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Thread: Big BIG Train - Wassail, new EP out june 1st 2015

  1. #1

    Big BIG Train - Wassail, new EP out june 1st 2015

    and here is the title track

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdSZCvS-qQg

    sounds pretty good to me

  2. #2
    The seemingly more hard edged sound/production is what I wanted to hear from them - how would their music sound with it.
    I don't think I would be wrong in saying that this sounds a bit different than their last few releases. More lushness to it.
    Love it. The keyboards at the beginning are great. Vocals - fantastic.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by act View Post
    and here is the title track

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdSZCvS-qQg

    sounds pretty good to me
    Pleasant enough but is does not scream "buy me".

  4. #4
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    I like it. Not as emotional or powerful as a lot of BBT ('East Coast Racer' and 'Winchester From St. Giles' Hill' blow this away imo). But I still like it, especially in the middle where it gets a bit more emotive (around 3 1/2 minutes?) The keyboards add a kind of classic rock element I like. And with the 2 extra tracks that won't be on their next album this is an auto-buy for me.

  5. #5
    Member Jondon4's Avatar
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    A little bit more repetitive than past efforts but I like the harder edge, perhaps released to blunt earlier criticism of "Make Some Noise." This group is clearly a diverse band of diverse styles and tremendous talent and I have predicted their future success while watching as the band's core members have slowly added new members such as Landon and D'Virgilio. Whoever is managing this group obviously has a long-term plan to roll them out very carefully and hopefully very successfully.

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    Member emperorken's Avatar
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    I'm not much of a BBT fan as I find their music generally a bit on the bland side. But I did like this new track quite a bit. I found it more powerful, which hopefully is a permanent trend.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by emperorken View Post
    I'm not much of a BBT fan as I find their music generally a bit on the bland side. But I did like this new track quite a bit. I found it more powerful, which hopefully is a permanent trend.
    Agreed with the powerful thing. It has more of a dense sound and dynamics. I prefer it this way.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by selmer View Post
    Agreed with the powerful thing. It has more of a dense sound and dynamics. I prefer it this way.
    agree with you

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    I must admit I had a few doubts about Rikard Sjoblom joining BBT. But if he is responsible for that big fat organ (I suspect he is) then I have no more doubts.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by gingernut View Post
    Pleasant enough but is does not scream "buy me".
    Yep. Same here.

  11. #11
    I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.

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    Quote Originally Posted by selmer View Post
    The seemingly more hard edged sound/production is what I wanted to hear from them - how would their music sound with it.
    I don't think I would be wrong in saying that this sounds a bit different than their last few releases. More lushness to it.
    Love it. The keyboards at the beginning are great. Vocals - fantastic.
    I'm not sure what you mean by hard edged, but it sounds great to me. Another winner by BBT.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Firth View Post
    I'm not sure what you mean by hard edged, but it sounds great to me. Another winner by BBT.
    I spotted what I call "hard edged" already from the first moments. And more or less it continued throughout the song. It has harder beats and a more crystal clear sound than the previous albums. Don't know what makes the difference - perhaps the rhythm section is a bit edgier. But the guitar and keys seem lushier as well.
    I think there is something that makes the difference. I like it a lot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by selmer View Post
    I spotted what I call "hard edged" already from the first moments. And more or less it continued throughout the song. It has harder beats and a more crystal clear sound than the previous albums. Don't know what makes the difference - perhaps the rhythm section is a bit edgier. But the guitar and keys seem lushier as well.
    I think there is something that makes the difference. I like it a lot.
    Ok, I don't consider a crystal clear sound as hard edged. I noticed the clarity of sound from that YouTube. Hard edge production to me means more distortion, and I'm glad it wasn't that way at all. The quality of vocals reminded me of the Spectral Mornings 2015 EP with David Longdon on vocals as well.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Firth View Post
    Ok, I don't consider a crystal clear sound as hard edged. I noticed the clarity of sound from that YouTube. Hard edge production to me means more distortion, and I'm glad it wasn't that way at all. The quality of vocals reminded me of the Spectral Mornings 2015 EP with David Longdon on vocals as well.
    Hard edged and crystal clear can both co-exist. One doesn't necassarily exclude the other. I can't talk about it from a detailed technical point of view, I'm clearly not educated enough to speak about it. I can only say what I hear/feel.
    On a side note, as far as I can tell, there is a difference between this and the previous albums. I don't think this is a coincidence or is it? Can these things be a coincidence? I guess they decided to make it this way. I have no idea if it's the production or somebody played their instrument(s) differently.
    I remember when Moon Safari did Lover's End Part III - it had a great clear sound, but not necessarily hard edged. Presto Ballet or Magellan - those I would describe as hard edged. On the other hand, on their last album Safari went for a more soft and toned down production which I did not like as much as Lover's End Part III.

