IMHO I never really heard a big Genesis influence except for some flourishes here and there and maybe Longdon's voice. I always heard a much bigger Yes influence. But more importantly I hear a great band playing really well crafted songs adorned in beautiful arrangements. They sound quitessential English to me, using imagery and subject matter that is close to their hearts.Originally Posted by Toothyspook
This sounds great, I will order today. I personally do not dig the flute on the BBT tunes but that is just my taste. Overall they are terrific. Underfall Yard is one of my all time favorite records.
You hear the quintessential well crafted songs of a group from the south of England singing about the heritage and events in the north of England, while I hear Genesis. So be it.
I think in 2016 Big Big Train now sets the bar for PROG. I can't wait for 5/27.
Last edited by progmeister; 05-07-2016 at 10:00 PM.
i have this on preorder,and i am really looking forward to its arrival
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Compact Disk brought high fidelity to the masses and audiophiles will never forgive it for that
Listened to the title track on the new PROG mag sampler CD (May 2016 issue - Emerson cover)... and I don't know... I really want to like these guys more, but I've only ever been able to get into English Electric Part One - which I really like. Everything else leaves me feeling... well, nothing. I don't dislike the music, but I don't particularly like it either. I'll try again in a year.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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Officially released today, my signed vinyl copy is en route from Burning Shed. You can stream the whole album at Bandcamp now:
https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/album/folklore (CD version)
https://bigbigtrain.bandcamp.com/alb...solution-audio (hi-res, with two bonus tracks that were previously released on the Wassail EP)
I'm on my third listen, as expected its very good and immediate, it hangs together very well with the more proggy story telling tracks by Greg Spawton and the more folkier poppy tracks by David Longdon (with the exception of the 7 part Winkie which is a similar vintage to Judas unrepentant) sequenced well together.
Looking at a poll on their Facebook page the early winner is the beautiful 'the transit of venus across the sun', but really I wouldn't say there is a weak track on the album unlike English Electric where there were a few tracks that I wasn't totally blown away by. The playing, production and songwriting is first class.
There is a lot more listening to do before I can form a strong opinion, and I've still got the new Frost CD to listen to as well. Good job its a bank holiday weekend in the UK.
I'm also on my third listen, and first impressions are very favourable. It's hard to pick a favourite track just yet. Transit of Venus caught me first time, and I picked that in the FB poll, but Winkie on the third listen is really standing out. There isn't a bad track here though. This weekend it will get some heavy rotation.
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.... and then I get to Brooklands and it leaps out of the speakers and grabs me!
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Loving this album! Initial favorites are "Winkie" and "Brooklands", but this may change with the many repeated listenings I know this disc is going to get!
'Brooklands' blew me away. Just fantastic, love those minors. 'Along The Ridgeway' is my next favorite I think, what a fabulous chorus, along with 'London Plane', which brought tears to my eyes initially, with some cool instrumental changes, but a little drawn out. As usual, I much prefer Greg Spawton's material. But again, 'Brooklands' is for me one of their most poignant tracks to date.
This is also the one that grabbed me after one listen.
I find Winkie more difficult because there's so much going on with that one, it looks like it will require more time to get into.
My first impression is globally very positive.
Not just a Genesis fanboy.
After a few concentrated listens Winkie is definately a winner, there is lots going on in the track with a kind of glam rock beat at the start and the end. Venus is quite unlike anything else bbt have releases. Telling the bees has a rod Stewart / faces vibe in terms of melody and instrumentation, it is a real ear worm I've been singing the chorus all day. The more epic tracks like London plane and brooklands are seriously good pieces of music with great story telling. I will have to listen to London plane in the context of the 2 wassail EP tracks which join it on the vinyl version.
Listening to that sequence for the first time now! I love the way that different pieces get re-contextualized in different environments like that! "Summoned by Bells" especially benefited from the re-ordering of the tracks on EEFP!
Wait, is the content on the vinyl release different from the CD?
Yes. It has two additional tracks, "Mudlarks" and "Lost Rivers of London", both of which were previously released on the Wassail EP last year.
Yes there are 2 extra tracks on the vinyl version, but these were the 2 other new tracks on the previously released wassail EP - lost rivers of London and mud larks. I believe they would have taken the running time over single cd length hence not included. They are included on the bandcamp download though. They form a side long suite on the vinyl version. I just have the cd at the moment.
After additional listenings. 'Brooklands' remains my favorite, followed by 'Along The Ridgeway' and 'The Transit of Venus Across The Sun'. In fact all 5 Spawton-penned tracks are especially fine.
Big Big Train is a group that I would love to love. Almost all the elements are there: great musicianship, very good writing, solid rythm musicians, but as all their previous efforts, there is never a single track that blew me out. Overall it always left me with a good impression, but there is no rush to hear it agan as with other groups. The singing, and sometimes the construction of the melodies - to me - are the weakest link that my makes think a bit negative of their recordings. I enjoy more the instrumental passages. In Folklore, the song I enjoy more was The Transit of Venus Across the Sun (maybe because it depart from the usual formula of their previous efforts). On the other hand, I can understand why many of you life this group so much.
I must admit, I've never been enthralled by BBT. I've always found their music to be pleasant, easy listening prog, and generally uninteresting. So a friend of mine convinced me to listen to Folklore. He said it was really great, much better than their previous albums. So I gave it a shot, and you know what? I found it to be pleasant, easy listening, and uninteresting. The biggest difference I noticed is that David Longdon sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel on this album. And as good a vocalist as Longdon is, he cannot, as with prior releases, overcome the rather bland music.
Each to their own but I would like to know who Gilawi and Emperorken recommend currently, so I can see where their preferences lay.
To my mind the musicality and compositional strength within BBT are at a peak right now, and their songs pack a hefty emotional punch that so much current "prog by numbers" lacks.
As I said though, each to their own, we all hear and enjoy different things, which makes the discussion interesting.
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I made a playlist of the vinyl order on my iPhone, I really enjoy the London suite in this format. I wish I had bought the vinyl now, the artwork would be stunning in this format. I believe they are on the second production run already, I may just have to get one.
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I would say that BBT are right up there in the sub genre of prog that they occupy, what ever that is called- pastoral, melodic etc.. I love the more tricky and experimental side of prog as well but I wouldn't say one style is more enjoyable than the other. On a warm sunny and bright weekend when I have been out and about then Folklore really hits the spot for me.
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