Tag: Big Big Train

In Concert: Big Big Train Build “A Mead Hall in America”

On By kruekuttIn Big Big Train, progressive rock3 Comments

Big Big Train, Sweetwater Performance Theatre, Fort Wayne, Indiana – March 1, 2024

Four years ago this month, Big Big Train’s first North American tour was cancelled, a victim of the worldwide COVID pandemic. Just over 28 months ago, a more ambitious debut tour fell apart before it could even be announced, following the shocking death of BBT singer/songwriter/frontman David Longdon. Finally – finally! – last Friday night, nearly 250 fans (including me, my wife and fellow Progarchist Bryan Morey) packed a state of the art auditorium at the largest music retailer on the planet.

We waited as the announced start time ticked past. And waited some more. Really, how much suspense can BBT’s loyal Passengers – some fortified with sprouts, it’s true, but still – stand?

But all last-minute anxieties fell away as the international septet filed onstage, counted in and exploded into the opener “Folklore”. The audience launched into the singalong chants from the first – “Hey ho, so we go/We pass it on, we hand it down”, indeed – as new frontman Alberto Bravin ramped up into a kinetic dynamo, belting out the melody, prowling the length of the stage, stoking it all to a higher pitch. Meanwhile, the rest of the band dug into the song’s earthy folk-rock rhythm, constantly catching each other’s glances and grinning, as if to say, “can you believe we actually, finally get to do this?”

Rather than focus on their released-that-day effort The Likes of Us, Big Big Train generously gave us Statesiders what we’ve been wanting all these years — a bountiful cross-section of their back catalog from 2009’s game-changing The Underfall Yard through 2021’s Welcome to the Planet. And if the musical balance tipped ever so slightly toward the peak Anglophilia of the English Electric era, with “The First Rebreather” and “Summoned By Bells” as the set’s early landmarks, no one in the crowd seemed to be complaining.

At the back of the stage, keyboardist Oskar Holldorff and bassist/founder Gregory Spawton anchored the music, with Wakemanesque grand piano, sinewy Rickenbacker lines and booming bass pedals laying down track for free passage. To their right, freshly recruited trumpeter Cade Gotthardt covered BBT’s trademark brass parts, sometimes pivoting toward fusion-era Miles Davis fanfares and colors to fresh effect. Up front, Clare Lindley specialized in rippling, quicksilver violin licks; Rikard Sjöblom tackled his own fluid guitar parts plus absent guitarist David Foster’s riffs plus chunky, fiery organ work; and Nick D’Virgilio moved effortlessly from one off-center rhythm to the next, hands and feet awhirl with the rhythmic possibilities. Meanwhile, everyone but Spawton and Gotthardt contributed backing vocals; Bravin, Gotthardt and Lindley added orchestral keyboard pads as needed; and a 12-string guitar purchased at Sweetwater during rehearsals passed between Bravin, D’Virgilio, Lindley, Sjöblom and Spawton as if they’d gathered round a campfire. The cumulative effect kept the audience on the edge of their seats, giddy with the pace and eager for the next inevitable surprise.

Mirroring the onstage swirl of genre, color and texture, the band’s presentation never remained static. D’Virgilio joined Bravin front and center for their vocal duet on Grand Tour’s “The Florentine”, venturing into the audience for a second verse walkabout; on Grimspound’s “A Mead Hall in Winter” (the current tour’s namesake) Spawton stepped forward and gathered the mobile players for an accelerating jam that careened through metallic stops and starts. Out of that whirlwind came the gentlest moment of the night: D’Virgilio and Sjöblom’s tribute to Longdon. Their acoustic take on his “Telling the Bees” was utterly poignant – grief refracted through joy and gratitude, the audience eagerly picking up the chorus, everyone calling to memory the artistic gifts that their absent friend had shared so generously.

Then, the pealing piano chords that herald “East Coast Racer” — and suddenly any opening night jitters fell away from the band, any onstage fluffs no longer mattered. Big Big Train locked in with each other, ramping up the intensity; Bravin roared, purred and declaimed the narrative; the crowd entered the drama inherent in Spawton’s defining epic – more than the story of a train setting a land speed record, a evocation of the sweat and effort of the men behind the breakthrough. And as the audience joined in Bravin’s climactic cry – “And into history/And into legend/She flies” – the night came together in a sublime thrill of tension, release and catharsis.

