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

[nick_z]

If you like The Underfall Yard you should like Far Skies Deep Time and English Electric. In fact, I’d highly recommend you get both (you can only buy English Electric as the double disc Full Power version, but it’s definitely not too long. Listened to it today and it flew by. You can stream the individual albums as well though). You might also like The Difference Machine, which preceded The Underfall Yard and has a different singer but has a similar darker vibe as The Underfall Yard.

In my opinion, BBT haven’t released a bad album yet though. Give Common Ground a little time. I had to give it several spins to really start to get it, but I am really enjoying it now. It might help you to have a little more context though for what the band do before you really get it.

Looks like I'll be checking out English Electric next 

[Zydar]

English Electric Part 1 is probably my favourite BBT album, actually. But I'm a pretty new BBT listener, so I haven't checked out all their music yet.

[HOF]

If you like The Underfall Yard you should like Far Skies Deep Time and English Electric. In fact, I’d highly recommend you get both (you can only buy English Electric as the double disc Full Power version, but it’s definitely not too long. Listened to it today and it flew by. You can stream the individual albums as well though). You might also like The Difference Machine, which preceded The Underfall Yard and has a different singer but has a similar darker vibe as The Underfall Yard.

In my opinion, BBT haven’t released a bad album yet though. Give Common Ground a little time. I had to give it several spins to really start to get it, but I am really enjoying it now. It might help you to have a little more context though for what the band do before you really get it.

Looks like I'll be checking out English Electric next 

Excellent choice. That was actually the first full album I heard, and it’s what made me a fan. 

[HOF]

From the band's Facebook:

COMMON GROUND REACHES 31 IN THE OFFICIAL UK ALBUM CHARTS
We are pleased to confirm that Common Ground has become our second ever UK Top 40 album, reaching 31 in the charts today (beating Grand Tour which was placed at 35 in 2019.)
Common Ground also reached 53 in the album charts in Germany, our first album to chart in Germany.
We would like to thank all listeners for supporting Big Big Train and rock music. We couldn’t do this without you.
We look forward to seeing you on tour next year.
Best wishes
Big Big Train

Very cool to see the train picking up steam, at least in the UK. I think there is enough of accessibility to some of these songs (Strangest Times, Dandelion Clock, the title track), that maybe they can even reach a broader commercial audience with enough publicity.

[nick_z]

One listen in for English Electric Full Power - couldn't give it full attention as I'm working, but first impression is great. I mean, that's a lot of British prog to take in  but the songs, the melodies and the playing are pretty amazing.

One thing that I had noticed from The Underfall Yard too - the band just sounds so...good? Everything is so lively and bright...not so much the mood, which of course varies throughout the record, but the sound itself...the instruments and the vocals, a true pleasure to listen to.

Early stand-outs for me: Hedgegrow, Judas Unrepentant (this could really be a lost Gabriel/Hackett-era Genesis song) and East Coast Racer. But plenty of cool moments going on with the more concise songs too...

[HOF]

One listen in for English Electric Full Power - couldn't give it full attention as I'm working, but first impression is great. I mean, that's a lot of British prog to take in  but the songs, the melodies and the playing are pretty amazing.

One thing that I had noticed from The Underfall Yard too - the band just sounds so...good? Everything is so lively and bright...not so much the mood, which of course varies throughout the record, but the sound itself...the instruments and the vocals, a true pleasure to listen to.

Early stand-outs for me: Hedgegrow, Judas Unrepentant (this could really be a lost Gabriel/Hackett-era Genesis song) and East Coast Racer. But plenty of cool moments going on with the more concise songs too...

The playing is first class, but they also have an amazing engineer/mixer in Rob Aubrey who seems to make the band sound better with each album. They just re-mixed and re-issued The Underfall Yard. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the original (low budget as it was at the time), but he found a way to make everything sound even better. The latest, Common Ground, is pure ear candy. I keep going back to it in part because it is such a pleasant auditory experience.

Oh, and English Electric is very much steeped in the British prog tradition, possibly their most pastoral album. They do incorporate more of a folk sound on subsequent albums, and on the most recent albums you get more of Nick D'Virgilio's American side showing up in the writing. But they are very quintessentially British.

