Big Big Train v. "The Likes Of Us" OUT NOW; European Tour Sept/Oct 2024!

[Zydar]

We're delighted to share 'Brave Captain' from our forthcoming live CD/Blu-ray set 'Summer Shall Not Fade'. "Our performance at Loreley in 2018 proved to be a very special evening for the band as it was the exact point at which we realised we could command bigger stages and play to larger audiences. Luckily, there was a film crew on site to capture the entire performance" (Greg Spawton).

https://youtu.be/FJRlKKqYdmU

[HOF]

We're delighted to share 'Brave Captain' from our forthcoming live CD/Blu-ray set 'Summer Shall Not Fade'. "Our performance at Loreley in 2018 proved to be a very special evening for the band as it was the exact point at which we realised we could command bigger stages and play to larger audiences. Luckily, there was a film crew on site to capture the entire performance" (Greg Spawton).

https://youtu.be/FJRlKKqYdmU

Watched this last night. Wonderful performance. Looking forward to next month!

Also, for those Passenger Club members (and those who aren't, you really should consider joining!), there is a rehearsal video up this week of the band playing through Snowfalls. I'm really sad they didn't play this at the show that was filmed, but at least we get to see the rehearsal performance. Alberto knocks it out vocally and really sounds great within the band. He's his own singer with his own personality, but he fits into David's range just right. Really like what Dave Foster did with the solo as well.

[Harmony]

We're delighted to share 'Brave Captain' from our forthcoming live CD/Blu-ray set 'Summer Shall Not Fade'. "Our performance at Loreley in 2018 proved to be a very special evening for the band as it was the exact point at which we realised we could command bigger stages and play to larger audiences. Luckily, there was a film crew on site to capture the entire performance" (Greg Spawton).

https://youtu.be/FJRlKKqYdmU

I watched this yesterday and had to take a few minutes afterward to have a good cry.  Simply phenomenal.

[Kram]

We're delighted to share 'Brave Captain' from our forthcoming live CD/Blu-ray set 'Summer Shall Not Fade'. "Our performance at Loreley in 2018 proved to be a very special evening for the band as it was the exact point at which we realised we could command bigger stages and play to larger audiences. Luckily, there was a film crew on site to capture the entire performance" (Greg Spawton).

https://youtu.be/FJRlKKqYdmU

I watched this yesterday and had to take a few minutes afterward to have a good cry.  Simply phenomenal.

Yeah, I was tearing up a bit as well.  Amazing performance.  The video looks great too!

[HOF]

Alberto was on this live stream by The Prog Report yesterday. There’s a lot of waffling about so it’s not the most engaging thing to watch. But he did say that they are spending basically the rest of this year writing material and then have plans to record together in Italy next May. Then they are trying to schedule some shows for late 2023 with hopes to come to the US in 2024.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E5PCWFnTe-Q&fbclid=IwAR3HXMwfERWvlGZq0dbjHoY_eTTDK23mMG44pyZTGSo2uNmiWZQoJQy66XY

That timeline sounds to me like the next album might not be out until late 2023 at the earliest, but I’d kind of expect 2024

[ProfessorPeart]

Something tells me we might get the Alberto show they recorded as a palate cleanser until the new album comes out. Just guessing. Also gives them some income for the new album.

[HOF]

Something tells me we might get the Alberto show they recorded as a palate cleanser until the new album comes out. Just guessing. Also gives them some income for the new album.

Yeah, I’d guess that will be out sometime in 2023. The known/hinted at releases on the horizon include:

- Summer Shall Not Fade (and Longdon’s solo album)
- Bard reissue
- Ingenious Devices (this is some sort of compilation album that will include orchestrated versions of East Coast Racer, Brooklands, and Voyager as revealed in the Between the Lines book).
- The Zotermeer show

So those would help tide us and the band over until 2024. I also wonder if they might not release an EP of some sort ahead of the 2023 tour with some of the material with Bravin. They’ve done several of these between albums in the past, and if there’s not a new album before that 2023 tour it would make sense to have a few new Bravin tunes to tour with.

[Kram]

I for one am dying for some more new BBT material.  The sooner the better lol.

[RoeDent]

Literally 9 months after the last album lol. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Welcome to the Planet.

[Kram]

Literally 9 months after the last album lol. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Welcome to the Planet.

I haven't forgotten about it.  I love that album - I just can't get enough lol

[The Letter M]

Literally 9 months after the last album lol. Everyone seems to have forgotten about Welcome to the Planet.