  16. #16
    i agree about that this song is fairly different from their latest releases,and i like it a lot ,nothing wrong with their latest releases,but this suits me even more
    to me the sound on this one are bigger and has more power ,compared to their latest releases.

  17. #17
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    To be fair, I think BBT has always had some harder edged tracks, and some softer tracks on their albums. 'The Underfall Yard' had some of their hardest music to date, in the lengthy title track, harder than 'Wassail', imo.

    So that's Rikard on keys? Nice.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by bill g View Post
    To be fair, I think BBT has always had some harder edged tracks, and some softer tracks on their albums. 'The Underfall Yard' had some of their hardest music to date, in the lengthy title track, harder than 'Wassail', imo.

    So that's Rikard on keys? Nice.
    For me it's not about hard in terms of heavy. I know that they had some guitar and rocking parts, but here something is different. It isn't loud, the balance seems to be just about right. Maybe it's the effect of 3 things: production, a denser bass sound (a wild guess) and the vocals being more something like Advent did on Cantus Firmus.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bill g View Post
    So that's Rikard on keys? Nice.
    I said I thought it was Rikard but I was wrong: Danny Manners just told me he was playing the organ on the song.

  20. #20
    Member bill g's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LeFrog View Post
    I said I thought it was Rikard but I was wrong: Danny Manners just told me he was playing the organ on the song.
    Oh thats Danny. I like his style.

  21. #21
    Brilliant track and a great band.

  22. #22
    Member Gerhard's Avatar
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    Rikard is playing guitar in the video, he's the one tuning the 12-string, sporting his unique pony tail hair style. In fact, he was on camera quite a few times, whereas I only recall spotting Dave Gregory briefly here and there.

    Always looking forward to new BBT material, what a great band. My only minor gripe with this track is during the sections when the violin is the featured "voice" it sounds a bit thin to me. I felt it could have been higher in the mix, or something. I also found this new track a bit bland at times, but I'm sure repeated listens will reveal depth / layers I may not have caught with a few casual plays.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gerhard View Post
    Rikard is playing guitar in the video, he's the one tuning the 12-string, sporting his unique pony tail hair style. In fact, he was on camera quite a few times, whereas I only recall spotting Dave Gregory briefly here and there.
    I don't think that means anything: they don't look like they're actually playing the song in the video. They're mostly setting up their gear and sometimes they're synched like they are playing Wassail but I don't think that's really the case. So Rikard being on guitar in the video did not stop me from assuming it was him on organ!
    Not just a Genesis fanboy.

  24. #24
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    First thoughts on the Wassail EP which has been released today:

    - the title track is the best song by far. Catchy melodies and slightly heavier, as has been mentioned before. Knowing that it will be included on the band's next album, we should be in for a treat.

    -the next two tracks fail to make the same impact. In fact, it's the first time since I got into the band back in 2009 that I'm a bit underwhelmed by anything they've released. The band has set such high standards that both songs seem a bit bland although thay aren't bad by any means. I can understand why they are exclusive to this EP, it's as if they weren't quite good enough to be included on the next album.

    - the live version of Master James Of St George (originally on the Underfall Yard album from 2009) acts as a taster for the band's next live DVD recorded at Real World studios, to be realeased later this year. This version is rather faithful to the original but the arrangement has been reworked to take into account the band's expanding lineup. It's mostly pianist Danny Manners, second guitarist Rikard Sjöblom and violonist Rachel Hall who play new parts that weren't on the original, but blend in very well.

    All in all, a nice stop gap release to help us wait until the Folklore album, slated for early 2016, but don't expect the same quality as the Far Skies Deep Time EP (2010) which was almost an album in its own right.
    Last edited by LeFrog; 06-01-2015 at 02:14 PM.

  25. #25
    The title track is definitely the best, did not think much of the others. Hopefuly the next album is in the vein of the title song.

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