[The Letter M]

The playing is first class, but they also have an amazing engineer/mixer in Rob Aubrey who seems to make the band sound better with each album. They just re-mixed and re-issued The Underfall Yard. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the original (low budget as it was at the time), but he found a way to make everything sound even better. The latest, Common Ground, is pure ear candy. I keep going back to it in part because it is such a pleasant auditory experience.

Rob Aubrey definitely knows how to make the most out of each and every member of BBT, on every song, and on every album, and I agree that his mixing on Common Ground is impeccable!

One listen in for English Electric Full Power - couldn't give it full attention as I'm working, but first impression is great. I mean, that's a lot of British prog to take in  but the songs, the melodies and the playing are pretty amazing.

One thing that I had noticed from The Underfall Yard too - the band just sounds so...good? Everything is so lively and bright...not so much the mood, which of course varies throughout the record, but the sound itself...the instruments and the vocals, a true pleasure to listen to.

Early stand-outs for me: Hedgegrow, Judas Unrepentant (this could really be a lost Gabriel/Hackett-era Genesis song) and East Coast Racer. But plenty of cool moments going on with the more concise songs too...

Glad you are enjoying EEFP! The English Electric albums were the newest ones when I became a fan so I spent a LOT of time getting to know those songs, especially once Full Power came out. There was a 3-year gap between EEFP and Folklore, so my anticipation for Folklore was through the roof, but the trilogy of Folklore/Grimspound/The Second Brightest Star marks another unique sub-era for the band. If you've been enjoying TUY and EEFP, I think you'll like where the band goes next.

"Hedgerow" is just an absolute lovely song to sing along to, "Judas Unrepentant" is one of the best songs off the album, and ECR is always a fan-favorite. It's no wonder that it's their second-most-played-live song (behind "Wassail"), and I would be surprised if it doesn't make the cut for next year's live concerts!

-Marc.

[nick_z]

Looks like physical copies of EEFP are not super-easy to come by...

[The Letter M]

Looks like physical copies of EEFP are not super-easy to come by...

The original hardcover digibook set is SUPER rare and expensive these days, but they re-released it in a plain jewel case with a smaller booklet back in October 2016, which might be a bit easier to find, but having owned the original release, I've never bothered to get the re-release, even though it was remastered (the original sounds fine to my ears as is).

https://www.discogs.com/Big-Big-Train-English-Electric/release/9253030

-Marc.

[nick_z]

The original hardcover digibook set is SUPER rare and expensive these days, but they re-released it in a plain jewel case with a smaller booklet back in October 2016, which might be a bit easier to find, but having owned the original release, I've never bothered to get the re-release, even though it was remastered (the original sounds fine to my ears as is).

https://www.discogs.com/Big-Big-Train-English-Electric/release/9253030

-Marc.

This would work...I'll keep an eye out!

[goo-goo]

Well, it was remastered to have all the right EQs and volume in place by combining 3 records (Pt 1, Pt 2, and the EP). Those sound different by themselves.

[HOF]

Well, it was remastered to have all the right EQs and volume in place by combining 3 records (Pt 1, Pt 2, and the EP). Those sound different by themselves.

I assume there was remastering on EEFP as well, though I'm not totally sure about that. As I understand it, the recent 2-disc version of English Electric was "de-mastered" with minimal compression to allow the original dynamics to come through. But I don't own that version either so I can't say how it compares.

[The Letter M]

Well, it was remastered to have all the right EQs and volume in place by combining 3 records (Pt 1, Pt 2, and the EP). Those sound different by themselves.

I assume there was remastering on EEFP as well, though I'm not totally sure about that. As I understand it, the recent 2-disc version of English Electric was "de-mastered" with minimal compression to allow the original dynamics to come through. But I don't own that version either so I can't say how it compares.

I'll have to track down and try to find a copy of EEFP 2016 just so I can hear the differences!

