Big Big Train Appreciation

It's taken a few listens to establish it, but my favourite song from Grimspound atm is the title track. I love that acapella section at the end.

A Mead Hall In Winter is my personal favourite.

Those little hook melodies are just so addictive.

Right up there with the best they've done and that's saying something.

The new album is incredible! Repeat listening at the moment..

Here's the album cover.

Respected. Minority opinion though by the looks of it.

So `Grimspound' landed in less than a year from `Folklore', and now within a few weeks of `Grimspound' they have another stacked full album...and some of it contains full-length versions of pieces off that previous album that were shortened? Along with a couple of DVD/Bluray releases in that time, an EP, and a live album, BBT needs to seriously calm down and stop flooding the market with so much stuff...which will likely lead to a `Full Power' complete reissue before too long as well!

I'm still making my way through `Folklore' and haven't even bought `Grimspound' yet, let alone this new one!

Mind you, the `Stone and Steel' live bluray is superb (Ha, and that runs about three hours as well! )!

It is quite simple really. They have a great team of creative musicians, are giving them all the space to contribute and thrive within the group, and are making hay while the sun shines and they are at their creative peak.

Their material is of a consistently high quality, if it is still coming out of the writing methods they use, why sit on it?

And it most definitely is consistently A1 material. (There are 8 of them, to 1 of Steven Wilson - but any comparisons are utterly trite.)

I'm confused. You said you hadn't caught onto the magic of their music yet you love all their albums...??

Tom Ozric wrote: ^ Oh, I had a few drinks and it scattered what I was trying to say (and ignore the 'magic' statement, dunno quite what I meant there ??.) but what I meant was something more like ; I hope the quality of their music doesn't suffer with the amazingly quick outpouring of material. I wasn't completely sold on Folklore, it has a lot of good stuff on it, but some things didn't quite click with me. And both the EE albums are superb, especially the 2nd instalment. These are the 3 I have (being, exclusively, a vinyl obsessive) - I'm eager for their latest on vinyl. Still, not making much sense eh ??

Also the 3 Big Big Train albums I have (though the English Electric ones I have on the Full Power version). I do love English Electric, it struck me as using the instrumental beauty of prog for the sake of the music and not for the sake of being prog. However, Folklore did dissapointed me somehow... the instrumental parts do sound like being there for the sake of being prog now, and I sort of don't find the melodies so inspired. Still enjoyable, but not in the same league for me. And now I'm not sure if I want to get this new albums from this year... I guess I'll listen to them first, though... and there's still "The Underfall Yard" to consider.

I've found the last two albums the BBT albums I like the least.  The opener on the new one is superb but despite repeated listens the rest is not moving me.  I don't think it's as though they've particularly changed their style, just that the material isn't resonating.  The Underfall Yard-Far Skies Deep Time-EE Part 1 was a helluva run, three fantastic release in succession, but since then not quite for me.