I haven't forgotten about it.  I love that album - I just can't get enough lol

Ditto! I just listened to the whole thing a few days ago. Another wonderful album and a bittersweet swansong from David. I still get choked up a bit listening to "Capitoline Venus".

I'm looking forward to the Bard re-issue, if only to complete my physical CD collection. I hope the band revisiting this album prompts them to put in some of their pre-Longdon songs in future set lists (outside of "Summer's Lease").

I wonder what has ever happened with the recordings they did for the Station Masters compilation they were planning. I think I read they had done SOME re-recordings but I'm not sure to what extent. Perhaps it's touched upon in the book but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. It'd be great for those to see the light of day, but I look forward to Ingenious Devices.

A late 2023/early 2024 date for a brand new studio album is fine by me, although I don't doubt we will see a 2-4 song EP between now and then with "Last Eleven" on it. It's been awhile since their last physical CD single/EP, so they might do well to press one out before the next album to give us all a taste of what's to come.

Logically, I think they'll want to get all the old stuff out of the way before anything new, so Ingenious Devices and Bard will probably come before any new studio material is fully released on physical (the Zoetermeer show, any new singles/EPs, and the next studio album).

-Marc.

[HOF]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

[The Letter M]

That wouldn't surprise me considering how well-developed some of the songs they made on CG and WTTP were. Nick has pretty much killed it with the instrumentals he's written so far, especially since they all involve the brass band in some big ways. Greg's writing is quintessential BBT so it's hard to tell if his songs have developed to the point of being nearly done or if he just grows them with the band as they collaborate (which I know he did a lot of with David). And Rikard probably has the same amount of polish on his demos as Nick does.

Perhaps Alberto just wasn't prepared to hear the amount of great ideas that Rikard, Greg, and Nick had ready for the band, but I hope he's impressed in a good way!

-Marc.

[HOF]

I think he was mostly joking, but he did seem impressed by the quality of the recording everyone was sharing from their respective home bases.

[Kram]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

[The Letter M]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

You mean "Welcome To The Planet", right?

As for the lyrics, you can see what Carly has to say about the song on the WTTP microsite.

-Marc.

[HOF]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

Here is what Carly Bryant had to say about it:

I wrote this song jet lagged in the middle of the night playing a grand piano with the Una Corda pedal on so as not to wake anybody. It was one of those songs that ‘wrote itself’ in one sitting. At the time I found the political situation unfathomable. I had also got locked into some optimistic (not) late night reading about extreme weather patterns, global warming and overpopulation. My close friend sent me a photo from hospital moments before I went to the piano: she had just given birth. In that way that the night time has, I felt full of worry. What does it mean to be born now? What would I say to this child….welcome to the planet? It sounded semi sarcastic and as a fan of dark humour, Cohen Brothers especially, I liked it. The image of a dystopian planet grew in my mind. The memory of starting school, and that terrifying paradox of being told to not talk to strangers but also not to be afraid came back to me. But I wanted the song to be positive and reassuring, ‘Grow your hair long, babe, you can’t go wrong’, is a T-Rex reference (every good song needs one?!): “be peaceful with your fellows”. The big chorus of voices are supposed to be the ‘goodies’ among us, appearing in the rivers and emerging from the trees…hidden voices under stones and on the clouds making newborns feel welcome and hopefully comforted..

https://www.bigbigtrain.com/discography/welcome-to-the-planet/

She also talks about it here:

https://youtu.be/LMvrStmSJRU?t=464

[Kram]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

You mean "Welcome To The Planet", right?

As for the lyrics, you can see what Carly has to say about the song on the WTTP microsite.

-Marc.

Yes LOL.  Was just listening to NMB The Great Adventure, and had Welcome to the World on my mind LOL

[Kram]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

Here is what Carly Bryant had to say about it:

I wrote this song jet lagged in the middle of the night playing a grand piano with the Una Corda pedal on so as not to wake anybody. It was one of those songs that ‘wrote itself’ in one sitting. At the time I found the political situation unfathomable. I had also got locked into some optimistic (not) late night reading about extreme weather patterns, global warming and overpopulation. My close friend sent me a photo from hospital moments before I went to the piano: she had just given birth. In that way that the night time has, I felt full of worry. What does it mean to be born now? What would I say to this child….welcome to the planet? It sounded semi sarcastic and as a fan of dark humour, Cohen Brothers especially, I liked it. The image of a dystopian planet grew in my mind. The memory of starting school, and that terrifying paradox of being told to not talk to strangers but also not to be afraid came back to me. But I wanted the song to be positive and reassuring, ‘Grow your hair long, babe, you can’t go wrong’, is a T-Rex reference (every good song needs one?!): “be peaceful with your fellows”. The big chorus of voices are supposed to be the ‘goodies’ among us, appearing in the rivers and emerging from the trees…hidden voices under stones and on the clouds making newborns feel welcome and hopefully comforted..

https://www.bigbigtrain.com/discography/welcome-to-the-planet/

She also talks about it here:

https://youtu.be/LMvrStmSJRU?t=464

Thanks for the info. It kinda makes sense what she's saying, but still strange choices if you ask me.

[The Letter M]

I think it feels like Welcome to the Planet was a 2021 release since half of the album was made available that year. I don't think 2024 is too far away for a new album, but I'm kind of surprised that they aren't going to push to get it out before the next tour starts. I'm sure it was hard to get everyone's schedules to line up though, and May was probably just the earliest they could get everyone together.

Something that Albreto made clear in that video that I didn't quite realize was that what has been released for Last Eleven so far is essentially the original demo that he recorded vocals for during his audition. I think there must be some added parts because I think Oskar actually played some keys on it as well. But it sounds really good for a "demo." He joked that some of the demos guys are sending back and forth for the new album are really good, maybe too good, as if they are putting too much time into them or something.

I think you're right about this.  Some of those songs were available long before the album was released.  While I love Welcome to The World, it's missing that true epic that all the other albums have - and all of their epics are awesome (that's one of reasons I love Grand Tour so much, 3 awesome songs about 14 mins each).  But with that said, I find myself going back to Welcome to the World quite frequently (I love every song). 

Question on the lyrics for the title track - does anyone know what this is about?  Why is Auntie Carly telling the children she never made to grow their hair very long and that she hopes they don't get abducted? LOL.  Seems pretty strange to me.

You mean "Welcome To The Planet", right?

As for the lyrics, you can see what Carly has to say about the song on the WTTP microsite.

-Marc.

Yes LOL.  Was just listening to NMB The Great Adventure, and had Welcome to the World on my mind LOL

Hah! That's amazing, and I don't blame ya, considering how good that album is as well!

-Marc.

[Orbert]

I kept thinking that Loreley was already available on video, but it turns out that I was thinking of the 2-part YouTube footage from Loreley 2018.  That's actually the footage that sold me on Big Big Train in the first place.  It's pretty good for fan-shot video; some regrettable flubs, but overall pretty good footage, and the sound is great, which obviously is the most important thing.  In fact, part of what I really love about it is how "unprofessional" it is sometimes.  The band can be in the middle of an intense jam, and because of the camera angle we can see people walking around the venue in the background.  That kind of thing.  It would be distracting, but instead it's just amusing.

But anyway, pro-shot video of that same show would be awesome.

[The Letter M]

I've seen that audience-shot video of the Loreley show, but it'll be great to have a professionally produce one.

Also I just realized that this month marks the 10th anniversary of English Electric Part One! Not sure how I missed that but I knew it was coming up and it came and went (September 3rd 2012 being its release date).

It was the band's newest album when I finally dove into them and what an album it is!

-Marc.

[ProfessorPeart]

Finally watched the Brave Captain vid. The mix really stood out to me. That got me back on them again as I was listening to BBT most of the day. Then I got sidetracked and went on a Rikard binge and listened to many of my favorite Beardfish and Gungfly tracks. Good music day.

[Zydar]

Finally watched the Brave Captain vid. The mix really stood out to me. That got me back on them again as I was listening to BBT most of the day. Then I got sidetracked and went on a Rikard binge and listened to many of my favorite Beardfish and Gungfly tracks. Good music day.

I've never heard Beardfish or Gungfly. Are they reminiscent of BBT or do they have a totally different sound/style?

[HOF]

Finally watched the Brave Captain vid. The mix really stood out to me. That got me back on them again as I was listening to BBT most of the day. Then I got sidetracked and went on a Rikard binge and listened to many of my favorite Beardfish and Gungfly tracks. Good music day.

I've never heard Beardfish or Gungfly. Are they reminiscent of BBT or do they have a totally different sound/style?