And on this rainy afternoon, I have put on the Live At Kings Place 2015 concert video I recently bought from the band's Vimeo page. Only $13.00 for both parts total, which isn't bad, but I think the reason I never got around to buying these videos was probably because I was holding out hope for a physical BD release of those 2015 shows, but I've been in a HUGE BBT mood lately, and I wanted to finally watch these songs in full. They only released four on the Stone & Steel BD, plus 2 more on YouTube (not part of Stone & Steel), but that was only about half of the whole setlist, but now I have the whole thing. Very good concert video so far, and they apparently took the best performances of each song from the three concerts, though I believe most of them came from the Sunday/third concert of the weekend.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Well, it was remastered to have all the right EQs and volume in place by combining 3 records (Pt 1, Pt 2, and the EP). Those sound different by themselves.

I assume there was remastering on EEFP as well, though I'm not totally sure about that. As I understand it, the recent 2-disc version of English Electric was "de-mastered" with minimal compression to allow the original dynamics to come through. But I don't own that version either so I can't say how it compares.

I'll have to track down and try to find a copy of EEFP 2016 just so I can hear the differences!

And on this rainy afternoon, I have put on the Live At Kings Place 2015 concert video I recently bought from the band's Vimeo page. Only $13.00 for both parts total, which isn't bad, but I think the reason I never got around to buying these videos was probably because I was holding out hope for a physical BD release of those 2015 shows, but I've been in a HUGE BBT mood lately, and I wanted to finally watch these songs in full. They only released four on the Stone & Steel BD, plus 2 more on YouTube (not part of Stone & Steel), but that was only about half of the whole setlist, but now I have the whole thing. Very good concert video so far, and they apparently took the best performances of each song from the three concerts, though I believe most of them came from the Sunday/third concert of the weekend.

-Marc.

Somewhat randomly, I’m currently watching Winkie from Empire again! The King’s Place video was great. I’ve got the Vimeo version too but haven’t watched it in a while.

[The Letter M]

Well, it was remastered to have all the right EQs and volume in place by combining 3 records (Pt 1, Pt 2, and the EP). Those sound different by themselves.

I assume there was remastering on EEFP as well, though I'm not totally sure about that. As I understand it, the recent 2-disc version of English Electric was "de-mastered" with minimal compression to allow the original dynamics to come through. But I don't own that version either so I can't say how it compares.

I'll have to track down and try to find a copy of EEFP 2016 just so I can hear the differences!

And on this rainy afternoon, I have put on the Live At Kings Place 2015 concert video I recently bought from the band's Vimeo page. Only $13.00 for both parts total, which isn't bad, but I think the reason I never got around to buying these videos was probably because I was holding out hope for a physical BD release of those 2015 shows, but I've been in a HUGE BBT mood lately, and I wanted to finally watch these songs in full. They only released four on the Stone & Steel BD, plus 2 more on YouTube (not part of Stone & Steel), but that was only about half of the whole setlist, but now I have the whole thing. Very good concert video so far, and they apparently took the best performances of each song from the three concerts, though I believe most of them came from the Sunday/third concert of the weekend.

-Marc.

Somewhat randomly, I’m currently watching Winkie from Empire again! The King’s Place video was great. I’ve got the Vimeo version too but haven’t watched it in a while.

That "Winkie" performance is something else. I watched it on YouTube sometime last week. I think either tonight or tomorrow, I am going to put on the Reflectors Of Light BD, as I don't think I've seen that more than once, and I'm still on a BBT kick. It's amazing that we've gotten essentially 3 full live concerts from them in just 6 years of them doing live shows and tours. I would have loved to have gotten the full Loreley performance on BD, but I watched an audience video recording on YouTube last week that was pretty suitable. I don't do concerts very often as I would rather save my money for physical media, but if BBT come anywhere near me within a 3 hour radius, I am going to make an exception and try to see them (if they make it to DC, Baltimore, or possibly even in VA, NJ or PA if possible). Just gotta save up for it. Still waiting to see when those US tour dates are dropping!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

So I wanted to compile some bits of information revealed by the band members during last week's Common Ground Listening Party, and after spending about 40-50 minutes scrolling through 1000+ comments, here's what I've come up with!