From that point, an excellent show turned consistently great, as BBT sprinted for the finish line — Longdon’s grim chronicle “A Boy in Darkness”, Bravin’s delicate new ballad “Love Is the Light” and D’Virgilio’s exuberant instrumental “Apollo” chilled the blood, then plucked the heartstrings, then pumped up the adrenaline. Then, after a teasing Bravin invited the crowd to guess the encore, came “Victorian Brickwork” from The Underfall Yard. As Spawton’s doleful tale of familial regret and remorse unwound and the mist of intricate cross-rhythms cleared, Gotthardt launched into that elegiac trumpet coda — and grown men (including me) cried freely and with abandon.

What more is there to say about such an exciting, moving, thoroughly satisfying night? Big Big Train repaid their US audience’s longstanding devotion with interest, and the overwhelming atmosphere of happiness carried over to a relaxed after-show meet and greet. My advice: catch them in Boston (March 5) or Buffalo (March 6) if you can – and hope this mini-tour has sold well enough so that they can mount a return trip before their visas expire!


— Rick Krueger

Setlist:

  • Folklore
  • The Connection Plan
  • The First Rebreather
  • The Florentine
  • Summoned by Bells
  • A Mead Hall in Winter
  • Telling the Bees
  • East Coast Racer
  • A Boy in Darkness
  • Love Is the Light
  • Apollo
  • Victorian Brickwork

Rick’s Quick Takes for February ( Levels, Likes, Loves, Leads – and Nightwhales?)

On By kruekuttIn art rock, avant-garde, Big Big Train, Industrial, Insideout Music, Kscope, post punk, progressive metal, progressive rock, thrash metalLeave a comment

2024 is out of the gate hot — three of the albums below are already on my Year-End Favorites list, and there are no duds in this bunch! As usual, purchase links are embedded in the artist/title listing, with a partial or complete streaming preview below the review.

Anchor and Burden, Extinction Level: MoonJune Music mainman Leonardo Pavkovic has labelled this brutal beauty “uncompromising progressive avantgarde doom-jazz post-metal”. That pretty much covers it! Kicking off with opener “Fractured Self” and “Body Expansion”, touch guitarists Markus Reuter and Alexander Dowerk spend the next hour launching knife-edged slabs of sonic concrete into sub-orbit; drummer Asaf Sirkis pulverizes any semblance of a steady beat into terrifying quick marches (“Mutual Assured Destruction”), hyperactive polyrhythms (“Nine Gates to Dominion”), or just lethal, unanticipated deadfalls; and electronics wizard Bernhard Wöstheinrich provides both breathing space for a comedown, as on the closing “The Crust of This Earth”, and crash pads for droning, sludgy guitar plunges throughout the extended title track. Absolutely bonkers, already a favorite; you may have to be in the right mood for it, but Extinction Level’s free-for-all improv (not far removed from King Crimson’s outer limits) turns out to be a heady, head-banging good time.

The Bardic Depths, What We Really Like in Stories (released March 7): both more direct and more varied than their previous releases, TBD’s third is a first-class album that delivers generously on its title’s promises. Brad Birzer’s graceful lyrics effortlessly transport us into the minds of creators as diverse as Ray Bradbury (“You’ve Written Poetry, My Boy”), Willa Cather (“Old Delights”) and Robert E. Howard (“The Feast Is Over”) — then into the creations themselves (the Orwellian dystopia of “Vendetta”, the postapocalyptic “Stillpoint”, the high adventure of “Whispers in Space”). In turn, Dave Bandana and Gareth Cole’s compositions are appealingly streamlined, giving Cole’s guitars, Bandana’s guitars & synths and Peter Jones’ keys & saxophones plenty of room to shine but never straying into aimless jams. Add a warm vocal blend from the quartet (with Jones and Bandana at the forefront) to Tim Gehrt’s steady, sparkling grooves, and you have a prog album that’s accessible without compromise, thought-provoking without pretension. This one’s charms might sneak up on you, but repeated listens will thoroughly repay your kind attention. (Check out our Bardic Depths roundtable here.)