Pretty different. Those two projects are more avant-garde, for lack of a better term, than BBT. I’m only familiar with a little bit of Beardfish, but I really like the Gungfly albums, especially the most recent (Alone Together). Some of the songs that Rikard composed for BBT do hint at his style a bit though. The closest things to Beardfish/Gungfly would be A Room With No View and the instrumental section of Meadhall in Winter. It’s hard to describe Rikard’s style. I heard someone put it as “he follows his muse,” which pretty much sums it up.

[The Letter M]

"Love Is All" lyric video from the upcoming David Longdon solo album Door One.

https://youtu.be/UmKeMRj9Xm4

Very emotional and positive song. Hearing this posthumous album in a couple weeks is going to be quite surreal, and I know I'll be an emotional wreck upon listening to it.

-Marc.

[ProfessorPeart]

Finally watched the Brave Captain vid. The mix really stood out to me. That got me back on them again as I was listening to BBT most of the day. Then I got sidetracked and went on a Rikard binge and listened to many of my favorite Beardfish and Gungfly tracks. Good music day.

I've never heard Beardfish or Gungfly. Are they reminiscent of BBT or do they have a totally different sound/style?

Rikard has a very noticeable style and I would say it can be a bit more whimsical, I guess. There tends to be humor in many Beardfish songs and certain sounds that, to me, are pure Rikard.

Also, both Beardfish and Gungfly progress in their sound. Early Gungfly sounds nothing like his last 2 albums, in my opinion. Friendship was my album of the year. Amazing record. The last 2 Gungfly albums sound the most like Beardfish as the earlier ones really do not. Beardfish got a bit heavier starting with the Destined Solitaire record, which is actually my favorite. Although, I would say my favorite song is on the next album, Mammoth. It is called And The Stone Said "If I Could Speak". Bit of a silly title but actually a deep song with a very cool story. The Void was a bit of a miss and they came back strong on their final album. If you are looking for pure prog, everything before Destined Solitaire would qualify. The newer albums are still prog but tend to be a bit heavier at times.

This is the best I could come up with. I would say they are well worth checking out. You can't go wrong.

For Beardfish, people would probably say start with The Sane Day and the Sleeping In Traffic albums. The later albums are all good as well.

For Gungfly, start with Friendship. It has become an all time favorite.

EDIT: Looks like HOF and I are on the same page regarding Rikard and his sound. It's unmistakable once you are familiar with him.

[Zydar]

Thanks guys, perhaps I'll check some stuff out this weekend!

[HOF]

Bandwagon just announced that there has been a production delay for Summer Shall Not Fade, and it looks like that is going to delay the orders for those of us who ordered the combo of Summer Shall Note Fade and Door One. Door One is on time if you ordered it separately though. Sounds like they expect to get their shipment of Summer Shall Not Fade by 10/17, so hopefully it’s only delayed by about a week.

[Kram]

Thanks guys, perhaps I'll check some stuff out this weekend!

I too have been meaning to check out some of Rikard's stuff.  Thanks guys for all the info and recommendations.

[HOF]

So for Passenger’s Club members, there is a download of Nick and Rikard’s rendition of Telling the Bees from the recent tour available now. Very cool performance, and another reason to sign up if you haven’t.

[Zydar]

I just got an e-mail from Burning Shed that says my CD/BluRay has been shipped

[Fritzinger]

Listening to Door One for the first time. Beautiful but also hard to hear new music with David’s voice probably for the last time.

[HOF]

My Door One order is hung up due to the delays with Summer Shall Not Fade. I’ll probably hold out for the CD instead of streaming it.

A new website dedicated to David Longdon has also been launched today. Features some memories of David from various people, info about his music, and some unreleased material.

https://davidlongdon.net/home/

Of note, there are plans to re-release his first solo album Wild River in the near future.

Various demos and unreleased tracks here. I’m loving The Hieroglyphics of Love (which apparently got him the Genesis audition)!

 https://davidlongdon.net/demos-and-unreleased-songs/

[The Letter M]

I'm being impatient, and, as I'm also on a trip this weekend and won't be home til Sunday anyway, so I downloaded the mp3 of the album off Amazon. Almost wrapped up my first listen and WOW what a powerful and beautiful album. There's a big sense of melancholy and love all over this album. It'll be a hard one to revisit but worth doing so.

I'll probably try to spin this one throughout the weekend when I can, it's just so good.

-Marc.