The album in general
-Spawton says dividing the album into "Part One" and "Part Two" was a "deliberate hark back to vinyl days."
-When asked what prompted Spawton to go back to using picks on this album, he said "I have a new pre-amp setup for this album (which I really like) and it suited playing with a plectrum much better. So, will probably be sticking with this setup now."
-When asked how BBT got to work with Aidan O'Rourke and if they were fans of Lau, Spawton replied "Yes, big fans. We asked and he said yes!" and Longdon said "Aidan was approached via Steve Vantsis. Yes both Greg and I like LAU."
-When asked how her first recording experience with BBT went, Carly Bryant replied "it was really lovely. They are such a great group of people and it felt very natural. I have worked with Rob Aubrey before so that was a nice familiarity and I swear he's a genius!"
-When asked about his "inspiration for the more historical songs" he writes (specifically regarding "Atlantic Cable"), Spawton replied "I collect ideas and thoughts in a notebook and then, when the time is right, try to write music and words for the most interesting ideas."

The Strangest Times
-When asked about writing a song about COVID, Longdon said "I write about the things that I feel that I need to."
-"The Strangest Times is a song about how I coped with the onset of the pandemic back in March 2020. The lyrics were written very directly about an intensely serious global situation. 'Many will die before their time' said the British prime minister (PM) Boris Johnson in his address to the nation. Scary stuff." - Longdon
-Dave Foster confirms the guitar solo was performed by him.
-Longdon says the arrangement on this track (and the title track) were by him.
-The opening song "sets the scenario of where [we] were when the album was made." - Longdon
-NDV praises Rikard's piano playing.
-"I felt writing a song about a pandemic and making it poetic or shrouded in metaphors did not really adress the severity of the times." - Longdon

All The Love We Can Give
-"David['s] voice sounds beautiful in the lower register. That is why [he is singing so low]. I thought it would be cool to do and hear." - NDV
-Longdon said "NDV wanted me to sing the song in the lower register. I wanted to give him what he wanted." to which NDV replied "[A]nd boy did you give it to me David! YES!!!"
-When asked if this song was leftover from his solo album Invisible, NDV replied "No it was completely new and written for BBT."

Black With Ink
-Greg Spawton praises Rob (Aubrey) for his mixing on this song when replying to a comment of "Great bass sound".
-Spawton confirms that the lyric "Common ground" appearing in this song was not a coincidence.
-This song "was actually an older track that was going to be part of a concept record. That got scrapped and thankfully that tune was hangin around just waiting to be recorded." - NDV
-When asked if BWI was ever planned to be a traditional style BBT epic or if it was always an uptempo rock number, Greg replies that it was "always a rock number."

Dandelion Clock
-"XTC have a lovely song called Humble Daisy. I wanted to write about a different garden weed." - Spawton
-"David had a big influence on this song, with piano and vocal arrangements. A lot of Carly in the vocal mix too." - Spawton

Headwaters
-"Headwaters is a bookend piece which Rikard composed using the theme in the closing section of Endnotes." - Spawton

Apollo
-"I just wanted to write a quintessential BBT instrumental that could become our long time show closer. The guys and gals in this band are monster players and I wanted to make something to challenge them and have [fun?] with. With the intention of making it not so crazy muso that it would make peoples head spin and to top it off, have a singable melody for the long outro." - NDV
-"Has a kind of Jacuzzi by Steve Hackett [feel] in places." - Spawton
-When asked if "Apollo" is a reference to the god or the space program, Spawton replied "Both."
-The band are very excited about bringing this song to the stage, with specific reactions from Spawton, NDV and Dave Desmond.
-When asked if "Apollo" is the most difficult BBT song for flute, Longdon replied "I don't really view things in terms of difficulty. It's all about the melody for me."

Common Ground
-Replying to a comment that one Passenger "would consider 'Common Ground' a love song to humanity", Longdon agreed that it is.
-Longdon says his inspiration for this song was "the coming together of people."