Big Big Train, The Likes of Us (released March 1): the wonder here isn’t that indefatigable founder Greg Spawton and his international crew have regrouped with such power and panache; it’s that they’ve tackled the struggles and sorrows of recent years head-on, forging them into the band’s most direct, integrated album since Grimspound. From mission statement/overture “Light Left in the Day” through epics “Between the Masts” and “Miramare” to killer ballad “Love’s Light” and finale “Last Eleven”, new singer Alberto Bravin fares forward into the unknown, summoning the essence of friendship and the pain of loss, calling on all in earshot to seize the day. There’s tons of musical variety, too, from the hard-rocking “Oblivion” to the playful “Skates On” and the 12-string weave of “Bookmarks”, with all seven players (five of whom sing) each getting their time to shine. And yes, that brass section pops in at just the right moments, to bring a tear to the eye or lift the spirit as required. Familiar yet fresh, and destined for that year-end faves list, BBT fans can be well satisfied with this latest excursion – and The Likes of Us is well turned out to welcome new Passengers onboard as well! (Check out our interview with Alberto Bravin here.)

Steve Hackett, The Circus and the Nightwhale: Prepare to have your ears pinned back here: Hackett leaps out of the gate with freshly energized songwriting and ferocious guitar work and doesn’t let up throughout this compact, compellingly listenable concept album. The restless opening sprint of “People of the Smoke”, the “Squonk”-like stomp of “Taking You Down” (with standout lead vocal by Nad Sylvan and towering sax from Rob Townsend), the lush orchestral interlude “These Passing Clouds” are all full to bursting with devastatingly melodic, wildly spraying six-string excursions from Steve; even lighter tracks like the harmonious “Enter the Ring” and luxuriant 12-string centerpiece “Ghost Moon and Living Love” overflow with prime solo licks, mind-melting and heart-gripping in equal measure. Add Roger King’s richly scenic keyboards to a succession of marvelously eclectic tunes that waste no time and a coming-of-age narrative that climbs from the gutter to the stars (braced with a dose of the marvelous — there’s that Nightwhale, after all). And voila! You’ve got a Hackett opus that immediately goes to the 2024 favorites list, ranking right up there with Spectral Mornings, At the Edge of Light or whichever of his 30 solo efforts you prefer best.

No-Man, Housekeeping – The OLI Years, 1990-1994: Ben Coleman, Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson’s earliest singles for One Little Indian (oops, Independent), “Days in the Trees” and Donovan’s “Colours”, are the perfect sneak peek/summation of this compilation’s garishly romantic delights. Just as you start thinking “ho hum, fey indie Nineties dance-pop”, the heavens – or are they the abysses? – open, accompanied by lush squalls of immaculately recorded dissonance. As if Roxy Music and ABC had somehow wound up co-headlining a vaudeville show, Bowness’ desperate vocals and Coleman’s slashing violin work match up swoon for swoon, while Wilson toughens the grooves and hoists ambitious synthesized backdrops, colorful splatters of guitar punctuating the aching pantomimes all the while. Containing the first two No-Man albums (the singles-oriented Loveblows and Lovecries and the ravishing, guest-heavy Flowermouth) plus the early EP Lovesighs, a singles disc and radio sessions, Housekeeping is a generously filled, beautifully designed boxset that points unerringly toward Bowness and Wilson’s more mature achievements (whether together or apart), but is also thoroughly listenable and intriguing in its own right.

The Pineapple Thief, It Leads to This: more badass guitar loops and riffs (spaghetti westerns and surf music entwined in a Steve Reich soundscape); more bleak musings on our pervasive inability to connect, crooned with Bruce Soord’s trademark tenderness and fury; more moments of tasty, laterally-inflected drumming from Gavin Harrison. The current edition of the Thief’s fourth studio album is its own self-contained world, set in motion by the Soord/Harrison team’s moody interplay and rotating on Jon Sykes and Steve Kitch’s steady axis; undeniably of a piece with their recent catalog, and all the better for it. If none of the eight songs particularly stand out, they’re all honed to sleek perfection, building through seductive, bracing miasmas of dread and determined pursuits of flickering light to the knockout punch of the last two tracks. Whatever nightmare Soord is sleepwalking through, his eyes and heart are wide open as he edges forward, with Sykes, Kitch and Harrison urging him on all the while. (Soord’s recent “unplugged” solo CD/DVD, the already out-of-print Caught in the Hum, is an even more distilled example of this melancholy, coolly yearning aesthetic.)

