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Big Big Train Appreciation

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proggman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote proggman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 16 2013 at 18:03
Big Big Train is one of my favorite bands right now, I really like The Underfall Yard and the English Electric albums.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote timbo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 17 2013 at 06:07
Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

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.


So get it on Bandcamp instead http://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/
At least the artist gets a much bigger cut of your money than they do from Amazon.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Ozric Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 17 2013 at 18:46
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.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AtomicCrimsonRush Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 17 2013 at 21:01
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?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aussie-Byrd-Brother Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 17 2013 at 21:16
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!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 18 2013 at 01:25
Originally posted by timbo timbo wrote:

Originally posted by richardh richardh wrote:

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.


So get it on Bandcamp instead http://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/
At least the artist gets a much bigger cut of your money than they do from Amazon.

Decided just to get the EP instead. I nearly always buy from Amazon (sorry!)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote someone_else Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 18 2013 at 04:01
Originally posted by AtomicCrimsonRush 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.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AtomicCrimsonRush Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 18 2013 at 04:07
Thats all fair enough too Mr Else and Mr Brother. I appreciate your comments as it certainly appeals to a wide audience - both albums offering something refreshing for all tastes. The bar was set very high with part one - too high perhaps, but I look fwd to their next release hopefully soon

 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kazza3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January 06 2014 at 21:46
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.



I'm a big fan of Rikard's, so this is great news.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote POTA Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 21 2014 at 23:24
I can't seem to stop listening to this band lately. I've especially been obsessed with English Electric, Pt. Two and Far Skies Deep Time.

The Wide Open Sea has to now be in my top 10-15 prog epics ever. 

Another really good track.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote geekfreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 22 2014 at 09:01
youtubes, thanks most enjoyable BBT... band yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Metalmarsh89 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2014 at 00:44
I've still only heard two of their albums (Far Skies Deep Time and Underfall Yard), and they are absolutely amazing. I don't know why I keep forgetting about them in my prog collection. Master of Time has become one of my favorite prog tracks ever as well. Beautiful.


Want to play mafia? Visit here.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote geekfreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 26 2014 at 07:02
yeah a cool amazing musicians. total PROG...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Ozric Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mirror Image Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Horizons Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote POTA Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 23 2014 at 12:03
Originally posted by Horizons 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
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Duke of Rother Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tom Ozric Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October 04 2014 at 06:50
Sjoblom in BBT - this I just gotta hear.   Love BBT, love Beardfish more..........
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