Big Big Train Appreciati&#111;n

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 03 2015 at 14:09

And from Lost Rivers of London...

Lost rivers of London
Long lost rivers of London
By the palace and the abbeys
By the lakes in the parks
Black waters rise
From one hundred springs and wells

Lost rivers of London Town
Long lost rivers of London Town
Underneath the houses on the Old Kent Road
If you listen very hard
You can hear the river flow

Headwaters out on the hills and the meadows run through the fields
To the city streets paved with stone
And after the rain through the cracks in the pavement
The rivers will rise as they make their way to the shore

Another bad lyric.

(Shakes head)

Edited by Duke of Rother - June 03 2015 at 14:11

Duke of Rother View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: March 04 2013
Location: Windsor, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 99

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 03 2015 at 14:03

Horizons wrote:

Unfortunately i'm not too much of a fan of the EP myself.

I think the background vocals are a bit predictable and the lyrics are just.. bad.

The music throughout the EP is fine, nowhere near the degree of earlier releases.

A weaker EP than their last, and overall i'd say the sound is a bit uninspired.

Return to the womb
Deep down in the earth
Wait for the spring rebirth
The clayen cup
We douse the roots
With cider kept from last year's fruits
Cut in twain
A five pointed star
A sign of who we are
Let spirits fly
The apple of my eye
Wassail

That's a BAD lyric????

Oh well, can't please 'em all I suppose.

POTA

Forum Senior Member

Joined: November 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 173

Post Options

Quote POTA

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 03 2015 at 10:56

Dellinger wrote:

So, I just got my English Electric, Full Power CD a few months ago, this being my first encounter with the band. I must say I really enjoyed this album(s). I think it's a very nice kind of prog, mostly stripping all the weirdness and experimentation it might have, and using all the knowledg gained from said experimentations to make a wonderful sound, complex, but not for the sake of being complex and showing off... they do what the music asks them to do. And it's all so pastoral and nice, using as many instruments as necessary. I feel this would have been the natural evolution for Genesis, had they continued on the path set with Foxtrot and Selling England... actually, I would say this albums sound much more like Genesis than Marillion ever did.

And the replay value on the band's tracks (at least for me) is so high. If I were forced to choose a band's discography to have on a desert island for the rest of my life, I would likely choose BBT (Pink Floyd being the close second).

Roj

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: July 02 2008
Location: Manchester, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 3126

Post Options

Quote Roj

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 03 2015 at 02:48

I've not got this ep yet but Master James of St George is one of my favourite BBT songs so.......

richardh

Prog Reviewer

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28054

Post Options

Quote richardh

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 03 2015 at 02:33

POTA wrote:

The live version of "Master James" is significant since it's the first live track released by the band. They actually sound really good live, so it's unfortunate they chose this as the song to include, as it's not one of their best.

I would have to beg to differ on that point although I've yet to hear the live version or this EP.

Dellinger

Forum Senior Member

VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12732

Post Options

Quote Dellinger

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 02 2015 at 21:29

So, I just got my English Electric, Full Power CD a few months ago, this being my first encounter with the band. I must say I really enjoyed this album(s). I think it's a very nice kind of prog, mostly stripping all the weirdness and experimentation it might have, and using all the knowledge gained from said experimentations to make a wonderful sound, complex, but not for the sake of being complex and showing off... they do what the music asks them to do. And it's all so pastoral and nice, using as many instruments as necessary. I feel this would have been the natural evolution for Genesis, had they continued on the path set with Foxtrot and Selling England... actually, I would say this albums sound much more like Genesis than Marillion ever did.

Edited by Dellinger - August 21 2015 at 21:28

Horizons

Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 20 2011
Location: Somewhere Else
Status: Offline
Points: 16952

Post Options

Quote Horizons

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 02 2015 at 13:34

Unfortunately i'm not too much of a fan of the EP myself.

I think the background vocals are a bit predictable and the lyrics are just.. bad.

The music throughout the EP is fine, nowhere near the degree of earlier releases.

A weaker EP than their last, and overall i'd say the sound is a bit uninspired.

Crushed like a rose in the riverflow.

Duke of Rother View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: March 04 2013
Location: Windsor, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 99

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 02 2015 at 13:15

So ok, Wassail and Make Some Noise don't float your boat, that's fine.

Bad songs?

Ermm, I'll say no more than just reassure those into whom POTA might have placed some doubts - ignore him, it's an excellent ep.

POTA

Forum Senior Member

Joined: November 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 173

Post Options

Quote POTA

https://open.spotify.com/album/2iMoDLk4KABDX3CDvmjkRZ

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: June 02 2015 at 12:35

The band just released a new EP (Wassail) with three new tracks and a live version of Master James of St. George.

I'm really unsatisfied with the album. "Wassail" is just a bad song. That's saying a lot since I think they've only had one single truly bad song in many years -- that being "Make Some Noise" (the title is a good indicator of how horrible the song is).

"Lost Rivers of London" sounds like a parody of a Big Big Train song, like "Seen Better Days" or "Wincester from St. Giles' Hill" . It's almost hard to listen to at first. The second half of the song is actually delightfully progressive, though.

"Mudlarks" is the best of the three new tracks. It's a mostly-instrumental, progressive track. It alone brings any sort of value to the album.

Anyway, check it out on Spotify.

