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

[MinistroRaven]

Bassist Gregory Spawton says: “One of the recurrent themes we've explored in Big Big Train over the years is how humans have been able to harness technology to make the world a better place. Atlantic Cable is a song about the laying of the first telegraph cables across the Atlantic Ocean in the 19th century. It was a mighty endeavour which helped to bring people together. We really enjoyed playing Atlantic Cable at the legendary Friars, Aylesbury last year and are pleased to share this film of the performance.” 

Keyboardist Oskar Holldorff adds: “Following a warm-up show the night before, the gig in Aylesbury was my first official performance with Big Big Train, and what a night it was! Atlantic Cable was positioned early on in the set, and it felt great to work our way through a proper BBT epic in the beautiful Waterside Theatre. I particularly enjoyed the instrumental section starting at the 11-minute mark, in which Rikard Sjöblom’s brilliant clavinet solo was followed by Dave Foster shredding the house down!”

[soupytwist]

Just out of interest how would people rank the albums since English Electric?  So that's Folklore, Grimspound, Grand Tour, Common Ground and Welcome to the Planet?  (Include Second Brightest Star if you like too). 

[HOF]

Hmmm.

Folklore
Grimspound
Common Ground
Grand Tour
Welcome To The Planet
Second Brightest Star

Maybe? They are all pretty close in quality for me.

[soupytwist]

Maybe? They are all pretty close in quality for me.

Personally I think Folklore standouts a little bit ahead of the rest.  Your ranking is pretty similar to mine I'd put 'Welcome' above 'Grand Tour' though.

[HOF]

Maybe? They are all pretty close in quality for me.

Personally I think Folklore standouts a little bit ahead of the rest.  Your ranking is pretty similar to mine I'd put 'Welcome' above 'Grand Tour' though.

Yeah, I really like Welcome and am never sure what I think about Grand Tour, but the last time I listened to it I thought it was pretty strong. I might swap them on a given day.

[The Letter M]

Just out of interest how would people rank the albums since English Electric?  So that's Folklore, Grimspound, Grand Tour, Common Ground and Welcome to the Planet?  (Include Second Brightest Star if you like too).

Folklore
Grand Tour
Common Ground
Grimspound
Welcome To The Planet
The Second Brightest Star

The top two are pretty closely tied for me, likewise so are the middle two. They'd be like 1a/1b and 2a/2b for me, with WTTP in 3rd and TSBS in 4th.

I almost put Grimspound lower but then remembered it has "A Mead Hall In Winter", which is one of my absolute all-time favorite BBT songs.

-Marc.

[ProfessorPeart]

Folkore
Grimspound
Grand Tour
The Rest

Pretty much sums it up for me. From a strictly studio perspective, Folklore/Grimspound is the pinnacle for me. I find I prefer the live performances of the English Electric tracks more than the studio versions.

[HOF]

Feels like Grimspound is a bit underrated by the fans. I love the title track, and Experimental Gentlemen, Meadhall, and As The Crow Flies are all excellent as well. On the Racing Line is a really cool instrumental, and Meadowland is another beautiful moment. Oddly, my least favorite song on the album is the fan favorite Brave Captain. Something about the mix on the album always felt off, and the song seems a bit repetitive to me. It does play well live though.

[Kram]

Feels like Grimspound is a bit underrated by the fans. I love the title track, and Experimental Gentlemen, Meadhall, and As The Crow Flies are all excellent as well. On the Racing Line is a really cool instrumental, and Meadowland is another beautiful moment. Oddly, my least favorite song on the album is the fan favorite Brave Captain. Something about the mix on the album always felt off, and the song seems a bit repetitive to me. It does play well live though.

I agree, Grimspound is underrated, but every album since Longdon joined is excellent!  I'd rank them like this -

Folklore
Grand Tour
Grimspound
Common Ground
Welcome To The Planet
The Second Brightest Star

[Kram]

https://youtu.be/0C8R-rAKjW0

"Atlantic Cable" live in Aylesbury. It sounds and looks SO good.

