I couldn't get into Big Big Train..(Opinion Piece)

I bought English Electric Full Power on a whim, because Amazon thought I would like it (and the reviews were very good!) and I was blown away - eventually.  I knew right away I liked it, but it took a number of listens before I realised how much I loved it.  If you asked me right now I would rate it as my favourite album of all time.

Interesting comment zachfive.

I have often said myself that David Longdon improved them hugely because of the vocal melodies he introduced to the songs. Pre Longdon the music was very good but the vocals almost seemed unrelated to what else was going on.

Filkins was ok, but before him the vocals were at times, bloody horrible.

I have listened to some of their stuff but ultimately I find them too backward-looking. It's the kind of music that delights me with its high quality when I come across it in random places of which I wouldn't expect really good music. I can listen to them very well and appreciate them, but I don't find the kind of spark of fresh originality (or the kind of magic that some music has that speaks to me personally) in their music that I need to really get interested.

They remind me of The Watch and Citizen Cain ie Genesis...but a tad too much for me to be comfortable. To these ears they are straddling the fence of plagiarism. Great musicians though but I'd much rather spin any Genesis album from the 70s before I turn to BBT.

Sorry I don't mean to be...yeah well mean. I just find the constant back n forth between Gabriel/Collins vocals, the duetting rhythm guitars and mellotron as well as the carbon copy Hackett leads all lead back to Genesis.
I have yet to come across a tune of theirs that didn't sound like Genesis.

Having in mind English Electris (full power), which is the only one I know (I'm just waiting for Folklore to arrive) I don't really find the vocals so similar to Genesis... it's rather the pastoral feel of the music and the instrumental sections... even if they have more instruments to build up. Of course, there's just about none of the theatric and goofy aspects Genesis was fond to add to their albums. Actually, I find that Big Big Train (or at least EE) remind me of Genesis much more than, for example, Marillion (of whom I really find little similarity except for the vocals... and well, the fact that they are prog too).

They do recall 'classic' Genesis, but do not really sons like them. Only in influence. Greg Spawton is a true, modern-day, Prog music composer.

OtT, but I've never liked their name. Big Bad Train would have been better!

Hi,

moshkito wrote: zachfive wrote: souio wrote: ... I also found that there weren't very many memorable melodies, either. This sums up my experience with the band. Musically I enjoy them very much. I just feel the vocals are sung in this style where each word is sung with this kind of prolonged grandeur that becomes very wearisome and leaves little room for vocal melody. This is so strange, specially coming in a progressive forum ... so all music has to be about melody now? And progressive music, in its original forms, was more about experimenting and creating new feelings and musics, and not necessarily "melody", when at the time, a lot of things that did not exactly follow the "melody" line, was considered "anti-music". I'm missing something!

Edited by Guldbamsen - August 12 2016 at 08:52