Atlantic Cable
-"So, the first four minutes of Atlantic Cable was originally going to be on piano. Then Rikard got his big organ out again and changed everything." - Spawton
-NDV said this song "was an absolute blast to play drums on" and Spawton replied "We are gonna rock this live dude!"
-Dave Foster confirms that the guitar solo around 12-13 minutes in is his performance.
-Spawton "sat next to Dave (Foster) while he played this fast guitar solo on Atlantic Cable at Real World (Studios). Jaw-dropping."
-"These closing words of Atlantic Cable are based on a quote from Quintus Aurelius Symmachus, a Roman governor in the 4th century." - Spawton

Endnotes
-Spawton confirms that this song "is indeed for my beautiful wife, Kathy."
-It is noted that "cabbage white" and "chalk hill blue" are types of butterflies.
-When asked if, based on the song's title, "Endnotes" was always intended to be the album closer, Spawton replied "yes, that was always the plan."
-"The second chorus of Endnotes is a number of simple statements about enjoying life. Sometimes choruses need to be direct and simple." - Spawton
-"I hold the bass pedal on a single note here for nearly a minute to build up some tension until David sings the final word of the album." - Spawton
-"When asked if the final lyric "Down the river / to the sea" was a reference to the band's first demo, Greg replied "it's all connected, yes."

....Whew! Hope the few BBT fans here find this insteresting, especially for those of you who did not make it to the listening party (which may have been everyone here but me lol).

-Marc.

[DTA]

Thanks for the write-up! Not a huge fan of the lower register in the beginning of All The Love... It just doesn't have an appealing sound to me. Dandelion Clock and Atlantic Cable are the big standouts for me. I think AC might actually be my favorite of their longer tracks at this point.

[The Letter M]

Thanks for the write-up! Not a huge fan of the lower register in the beginning of All The Love... It just doesn't have an appealing sound to me. Dandelion Clock and Atlantic Cable are the big standouts for me. I think AC might actually be my favorite of their longer tracks at this point.

"Atlantic Cable" is definitely working its way up there for me as one of their best epics in that 12-17 minute range that is long enough to feel like a big epic but not quite long enough to be side-length (which so far, only seems to be "The Underfall Yard" for the band).

I'd say I'd put AC up there with the likes of "Victorian Brickwork", "East Coast Racer", "A Mead Hall In Winter" and "Voyager". Grand Tour had a whooping THREE big songs with the aforementioned "Voyager", as well as "Roman Stone" and "Ariel", the latter of which I quite enjoy as well. Both "Brooklands" and "Brave Captain" are great tracks as well. OH, and how can I forget "The Wide Open Sea", which I haven't listened to very often lately, so I may have to change that very soon!

Honestly, a lot of what Big Big Train writes in that range of 12-17 minutes tends to be some of their best work, though that isn't to say they don't make killer songs that are shorter than that.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Thanks for the write-up! Not a huge fan of the lower register in the beginning of All The Love... It just doesn't have an appealing sound to me. Dandelion Clock and Atlantic Cable are the big standouts for me. I think AC might actually be my favorite of their longer tracks at this point.

"Atlantic Cable" is definitely working its way up there for me as one of their best epics in that 12-17 minute range that is long enough to feel like a big epic but not quite long enough to be side-length (which so far, only seems to be "The Underfall Yard" for the band).

I'd say I'd put AC up there with the likes of "Victorian Brickwork", "East Coast Racer", "A Mead Hall In Winter" and "Voyager". Grand Tour had a whooping THREE big songs with the aforementioned "Voyager", as well as "Roman Stone" and "Ariel", the latter of which I quite enjoy as well. Both "Brooklands" and "Brave Captain" are great tracks as well. OH, and how can I forget "The Wide Open Sea", which I haven't listened to very often lately, so I may have to change that very soon!

Honestly, a lot of what Big Big Train writes in that range of 12-17 minutes tends to be some of their best work, though that isn't to say they don't make killer songs that are shorter than that.

-Marc.

Honestly, I'm still a little underwhelmed by Atlantic Cable, and I think it's my least favorite track on the album. Which is pretty much a first for me as far as Greg Spawton penned epics go. There are some really great instrumental bits, but the vocal melodies aren't very engaging and I find myself checking out whenever David is singing. I had a similar reaction to Roman Stone, which did grow on me a lot over time, so that may happen with this one as well. But I also think of Roman Stone as one of the less successful GS epics. Thankfully, Endnotes closes the album on a high note.

