For me, especially the track at post 150 below, and Curator of Butterflies.Originally Posted by aith01
For me, especially the track at post 150 below, and Curator of Butterflies.
Yeah, I'd definitely keep a handkerchief on hand for Folklore.
[QUOTE=Dodie;601297]No way.
Look at the date of the webpage: 1 April.
Clearly an April Fool's joke.
The band has repeatedly made it very clear that they are not going to reissue Bard, but they have given their blessing to fans on the Facebook page who are willing to share the mp3s provided each downloader donates to a charity for endangered hedgehogs. I don't have all the details to hand, but if you join the Facebook page of the band, I'm sure you'll be able to follow your nose and find the details of Bard, and also the very early EP The Infant Hercules.
QUOTE]
I actually had an email from Greg in June in which he stated Bard would be re-mixed & re-issued in 2017. No reason to think he was pulling my chain.
Well, I guess there's still hope.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Yes, they are finally yielding to fan pressure and reissuing it next year as a limited edition.
But like with English Boy Wonders I think it won't be the original but an upgraded / re-recorded / remixed version using the songs they initially re-recorded for the 3 CD anthology Station Masters, a project they are now releasing as three separate releases of which I guess Bard Redux is one.
Fair enough - but Greg had said categorically and unambiguously several times in public that the band did not wish to reissue Bard in any way, shape or form!
Something was said about it not representing who and what the band are nowadays.
Rather than re-record it, I'd rather they left it as it is, and concentrate their available time on new stuff.
Having heard the original early stuff that was shared on the Facebook group, I don't think we're missing any lost treasures - but fans of the band's earlier stuff will no doubt disagree :-)
This is not my understanding, but I may be wrong. They will remix it but it will be the original recording. Greg said they would make a limited run and let it go out of print along with all the older albums in order to concentrate on the new lineup, or words to that effect.
It is still unclear in what form the Station Masters project will finally be released as plans have changed often. The last I heard it was indeed three separate volumes over the course of the next few years.
But I have seen him publicly step back from statement on the BBT Facebook Group. Also he has confirmed in the past a few of the songs from Bard have been re-recorded for inclusion on Station Masters. That project has been in various stages of work-in-progress for at least 4 years now and the fact they have now decided to split it up in three volumes had to do with it being a more manageable project and using those releases as "stop gaps" between new music projects. BBT is a band that for years now have been running a very good long term planning scheme. The concept album that will follow the new studio album Grimspound was already "announced" before the release of EE1 and I remember a blogpost by David Longdon referring to it as Big Big Thing.
Does anyone besides myself think this band is in danger of reaching the saturation point? Just tour and no more out put for a while, audio of video. It does happen you know.
The older I get, the better I was.
For me they have already reached the saturation point. I loved The Difference Machine and the Underfall Yard but Folklore is rather dull.
The announced live album, which will be the third iteration of the Underfall/EE material, may be one too many, IMO.
I was also mildly disappointed that the live shows were not a beginning-to-end performance of the complete EE, with enhancements. The conceptual nature of the complete work -- musically if not lyrically -- could have been focused and expanded in a way that the recordings themselves tended to under-emphasize.
I agree. You've got London Plane which does the familiar "from the/where the [river, abbey, English landmark]" like in Lost Rivers of London, Seen Better Days (amazing track), and Winchester From St Giles' Hill.
Then you have Wassail and Winkie and Make Some Noise which are in the same vein. I think those are all their weakest tracks.
Folklore is more of the same. They're one of my favorite bands. But I'm itching for something fresh.
Crazy times, bbt have all but sold out 2 nights at the 950 capacity Cardogan hall in London, gigs due to take place September 2017. Pre sale Tickets went on sale 12.00 uk time and by the time I managed to logon at 12.23 about 90% of the Saturday stalls tickets had already been sold. Looks like they will be fitting in a Sunday matinee performance as well. Almost all the tickets have been sold to their existing fanbase, pre sale links were released to their Facebook group first, with prog magazine posting a link at 6pm that day, but they had virtually sold out by that point. Officially they go on sale tomorrow but I doubt there are any left. It's great news for the band but for anyone who isn't a big fan and wanting to find out what the prog band of the year sound like live, well they will have to wait. Tickets for the matinee will go to the fanbase first apparently.