Edited by POTA - June 02 2015 at 12:35

geekfreak

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 21 2013
Location: Musical Garden
Status: Offline
Points: 9872

Post Options

Quote geekfreak

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: October 06 2014 at 02:23

I`m with you on this band, as they where well under my radar...

Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake."

Music Is Live

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

Keep Calm And Listen To The Music…
<

richardh

Prog Reviewer

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28054

Post Options

Quote richardh

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: October 05 2014 at 03:08

Still going up my own personal favourite list of bands. I love Goodbye To The Age Of Steam especially but they have so many excellent albums to listen to. Seem to one of those bands that were (are?) flying under the radar.

Tom Ozric

Prog Reviewer

Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15921

Post Options

Quote Tom Ozric

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: October 04 2014 at 06:50

Sjoblom in BBT - this I just gotta hear. Love BBT, love Beardfish more..........

Duke of Rother View Drop Down

Forum Groupie

Joined: March 04 2013
Location: Windsor, UK
Status: Offline
Points: 99

Post Options

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: October 04 2014 at 05:48

Can't get enough of them myself.

They are performing live at Kings Place London next August. The venue holds just 420 all seated and the 2 days sold out to the Facebook Group members in 24 hours. (Fri/Sat 14th & 15th August 2015).

There will also be a Sunday matinee added and tickets will go on sale sometime in the next 2 weeks - open to all via the Kings Place website.

Looks like some of you guys are massive fans so I thought I'd let you know - best place to find out about the tickets will be the Facebook Group (if you do FB that is!).

They are doing a series of re-recordings of old songs - that will be a triple album called Station Masters and I think that is slated for mid 2015 release. There are also a load of songs partially recorded which will make up new album releases in 2016 and 2017.

They did a recent few days at Real World studios so there will be a DVD release from that in the relatively near future.

2 new band members have been announced, Rachel Hall, violinist and Rikard Sjoblom from Beardfish, making BBT an 8 piece. They, + the 5 piece brass band that have featured so wonderfully on recent albums will fill the stage, that's for sure. Good job they are past the age of leaping around!

Edited by Duke of Rother - October 04 2014 at 05:50

POTA

Forum Senior Member

Joined: November 17 2005
Status: Offline
Points: 173

Post Options

Quote POTA

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: July 23 2014 at 12:03

Horizons wrote:

Wide Open Sea is great, though it has its flaws.

I think it's pretty much the perfect song. There's just one little thing I think would make it slightly better toward the end.

For the past five months I've been listening almost exclusively to BBT. I've never listened to a band so much before and not gotten burnt out. I get to that point in the day where I get sick of listening to them. But by the next day or two, I'm dying to hear those songs again.

I've mostly been using Spotify to listen to them. I've created a couple stations based on their tracks, so I get a mix of other related music (Spock's Beard, Airbag, Mystery, Unitopia, etc). But I find myself skipping them a lot of the time till another BBT track pops up.

Edit: Obligatory YouTube embeds.

Recording sessions for the brass sections of The Underfall Yard

The song itself.

Edited by POTA - July 23 2014 at 12:07

Horizons

Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: January 20 2011
Location: Somewhere Else
Status: Offline
Points: 16952

Post Options

Quote Horizons

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: July 10 2014 at 00:02

Part 1 of EE is better than Part 2 imo.

Difference Machine is fantastic.

Far Skies Deep Time is another fantastic album - Wide Open Sea is great, though it has its flaws.

Edited by Horizons - July 10 2014 at 00:04

Crushed like a rose in the riverflow.

Mirror Image View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: December 13 2011
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2111

Post Options

Quote Mirror Image

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: July 09 2014 at 23:56

I just can't get into Big Big Train. I bought English Electric I & II and find myself not very moved by the music. To me, and this is maybe ONLY me, but the music seems to take a backseat a lot of times. The music very rarely penetrates through and hits me in the gut like my favorites tend to do. I don't know I'm still on the fence with this band or so it would seem.

Edited by Mirror Image - July 10 2014 at 00:05

“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov

Tom Ozric

Prog Reviewer

Joined: September 03 2005
Location: Olympus Mons
Status: Offline
Points: 15921

Post Options

Quote Tom Ozric

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: July 09 2014 at 23:50

English Electric Part I = Excellent
English Electric Part II = Sheer Brilliance
Both as dbl LP's with the re-formatted track list and bonus tracks. I listen to the 2nd EE probably 3 times to 1 against EE part I.

Edited by Tom Ozric - July 09 2014 at 23:51

richardh

Prog Reviewer

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 28054

Post Options

Quote richardh

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: July 09 2014 at 14:08

Just gone a bit 'mad' and bought 5 albums direct from the band at the same time

Listening to Goodbye To The Age Of Steam at the moment , absolutely beautiful album on first listen. Also got The Underfall Yard , The Difference Machine , Gathering Speed and Far Skies Deep Time to add to Electric Electric (1 &2) and English Boy Wonders. All good! Is there a more consistent band around other than IQ?

geekfreak

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 21 2013
Location: Musical Garden
Status: Offline
Points: 9872

Post Options

Quote geekfreak

Thanks(0)

Quote

Posted: April 26 2014 at 07:02

yeah a cool amazing musicians. total PROG...

Friedrich Nietzsche: "Without music, life would be a mistake."

Music Is Live

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

Keep Calm And Listen To The Music…
<

Metalmarsh89 View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 15 2013
Location: Oregon, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2673

Post Options

Quote Metalmarsh89