Big Big Train Appreciation

youtubes, thanks most enjoyable BBT... band yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

News: Big Big Train are going to start playing live shows again, and joining them for these shows, is Rikard Sjoblom from Beardfish!! They're making a DVD of sessions at Real World Studios, London later in the year.

AtomicCrimsonRush wrote: English Electric part one = ***** masterpiece English electric part two = *** good i dont know know why they eliminated all the complexity and killer melodies on part 2 - it was nothing special Any thoughts?

EE1 is a masterpiece indeed. A full ***** which is ranked #2 on my 2012 list, but it would be #1 in most other post-2000 years.
EE2 surely has some fine moments; with The Permanent Way (many themes from EE1 converge in this song) and East Coast Racer (I love the piano version of Summoned By Bell's final and the 41/8 rhythm pattern from about 9 to 12 minutes in this track) as highlights. Sometimes this album draws too close to easy listening. A song like Leopards may be a plesant listen on a sunny Saturday morning. Still worth four stars and a stripe. I think it will end up in the middle part of my top 10 for 2013.

Part two was lovely, Scott! Yes, it's less overtly `proggy' than the first, but it's very grand, melodic, lush and sophisticated. The vocal harmonies and arrangements in particular are superb on it!

I like that it has it's own identity compared to the first, sounds different, and wasn't merely `more of the same', or `leftovers' from Part 01.

Both great albums!

Looking at the cover for English Electric Part 1, I thought the inside gatefold photo was a close-up of icecream - then reading through the artwork credits realised that it is rust. Rust as art ?? Very inspired, just like the music contained within.

Big Big Train is one of my favorite bands right now, I really like The Underfall Yard and the English Electric albums.

So £14 on Amazon to get only 4 new songs if you have the two albums already. It really needed a live disc to make it tempting for me.

I loved Underfall Yard and acquired Far Skies Deep Time when it came out but they kind of got forgotten about in a wash of other new bands. Just ordered the new English Electric package with the 4 new songs, guess it's time to catch up on Far Skies.

Edited by TheGazzardian - October 06 2013 at 21:11

Several months ago I acquired the beautifully done 2LP package of 'English Electric - Part One' and, whilst the music is fresh and exciting (easily a 4 star album), I must say that the band had a lot of outside help (some great names included) - how do they pull this material off live I wonder ??

I still haven't heard this band, though I have gotten somewhat interested because of all the hype this English Electric albums have been getting. However, I just read something about them releasing both albums in one package, and even including some extra song there. I'm thinking I may go with this version of the albums...