WELCOME TO THE PLANET

It's sad writing this review, reflecting on the recent loss of the great David Longdon. This is his final album and it's hard to believe that we won't hear him ever again as, for me (and probably many others) he was the distinctive sound of Big Big Train. It's hard to imagine them carrying on with another vocalist, as he was such a unique and identifiable facet of the music.

So, on to the album review. At the time of writing, there are 29 ratings, and the rating for 'Welcome to the Planet' is 4.44 - A masterpiece of progressive rock music! I'm somewhat surprised. Maybe it's in tribute to David and people are just being kind but seriously - this is a better album than The Underfall Yard and English Electric Parts 1 and 2? To my ears, these are definitely the best works of BBT and have never been bettered, followed by Folklore, which is also a great album.

But what about this album? 'Made from Sunshine' begins in a toe-curlingly cringeworthy way. I seriously cringe when I hear it, but it does get better in the verses and chorus. BBT seem to want to start their albums with a poppy, upbeat short song (Common Ground had 'The Strangest Times'). The best track on the album is 'A Proper Jack Froster' which has the emotional kick that many of the other tracks do not, but it's a seasonal track about Christmas and therefore a bit limited in scope. The other tracks don't leave much of an impression and seem to lack the power of their earlier albums. The album finishes with the title track, which to my ears is a complete departure from the house style of BBT and sounds a bit bizarre and unfocused - 'prog cabaret!'. I don't think it was a good idea to finish David's final album with this track, as it's mainly Carly on vocals - it would have been better to have finished with 'Oak and Stone' as a tribute and farewell to David.

With David gone, where do BBT go from here? The band must be given kudos for trying something new, but I don't think the experiments have worked very well and this album lacks the qualities of epic-ness and emotional power of something like 'The Transit of Venus Across the Sun' from Folklore. Whatever is next for BBT, no one knows, but it would be a shame if they have already produced their best work and just limped on from lacklustre album to lacklustre album like latter-day Yes, dragging down the reputation of the band. To my ears, this showing doesn't bode well for the future. Whatever happens, thank you BBT for all the wonderful music until now.