it. So that's my aim – to do something new with it, if possible, to put a new spin on it while retaining what was appealing about the original (I rarely mess with the original melodies).

"And, of course, I have to feel I can perform it well. Adamson was a full octave higher than me in his comfortable singing range so I had to make sure my arrangements in my range still sounded compelling."

However, 10 songs didn't feel "complete", hence the addition of the 11th track: A Boy From Dunfermline (For Stuart).

Thompson, who lives in Northern Ontario with his wife, said: "Since Adamson is the biggest influence on me as a player, I thought why not put that influence on full display and see if I could go full Scottish myself? And it was also a way to say thank you to Adamson for what he's given me."

When asked how highly he thought of Adamson as both a guitarist and as a songwriter, he said: "He was a very skilled guitarist with great chops – as is Bruce Watson (Big Country).

"He was also innovative in his use of emerging guitar tech (pedals, Ebow, etc) to conjure up the atmospheres he wanted. He hit upon a distinct idea, rhythmically, which I think must have been inspired partially by the great Bill Nelson, who had produced The Skids – I hear a definite influence there.

"But Adamson made those rhythms his own by returning them to his own culture and celebrating that. The only other guitarist I can think of that really pioneered that in a big way in Scotland is Malcolm Jones, from Runrig, who is also excellent.

"As a songwriter, as I've said, there's a timelessness in the poetic sensibilities and empathy in Adamson's writing that makes him stand out from most of his contemporaries."

The People We Should Be: Songs by Stuart Adamson, is available to stream and purchase now on Bandcamp.