-Marc.

Sounds amazing!!

[RoeDent]

Folklore
Common Ground
Grand Tour
Grimspound
Welcome to the Planet
The Second Brightest Star

[Zydar]

Folklore
Grimspound
Grand Tour
Common Ground
Welcome To The Planet
The Second Brightest Star

I have to say that the 2009-2017 period is the one I'm most drawn to (culminating in the Merchants Of Light live release). For me there's a drop in quality starting with Grand Tour, and continuing with their last two. Still very good albums but not to the same high quality as the previous ones.

[soupytwist]

The Second Brightest Star coming last is no surprise because of the recycled material that makes up the second half - but 'The Leaden Stour' is one of my favorite tracks by the band.

[Zydar]

The Second Brightest Star coming last is no surprise because of the recycled material that makes up the second half - but 'The Leaden Stour' is one of my favorite tracks by the band.

I'd say the same about the title track. What a lovely song.

[majo]

https://youtu.be/0C8R-rAKjW0

"Atlantic Cable" live in Aylesbury. It sounds and looks SO good.

-Marc.

Sounds amazing!!

Indeed!

[HOF]

Band is currently all gathered together in Italy doing some recording as a band for the new album as well as rehearsing for the upcoming tour. Greg Spawton got to see Peter Gabriel last night at the amphitheater in Rome, which looked pretty awesome.

[Nick]

Finally got tickets to see these guys in Scotland during our honeymoon, very excited! First time was Night of the Prog, now will see them on their own, and should be seeing them again next year on the cruise.

[Kram]

Finally got tickets to see these guys in Scotland during our honeymoon, very excited! First time was Night of the Prog, now will see them on their own, and should be seeing them again next year on the cruise.

Now that’s what I call a fun honeymoon lol. How’s the bride to be taking this?

[Nick]

Finally got tickets to see these guys in Scotland during our honeymoon, very excited! First time was Night of the Prog, now will see them on their own, and should be seeing them again next year on the cruise.

Now that’s what I call a fun honeymoon lol. How’s the bride to be taking this?

She got the destination she wanted (Scotland), and we'll be spending the entire rest of our 8 days there doing stuff she wants, so no complaints on my one night of music!

[Kram]

Finally got tickets to see these guys in Scotland during our honeymoon, very excited! First time was Night of the Prog, now will see them on their own, and should be seeing them again next year on the cruise.

Now that’s what I call a fun honeymoon lol. How’s the bride to be taking this?

She got the destination she wanted (Scotland), and we'll be spending the entire rest of our 8 days there doing stuff she wants, so no complaints on my one night of music!

That’s awesome! Congrats on the pending nuptials and I’m jealous you’ll be seeing BBT lol.  Enjoy!

[Kram]

Greg posted some photos from the studio on Facebook and said they’re about half way through recording the new album.  Interestingly, both Maria and Dave Foster are in the studio recording with the band.

[HOF]

Greg posted some photos from the studio on Facebook and said they’re about half way through recording the new album.  Interestingly, both Maria and Dave Foster are in the studio recording with the band.

Yeah, I noticed Dave was there the other day. Good to still have him aboard. Wonder if Rikard ends up focusing more on keyboards if they are gonna have two other lead guitarists in the band (though I did see Rikard with a guitar in some of the pictures).

[Kram]

Greg posted some photos from the studio on Facebook and said they’re about half way through recording the new album.  Interestingly, both Maria and Dave Foster are in the studio recording with the band.

Yeah, I noticed Dave was there the other day. Good to still have him aboard. Wonder if Rikard ends up focusing more on keyboards if they are gonna have two other lead guitarists in the band (though I did see Rikard with a guitar in some of the pictures).

There were a few pictures of Rikard with a guitar in his hands, which is fine by me, as I love his lead style and would prefer to hear him play even MORE guitar on the new album, if I’m being honest.