BBT aren't everyone's cup of tea but the success they have had in recent years is pretty remarkable. I think it's a combination of good music, well written with a clear approach, performed by top quality musicians and then combined with very effective use of social media. I regularly visit their Facebook group and they seem to have a lot of fans who got into the band because they are trainspotters or live in Bournemouth or one of the places mentioned in their songs. Many are more traditional prog fans who don't seem particularly knowledgable about the modern prog scene, for example not knowing who beardfish were before rikkard joined bbt. I'm not being at all critical of these fans, merely pointing out that bbt seem to have tapped into, and connected with a niche market of lapsed prog fans that no one else has managed to connect with. So if any band is looking for a boost, try and negotiate a guest appearence on bbt's next album.
There's just something about them. As you can tell from my moniker here I have my own Prog band and I don't actually listen to a lot of Prog bands like a normal Prog Fan who is here on PE-although I keep good taps on my peers at least to find out what they sound like. Anyway, somehow I got into BBT big time and I got tickets for this concert. I'll sell the tickets if I can't get across the pond for a myriad of reasons but no one should worry about "saturation" as they've mentioned they have a LOT of music in the works. We prog bands are always moving material around that doesn't work with a current album or whatever. These guys have a lot of talent and I bet things will stay interesting. Personally, although I'm not as much an "anglophile" as my wife is their music feels VERY English, very well composed, multilayered and recorded very well. Their albums sound amazing in an age where cut and paste and digital cheats are the norm. So much warmth comes across from them in the sound and in the words and I think this adds to the fan base's feeling that they're part of "something".
It was quite incredible how fast the tickets sold, I logged on an hour late only to get balcony and no stalls. I have Friday tickets, but will try and take in the Sunday matinee when it is announced too.
I think their Facebook group world splendidly well, and with many of the band contributing it feels like a real family community. Some of the posters are a little too enthusiastic at times, and could opt for some QC before linking to the merest tangential reference to BBT, they subject matter, lyrics etc, that they fumble across in the wider world, but who am I to query their enthusiasm? They are a friendlier bunch than most net groups for sure, many meet ups, curry nights, gigs with fellow fans and even BBT members joining nights out. It is one of the success stories of the net, without the usual bitching and posturing found in so many "prog" groups.
There is a wealth of prog knowledge too, but many fans (passengers as they are known in the community!) come from different avenues to prog, so it's a healthy mix. Personally I detest the "let's call it prog and give it some credibility" message that many seem to promote. I love BBT and all they represent though.
Great to see you will hopefully coming over for the shows, hopefully you will get better accommodation arranged than the Leicester City Hotel (Summer's end joke). I agree about the sound of their albums, folklore seems to have so much going on but you can hear all the different elements so clearly, the mix and production is first class.
Yes their Facebook group is quite entertaining in the main and generally a friendly place, as you say some are a little OTT but that's life. There is one guy who hardly ever mentions music or bbt but often posts comments and photos about interesting places he has been, stuff he has bought in car boots and antique shops etc.. Which makes a nice change to funny pictures of trains or sprouts.
That would be Angus Prune, a very nice chap I met at the Folklore launch event.
I was thinking of someone else, Gary something, Angus is a superfan and also seems an interesting and funny guy in the group. Actually I live in the same town as Angus but I've not Come across him yet, although I have met another bbt fan here so it seems we have a small cluster of passengers in this part of England.
Apparently this album received an improved mastering compared to the first release of Full Power. Full Power has brickwall limiting and will be remastered using good tube preamplification on the analog before conversion to digital. Metrics of dynamic range show an improvement. When listening to Folklore, I clearly notice more dynamic bass and cleaner vocals during loud passages as compare to the original release of Full Power.
I don't know if anyone mentioned that Rikard from Beardfish was on this one and not just as a guest it would appear. He plays accordion, keys and does backing vocals.
For me Brooklands is by far the standout track but I also like Salisbury Giant a lot with that more determined sound.
I still prefer The Difference Machine, Underfall Yard and English Electric Part One to this one though.
I like Nick as a drummer but honestly does it matter who's behind the kit because the drumming seems to take a back seat overall. It's not like Gavin Harrison on the new Pineapple Thief where he alone makes that album greater. Just some thoughts.
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"
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He plays a few guitar solos as well. Rikard has been made an official member of BBT a few years ago.
You do know that they released a new album last week?
Not just a Genesis fanboy.
Yes it's been well advertised around here and on other sites. I didn't know Rikard was made a band member a few years ago though.
"The wind is slowly tearing her apart"
Sad Rain
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