— Rick Krueger

Bryan’s Best of 2023

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rock3 Comments

We’ve come to the end of yet another fine year in prog. It has been an extremely difficult year for me personally and professionally, and that’s been reflected in my output here at Progarchy. I wish I had had the bandwidth to write many more reviews this year, but such is life. I currently find myself unemployed (my temporary job ended at the end of 2023 due to lack of funding) and many months in to a thus-far fruitless job search. This year’s musical output has been a soundtrack through some incredibly uncertain times. Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order apart from my top three albums at the end.

soen-album-1300x1300Soen – Memorial

While not as good as their last few albums, this record has still been in frequent rotation for me. It has more quiet and orchestral moments than they typically include, but there is still a lot of their heavier crunchy prog metal riffing and signature melodies. Soen isn’t a band to be missed.

The-Final-Flight-Live-at-LOlympia-TransatlanticTransatlantic – The Final Flight, Live at L’Olympia

I’ve long preferred Transatlantic’s live work to their studio albums. Their studio albums are great, but this is a band that is best experienced live. While I’ve never seen them live in person and perhaps never will as it sounds like this could be the end for them, their live albums are always a treat. They are especially good for long car rides. I remember listening to KaLIVEoscope on a long car ride home from college back in the day, and just a few weeks ago I listened to The Final Flight during a long drive to eastern Tennessee to meet a special someone in person for the first time (at least something has gone well for me this year). The complexity of the music and the skill of the musicians keep your brain occupied on the long open roads. Transatlantic create a fourth version of their epic The Absolute Universe with this live outing, adding in a final set featuring a Whirlwind Suite, “We All Need Some Light,” and a medley from their first two records. It’s a great way to get into Transatlantic’s music for the uninitiated.

a3333831894_10Dream the Electric Sleep – American Mystic

I’ve been following Dream the Electric Sleep since 2014, and I think American Mystic is their best album. It’s more concise and more focused with subtle variety. It’s distinctly American prog, reminding me of the heavier prog of American prog bands of the 70s and 80s. Their vocal harmonies are definitely worth noting. Check out my full review at the DPRP.

bbt-ingenious-devicesBig Big Train — Ingenious Devices

While not exactly a new album, Big Big Train’s Ingenious Devices caught my attention and held onto it tightly. The band worked for years revisiting their “mankind and machine” trilogy of “East Coast Racer” (off 2013’s English Electric: Part Two), “Brooklands” (off 2016’s Folklore), and “Voyager” (off 2019’s Grand Tour). They re-recorded most of the instrumentals and added full string sections to the first two (“Voyager” was recorded with full strings). They also added a short track to bridge “East Coast Racer: with “Brooklands,” and they added a live version of “Atlantic Cable” featuring new singer Alberto Bravin. The mix is phenomenal, and it’s great to hear these songs set apart on their own. A must listen for Big Big Train fans. Check out my DPRP review.

haken-faunaHaken – Fauna

Haken’s Fauna is somewhat of a mixed bag for me. It’s a solid album throughout, but it leans a little too much on the softer side, but when it gets heavy and creative it slays. “Elephants Never Forget” is simply fantastic – one of Haken’s best songs. Check out my full review.

harmony-codexSteven Wilson – The Harmony Codex

This album grew on me slowly. At first I was mildly indifferent and then grew to like it, as opposed to my immediate and lasting distaste for The Future Bites. I think The Harmony Codex rather tactfully blends the spacey progressive elements of Wilson’s abilities with the pop edge that strongly influences his recent work. I don’t know if it was commercially successful for him, but the final product is a solid record that actually sounds more familiar. No it isn’t Hand. Cannot. Erase., but I think it’s his best solo record since then. But it isn’t for everybody, namely Progarchy’s Time Lord. Rick Krueger found more to enjoy.

Southern Empire Another World-CoverSouthern Empire – Another World

The Aussie band’s first record since 2018 finds them with a new vocalist – Shaun Holton. He has a great voice, but former vocalist Danny Lopresto’s voice is so unique and one of my favorite elements from their last album. As such it’s been hard for me to like Another World as much as I like Civilisation. With that said, it’s still a solid album with moving melodies and a stellar almost 20 minute-long track blending heavy with symphonic prog. Definitely worth checking out.

