Big Big Train Appreciation

I got my ticket for Newcastle on 26th October 

Got my ticket for the Newport gig on 1 November. Can't wait!

dougmcauliffe wrote: World tour was my introduction to the band, what a stunning album, my album of the year as of now. I also love English electric 1

There was a sparkling review of The Anvil concert in The Times as well.

Thought you’d all love to see a nice review in the Daily Express of the new live album from Big Big Train.

Big Big Train.

Merchants of Light.

(English Electric).

***** 5 Stars.

To convert the age-old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' to audio sums up this remarkable record release by Big Big Train. It smartly narrates itself as it sinks deep into the listener's psyche.

Intriguing song titles: A Mead Hall In Winter, Experimental Gentlemen, The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun, Telling The Bees and Victorian Brickwork is accompanied by an exquisite blend of melodious English folk prog sounds.

However, it's the superior musicianship splicing the whole show together that wins out.

Just listening to the supercharged sound of a group of musicians hitting their stride and showing their class, as brass blends with string instruments, on A Mead Hall In Winter is a thrilling ride alone.

Singer David Longdon brings a Gabriel style rasp to his vocals harking back to early Genesis, especially when joined by mellotron sounds and Greg Spawton's bass pedals. All of which reinforces BBT's unique approach to incorporating their impeccable musical influences to create their own distinctive sound.

This rare live outing recorded last year at The Cadogan Hall, London, reveals a band breezing full steam ahead on these hot polished tracks.

I enjoyed the Anvil gig (of course) but for me the sound wasn’t great.

I love watching and listening to NDV but the drums were too loud, drowning out most of the subtleties that BBT are so good at. There is no point having 13 instruments in the mix and allowing the drums to totally dominate.

And David Longdonks voice was a little muffled much of the time. I couldn’t actually understand what he was saying between tracks.

(Longdonk....!! Great typo, I’ll Leave it there!)

I made my comments on the ultra positive (worshipful?) Facebook group in a very supportive and respectful manner (as did a number of others) and incurred Mrs NDV’s displeasure!

Sounds like they absolutely killed it at Loreley, which will do them no harm at all.

Hi, folks! I'm new to the PA Forum. I thought I'd share my great appreciation for BBT. I found out about BBT through PROG magazine a number of years ago, and finally got around to listening to their recordings very recently. I started with the English Electric CDs.

If I had to summarize the BBT appeal in one phrase, I would say that they are real people playing real music about real things. There's an emotional honesty conveyed by their songs that I can only compare to those of the band Renaissance. In particular, "East Coast Racer" and "Curator Of Butterflies" are unbelievably moving songs.

Cheers to all BBT fans!

^ Welcome back to the top tier! It's going to be an exciting season for your lads.