I'll also add to the 12-17 minute epics, Perfect Cosmic Storm, Pick Up If You're There, and Saltwater Falling on Uneven Ground from The difference machine. And it doesn't quite reach 12 minutes, but Albion Perfide is one of my favorite early BBT tracks at a little over 10 minutes. The Shipping Forecast is another from English Boy Wonders that I love that's just over 10 minutes.

[The Letter M]

Thanks for the write-up! Not a huge fan of the lower register in the beginning of All The Love... It just doesn't have an appealing sound to me. Dandelion Clock and Atlantic Cable are the big standouts for me. I think AC might actually be my favorite of their longer tracks at this point.

"Atlantic Cable" is definitely working its way up there for me as one of their best epics in that 12-17 minute range that is long enough to feel like a big epic but not quite long enough to be side-length (which so far, only seems to be "The Underfall Yard" for the band).

I'd say I'd put AC up there with the likes of "Victorian Brickwork", "East Coast Racer", "A Mead Hall In Winter" and "Voyager". Grand Tour had a whooping THREE big songs with the aforementioned "Voyager", as well as "Roman Stone" and "Ariel", the latter of which I quite enjoy as well. Both "Brooklands" and "Brave Captain" are great tracks as well. OH, and how can I forget "The Wide Open Sea", which I haven't listened to very often lately, so I may have to change that very soon!

Honestly, a lot of what Big Big Train writes in that range of 12-17 minutes tends to be some of their best work, though that isn't to say they don't make killer songs that are shorter than that.

-Marc.

Honestly, I'm still a little underwhelmed by Atlantic Cable, and I think it's my least favorite track on the album. Which is pretty much a first for me as far as Greg Spawton penned epics go. There are some really great instrumental bits, but the vocal melodies aren't very engaging and I find myself checking out whenever David is singing. I had a similar reaction to Roman Stone, which did grow on me a lot over time, so that may happen with this one as well. But I also think of Roman Stone as one of the less successful GS epics. Thankfully, Endnotes closes the album on a high note.

I'll also add to the 12-17 minute epics, Perfect Cosmic Storm, Pick Up If You're There, and Saltwater Falling on Uneven Ground from The difference machine. And it doesn't quite reach 12 minutes, but Albion Perfide is one of my favorite early BBT tracks at a little over 10 minutes. The Shipping Forecast is another from English Boy Wonders that I love that's just over 10 minutes.

The Pre-Longdon epics are pretty good, and I've often hoped that they might have tackled two or three of them for the possibly-defunct Station Masters compilation that saw the then-English Electric line-up of the band re-record older songs from before The Underfall Yard. I would have loved to have heard that line-up play the older material, and so far, I think the most we've gotten has been "Kingmaker", "Wind Distorted Pioneers", and "Summer's Lease".

I did think about the longer songs on TDM, though, but since most folks typically just speak about the Longdon-Era works, I didn't mention them, though they are definitely really good songs. I would not mind the whole album being re-recorded with Longdon and Sjoblom as part of the line-up, both of whom I think could add a LOT to those songs, but I think the band have been all about moving forward for many years now, so I doubt that'll happen. Heck, it's taken this long for them to revisit Bard for re-release when all of their pre-Longdon albums have gotten remasters and releases over a decade ago!

-Marc.

[HOF]

So I watched the first episode of Journey of the Passengers tonight. Wasn't sure it was something I'd be interested in (it's a fan-made documentary of the last tour), but so far there's a ton of great footage of the band in rehearsals and live with some commentary from Greg Spawton. The footage with fans isn't all that interesting so far, but worth watching nonetheless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWUK4t9n5yQ

[Kram]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start? 

[Harmony]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this.  My first toe in the pool was English Electric.

Welcome aboard, it's a great ride. 

[HOF]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this.  My first toe in the pool was English Electric.

Welcome aboard, it's a great ride.

I knew a few things before then, but English Electric was my first CD as well and would be an excellent entry point. That said, I usually recommend starting with The Underfall Yard (recently remixed and reissued) and then just working your way forward chronologically. The run of The Underfall Yard, Far Skies Deep Time, and English Electric is tremendous. But it’s all good so you can’t really go wrong wherever you want to start.