[The Letter M]

BBT have had three guitarists before, so this isn't exactly new, AFAIK. Hopefully Rob Aubrey will make a fair and balanced mix that'll sound full and lush but also crystal clear!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Some info and new pictures from the studio, including some short clips of new material over on the Facebook band forum.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain/permalink/10159655473308668/?app=fbl

[The Letter M]

Some info and new pictures from the studio, including some short clips of new material over on the Facebook band forum.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain/permalink/10159655473308668/?app=fbl

I love the implication of 5-part vocal sections coming on the next album! The clips sound great and very much BBT! It's gonna be a long year wait for the next album!

-Marc.

[Kram]

Some info and new pictures from the studio, including some short clips of new material over on the Facebook band forum.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigbigtrain/permalink/10159655473308668/?app=fbl

I love the implication of 5-part vocal sections coming on the next album! The clips sound great and very much BBT! It's gonna be a long year wait for the next album!

-Marc.

Just saw this - yeah, it sound great! Can’t wait for the new album!!!

[The Letter M]

"Apollo" live at The Boerderij

Haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it sounds wonderful.

-Marc.

[axeman90210]

"Apollo" live at The Boerderij

Haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it sounds wonderful.

-Marc.

It does [/NarratorVoice]

[HOF]

Only had a chance to watch the first little bit, but excited to see the whole thing when I have time.

[Kram]

"Apollo" live at The Boerderij

Haven't seen it yet but I'm sure it sounds wonderful.

-Marc.

Just watched, it kicks ass!!

[ProfessorPeart]

Have I said how much of a fanboy I am of Rikard? Would love some more Gungfly stuff from him, but he is crushing it with BBT.

So c'mon, the production values on this are excellent. Clearly some money went into this. Where's the Blu-ray?

[The Letter M]

Have I said how much of a fanboy I am of Rikard? Would love some more Gungfly stuff from him, but he is crushing it with BBT.

So c'mon, the production values on this are excellent. Clearly some money went into this. Where's the Blu-ray?

I would love nothing more than another hardcover mediabook with 2CDs and 1BD of this show. BBT's live releases have been nothing short of top-shelf and I'm sure they know their fans would plunk down money for this in an instant.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

So with the release of "Apollo" from last year's tour, we've now had eight songs from then released in some way shape or form, be it as Passengers Club audio, music video, or other outlets.

Master James Of St. George
Made From Sunshine
The First Rebreather
Atlantic Cable
The Florentine
Telling The Bees
Apollo
Snowfalls (Rehearsal)

These are the songs they played live that haven't been released (as far as I know):
Proper Jack Froster (Eastleigh, England only)
Summer's Lease (Eastleigh, England only)
Hedgerow
Bats In The Belfry
A Mead Hall In Winter
Last Eleven
The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun
East Coast Racer (Zoetermeer, Netherlands only)

Of course, of those, the newer ones would be more fun to see/hear live, like PJF, BITB, and LE. Everything else has been performed before last year and/or released live in other concert videos/CDs.

With the eight songs released, plus "Last Eleven", I cobbled together a 76:22 minute album for personal use as MP3s on my phone. I haven't had a chance to listen to all of it together at once, but I used Audacity to mix them and start each track at the start of the song since there's some talky-bits before each performance (I like to hear the song start if I click just the track when I have live albums digitally, especially if I want to jump right to a particular song).

Here's hoping that, if they don't release a full concert, that we get some of those other songs released somehow! I wouldn't mind a live compilation that contains all 16 tracks. They could all definitely fit on 2 CDs.

-Marc.

[Kram]

Have I said how much of a fanboy I am of Rikard? Would love some more Gungfly stuff from him, but he is crushing it with BBT.

So c'mon, the production values on this are excellent. Clearly some money went into this. Where's the Blu-ray?

Me too..... dude is awesome!!