ENGLISH ELECTRIC (PART TWO)

First of all, find strong songwriters. THE UNDERFALL YARD, an earlier Big Big Train masterpiece, was almost entirely written by founding member Greg Spawton. He did a great job, but both of the ENGLISH ELECTRIC albums feature compositions by Spawton AND by vocalist David Longdon, which leads to far more variety. Although neither of these gentlemen can be called a wordsmith on the level of, say, Bob Dylan, they don't shy away from weighty themes. 'East Coast Racer', for example, is about a locomotive setting the world record for steam trains; 'Worked Out' deals with the hard life of English miners; and 'Keeper of Abbeys' is about someone who looks after a ruined abbey in North England. By the way, David Longdon must be the first British songwriter to adorn one highly catchy tune (on ENGLISH ELECTRIC PT. 1) with the chorus

Infamous forger and restorer - Judas Unrepentant / Branded a charming old lovable rogue - Judas Unrepentant / Hey! Judas Unrepentant / Hey! Judas

On ENGLISH ELECTRIC PT. 2, Longdon is once again responsible for several bright and highly infectious melodies, e.g. 'Leopards' (about an unreliable lover who keeps changing their spots) and 'Swan Hunter', which he co-wrote with Spawton. The latter came up with 'The Permanent Way' and 'Curator of Butterflies', two of the most moving tunes in the BBT canon. Believe me, it really is refreshing to follow the ruminations of intelligent rockers who are deeply touched by history and the passing of time!

Secondly, you need expert musicians to bring your songs to life. BBT used to be a peculiar band: around the time of their ENGLISH ELECTRIC recordings they never gigged, and most of them didn't even meet in the recording studio. The musicians involved were all given tunes to work on, and then developed their own highly personal arrangements in their own time. Since most of them are superb instrumentalists, they came up with some magnificent ideas. Lead guitarist Dave Gregory devised some truly riveting solos; Rachel Hall created the most beautiful parts for violin; guest keyboardist Andy Tillison provided some truly whacky synth and organ solos; Danny Manners turned out to be a master pianist; Dave Desmond wrote deeply moving arrangements for brass quartet (not the kind of sound you'd expect from any other prog ensemble!) and Nick D'Virgilio was encouraged to go wild in the studio - something that later caused him a certain degree of trouble, when he had to figure out how to play his parts live! To top it all, Spawton and Longdon wrote highly accomplished vocal arrangements. (When BBT eventually started playing live, it was sheer joy to hear how Nick D'Virgilio, Rikard Sjöblom, Rachel Hall and others brought the backing vocals to life.)

ENGLISH ELECTRIC PT. 2 is almost an hour long, and there's not a weak moment on the album. If you bear in mind that other, equally strong, BBT albums with David Longdon at the helm (i.e. THE UNDERFALL YARD, ENGLISH ELECTRIC PT. 1, and FOLKLORE) are about the same length (while at least half of the 67-minute GRIMSPOUND is superb as well), it seems 'classic' Big Big Train achieved at least as much as their renowned 1970s 'symphonic prog' predecessors. Bravissimi!

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