[Kram]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this.  My first toe in the pool was English Electric.

Welcome aboard, it's a great ride.

I knew a few things before then, but English Electric was my first CD as well and would be an excellent entry point. That said, I usually recommend starting with The Underfall Yard (recently remixed and reissued) and then just working your way forward chronologically. The run of The Underfall Yard, Far Skies Deep Time, and English Electric is tremendous. But it’s all good so you can’t really go wrong wherever you want to start.

Great, thanks for the info!  I'll check all three of those out.

[HOF]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

You are going to get a lot of opinions on this.  My first toe in the pool was English Electric.

Welcome aboard, it's a great ride.

I knew a few things before then, but English Electric was my first CD as well and would be an excellent entry point. That said, I usually recommend starting with The Underfall Yard (recently remixed and reissued) and then just working your way forward chronologically. The run of The Underfall Yard, Far Skies Deep Time, and English Electric is tremendous. But it’s all good so you can’t really go wrong wherever you want to start.

Great, thanks for the info!  I'll check all three of those out.

Enjoy the journey! Look forward to seeing your thoughts if you're inclined to report back.

[nick_z]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

I recently embarked on a BBT discovery too - and the good people in this thread had some very useful info and recommendations  I'm taking it slow and digesting the material before proceeding, but I can say that The Underfall Yard (which I already had, but didn't spend a ton of time with) and English Electric Full Power are fantastic albums. Great sound, great playing. They are at the same time easy on the ears and, of course, full of details to discover over multiple listens...

[The Letter M]

So I'm new to BBT.  I really enjoy everything I've heard, but do not own any of their albums.  Where do you guys suggest I start?

As the others have said, I would also highly suggest starting at The Underfall Yard. It was the band's first album with current frontman/lead vocalist/flautist David Longdon, who has a bit of Peter Gabriel energy to his voice, but definitely has his own sound. Fun fact about David Longdon - he was on the list of folks who tried out to replace Phil Collins in Genesis back in the 90s. Can you imagine if David and Nick (D'Virgilio) had been full-time members of Genesis in the late 90s, how different the trajectory of prog rock might have gone at the turn of the century? BBT might not exist as it does now and we may have gotten more Genesis albums past 1997!

Back to BBT, their 2009 album The Underfall Yard features the band taking some of their heavier, darker tones from their previous album (The Difference Machine) but infusing it with a bit of pastoral English feel (not unlike early Genesis), and the amalgamation of talents involved created such a powerful album. The same could be said for the follow-ups, English Electric (Parts One and Two, or both combined with four new songs from the Make Some Noise EP, titled English Electric Full Power). To me, EEFP is their crowning achievement as a whole, not a weak track out of those 19 songs.

I also can't neglect the wonderful EP, Far Skies Deep Time, which forms a sort of companion release to TUY (and TDM, as it features some leftovers from that album as well). To me, the run of The Underfall Yard / Far Skies Deep Time / English Electric Full Power is one of the best runs in any band's discography. That isn't to say the run of Folklore / Grimspound / The Second Brightest Star isn't fantastic either, but those songs all feel like their own era of the band as well, which sees the band furthering their historically-influenced lyrical and narrative content.

I think if you can make it through all of those albums, getting to 2019's Grand Tour and this year's Common Ground should be an easy digest. They're both a bit different from each other, and different than what came before, but both see the band evolving their sound into new directions, both musically and lyrically. In the time between Grand Tour and Common Ground, however, the band lost 3 key band members, dropping down to four for the main writing of Common Ground, but they have since augmented their sound with new players for the studio and live stage.

-Marc.

[Kram]

Great, thanks for the additional info.  I'll be sure to check back in here after I've had some time to digest some of these albums.  Thanks again to everyone who responded!

[nick_z]

Well, inspired by the recent posts in the thread, I made my next step in BBG's discography with Folklore...

