ENGLISH ELECTRIC (PART ONE)

Being a huge fan of Big Big Train's 'Underfall Yard', I eagerly awaited the release of 'English Electric Part 1' and I have not been disappointed. I consider this release to be the prog album of the year which is a grand statement considering all the quality prog released in 2012.

The album begins with 'The First Rebreather', which is a track that would have been right at home on Genesis' "Wind and Wuthering" album. After 'Underfall Yard', it's been no secret to anyone that BBT has revived the classic Genesis sound and 'The First Rebreather' is probably the greatest single example of that. Next up is one of the album's best tracks,'Uncle Jack'. Very melodic track and I find myself wishing the song had at least one additional verse, I like the folky aspect of this tune and hope to see BBT venture more into this area in the future. Remaining standout is 'Judas Unrepentant', which is very nearly a perfect song, in my humble opinion. Pacing is perfect, the lyrics tell a wonderful story and the chorus is memorable.

Not to overlook the remaining tracks on this album, they are all quite excellent, but I felt particular compelled to comment on the 3 tracks I mentioned above. The album as a whole plays out like a collection of short stories from English history. Each stands on its own and this is an album which will continue to hold up years from now. It is hard to imagine that BBT will be able to top this effort with the upcoming 'English Electric Part 2', but this band continues to amaze & surprise me so I remain optimistic. Solid 5 stars, this is a modern prog classic.