Big Sky (song)
[11] Author Johnny Rogan finds Ray's comment both "reductive and obtuse" and suggests he was hesitant to discuss any potential theological theme due to fears of being misinterpreted.
[20][note 3] Author Christian Matijas-Mecca describes "Big Sky" as an example of introspective rock music that began appearing post-psychedelia, writing that the singer's detachment from both society and himself is channelled into "a hoped-for state of being".
[29][note 6] Reflecting in 1984, Ray expressed that "Big Sky" was one of his favourite songs, though he was unsatisfied with the finished recording,[27] finding his vocal performance and the production wanting.
'"[41] In a retrospective assessment, critic Rick Clark of the All Music Guide (now AllMusic) describes "Big Sky" as one of Village Green's highlights,[42] and author Andy Miller praises the song in laudatory terms, designating it the creative peak of the album while comparing it to the best work of Lennon–McCartney and Bob Dylan.
[43] He disputes Ray's disparagement of the song's production, finding it instead, "perfectly balanced", "scintillating in design and execution" and "some of the most beautiful, thunderous music [the Kinks] ever recorded".
[19] Author Nicholas Schaffner describes the song as "the closest [Ray] ever came to a theological statement",[46] while Mendelssohn characterises it as "probably the most cogent expression of the precept that religion is the opiate of the people in rock history.
[49] Critic Rob Sheffield compares "Big Sky" to another of Ray's 1967 songs, "Waterloo Sunset", writing that it transports the listener to "an equally unforgiving country locale" with a sense of resignation that is "almost mystical".
[50] Kitts further suggests that the resignation of the singer hints at a death wish, something he relates to other songs on Village Green, like "Johnny Thunder", "Phenomenal Cat" and "Sitting by the Riverside".
[19] Author Clinton Heylin describes "Big Sky" as a "choice cut", being a major statement on Ray's part and an indication that he "could not suppress a more autobiographical view of the world."
[51][note 7] Miller likewise views the song as a departure from Village Green's central themes of memory and desire,[26] and Morgan Enos of Billboard magazine writes it deals in "heavenly" concerns where the rest of the album is largely "terrestrial".
[57] Miller describes a heavy rock performance of "Big Sky" at the Fillmore West in 1970 as resembling Jimi Hendrix's version of "Hey Joe", though he concludes the treatment is "horrible", with Ray's "beautiful words" hidden under the guitar work of Dave.
[58] On the suggestion of musician Clint Conley,[59] American indie rock band Yo La Tengo covered "Big Sky" for their 1986 debut album, Ride the Tiger.
[63] In Tom Semioli's review of the album for AllMusic, he writes that the cover sounds "as fresh and vital as the day [it was] written",[63] while Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork calls it "inessential", criticising it for being too similar to the original.