First of all, and I might be repeating myself, this truly sounds amazing. It's pretty much ear candy, great production to my ears. Second, I've listened only once, but I loved it. Probably the catchiest of their albums I've heard so far...I mean, there's plenty of catchy moments in English Electric and The Underfall Yard, but Folklore is a lovely listen throughout. It might not be as wide ranging of an achievement as EEFP, but it's great.

I see on their Bandcamp page they are selling the digital hi-res version of the album that includes the complete Wassail EP. Is that the only way to get it other than vinyl? No CD version?

[HOF]

Well, inspired by the recent posts in the thread, I made my next step in BBG's discography with Folklore...

First of all, and I might be repeating myself, this truly sounds amazing. It's pretty much ear candy, great production to my ears. Second, I've listened only once, but I loved it. Probably the catchiest of their albums I've heard so far...I mean, there's plenty of catchy moments in English Electric and The Underfall Yard, but Folklore is a lovely listen throughout. It might not be as wide ranging of an achievement as EEFP, but it's great.

I see on their Bandcamp page they are selling the digital hi-res version of the album that includes the complete Wassail EP. Is that the only way to get it other than vinyl? No CD version?

Do you mean the CD of Folklore or the Wassail EP? It’s not always easy to find any of the CDs past the last few releases, but it looks like Amazon in the US has some of Folklore through various vendors. Burning Shed is their official UK shop and it has both Folklore and Wassail in stock still

https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain/big-big-train_folklore_cd

https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain/Big-Big-Train-Wassail-EP

Band Wagon is their official US shop, but they don’t go back as far as Folklore. Can get everything since from them though.

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train

[The Letter M]

I see on their Bandcamp page they are selling the digital hi-res version of the album that includes the complete Wassail EP. Is that the only way to get it other than vinyl? No CD version?

When Folklore was released, it was just 9 songs and only had Wassail on it from the previously released Wassail EP. The intention was that "Lost Rivers Of London" and "Mudlarks" were exclusive to the EP, but were later revealed to be added to the vinyl track list. They also made that version of the tracklist available for digital download on their Bandcamp, but the only 11-track version of the album on physical media is on vinyl. All CD versions of Folklore only have 9 songs. Of course you could download the 11-track version from Bandcamp and burn them onto 2 CDr's (which I did many years ago).

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

BBT snuck some new stuff on us overnight. A new song, The Connection Plan, and part 1 of a six-part documentary series The Story of the Passengers is up on Youtube .

[The Letter M]

https://www.nickdvirgilio.com/news/big-big-train-shares-new-track-the-connection-plan/

Hot on the heels of the release of their UK Top 35 album “Common Ground”, comes the release of “The Connection Plan”, a brand new track from Big Big Train

Big Big Train’s Greg Spawton explains why there is brand new material coming out under a month after they released a new album ”In the lead-up to our tours in 2022, we wanted to share a series of single  streaming releases. The ‘Stay Tuned’ streaming series will feature newly recorded compositions, we hope listeners will enjoy them”.<

Check out “The Connection Plan” below.

The band recently released the album “Common Ground” which sees the the band taking in wider musical and lyrical inspiration from artists such as Elbow, Pete Townshend, Tears For Fears, Elton John and XTC, as well as acknowledging their more progressive roots. As ever, Big Big Train will take listeners on a journey, be it waiting for the UK 5pm pandemic press conferences (’The Strangest Times’) to the library of Alexandria (‘Black With Ink’) to the bottom of the ocean (‘Atlantic Cable’).

For the ‘Common Ground’ tour, which will be their most extensive to date and which will culminate in the UK with a show at the prestigious London Palladium, Greg Spawton (bass), David Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D’Virgilio (drums, vocals) and Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals) will be joined by Carly Bryant (keyboards, guitars, vocals), who contributes vocals to ‘Common Ground’, Dave Foster (guitars), who plays on two tracks on the new album, Clare Lindley (violin, vocals) and by a five piece brass ensemble. The band expect to announce North American tour dates shortly.

UK Tour March 2022 tickets on sale now HERE.

https://youtu.be/hQlJIdPQPu0

Very interesting song, quite unique for the band! Looking forward to what else they've got in this series of new songs!

-Marc.

[HOF]

That’s a pleasant surprise. Will give it a spin soon!