Moon Safari Himlabacken Vol. 2Moon Safari – Himlabacken Vol. 2

Finally! After wondering for ten years “whatever happened to Moon Safari,” the band returned this month with the follow up to 2013’s Himlabacken Vol. 1, an album I don’t listen to frequently but will always have a warm spot in my heart because it came out around the time I really started getting into newer progressive rock. Vol. 2 is even better than it’s predecessor, making the decade-long wait worth it. The 21-minute “Teen Angel Meets the Apocalypse” is the finest long track I’ve heard this year. I’m a sucker for intelligent writing, and this song incorporates influences (and lyrics) from T. S. Eliot’s masterpiece “The Wasteland” (a poem that also inspired Genesis’ “Cinema Show”). The subtle inclusion of the melody from “London Bridge is Falling Down” throughout the song is itself a nod to part of “The Wasteland”. The song is great and a must listen. Nobody does vocal harmonies better than Moon Safari.

riverside IDE3. Riverside – ID.Entity

Riverside have yet to make a bad album. They’re all great in their own way. ID.Entity finds them taking a synthier approach to criticism of modern technosociety, and it works really well. They still get heavy when they need to, especially with Mariusz Duda’s vocals on “I’m Done With You.” It’s a solid album throughout and shouldn’t be missed. Check out my full review.

molybaron_somethingominous2. Molybaron – Something Ominous

This album was the unexpected musical surprise of the year for me. I liked the band’s previous album, but I wasn’t as much a fan of the lyrics. This time around, it seems western government’s tyrannical overreach during the Covid-19 debacle has made vocalist and lyricist Gary Kelly rather based. The songs are short, but that doesn’t keep this from being a prog metal funfest. Kelly’s vocal acrobatics make the album thoroughly entertaining. “Billion Dollar Shakedown” is a magnificent teardown of modern society’s incestuous elitist blend of government and big business marching in lockstep to ruin all our lives. “Breakdown” is a refreshing and real take on mental illness, and it’s been a bit of a themesong for me since it was released. The title track points out how the elites are pitting the rest of us against each other instead of against them. “Daylight Dies in Darkness” takes a spacier tone before building into heavy metal. It’s a fantastic smashmouth rock n’ roll heavy metal album. The only thing I don’t like is it’s only 38 minutes long – it’s so good I want more. Check out my review.

tesseract-war-of-being-album1. TesseracT – War Of Being

Unfortunately I never got around to reviewing this one, but I did review their concert. This is such a fantastic album – the band’s best to date. It’s also their heaviest since their debut. Singer Dan Tompkins demonstrates that he has one of the best voices in the business. One minute he can sing high like Matt Bellamy from Muse and the next he’s doing distorted vocals a la Devin Townsend. He even learned new methods of distorted vocals for this album, enabling him to create different sounds for the different characters, since this is a concept album. I’m still trying to figure out the story, but the djenty crunch is a headbangers dream. Everything about the record is great, and it easily tops my year-end list.

So there you have it. TesseracT was the only concert I went to this year, and it was a banger. I bought tickets to the upcoming Big Big Train show in March, so hopefully I’ll be able to make it to that (life is pretty crazy right now being between jobs). I didn’t read any prog books this year, but I plan on starting Geddy Lee’s “My Effin’ Life” tonight. Hopefully the new year will suck less for me, and I hope it’s a good one for you all.

Thanks so much for reading and sticking with us here at Progarchy this year, even though our output was rather thin compared to last year. Hopefully we’ll get things rolling again in 2024.

Happy New Year, and prog on!.

David Longdon’s “Wild River” to be Reissued

On By Bryan MoreyIn progressive rockLeave a comment

Hot on the heels of the release of Big Big Train’s Igenious Devices, the band has announced the upcoming remaster and reissue of the late David Longdon’s first solo album, “Wild River,” complete with new artwork.

More from the band:

‘Wild River’, the first solo album from David Longdon has been re-mixed, re-mastered and expanded and will be released on 20th  October.  It is preceded by a single ‘Always’, which is available now.

‘Wild River’ was originally self-released in 2004 and at that time only a minimal quantity of CDs were produced.  Whilst it was briefly available via the Big Big Train website, it has long been out of print. David had always intended to remix and repackage it.  However, his sudden death in November 2021 meant that his plan never came to fruition.  In a final act of remembrance by his long-time colleague Rob Aubrey, Big Big Train’s engineer since 1994, David’s wishes have now been fulfilled.  The album packaging has also been re-designed by Longdon’s friend and collaborator Steve Vantsis.

Sarah Ewing, David’s partner,  recalls why he was so keen to revisit ‘Wild River’. “David was really proud of those songs,” she says. “He produced and engineered the album himself, but always felt that the recording, the production and the mix never quite met his expectations. Over the years he became much more skilled at his craft, and had he been alive now, he would have been able to deliver the album the way he always wanted it to be. He’d also always wanted to improve the cover art, but at the time he’d spent all his money on the recording and mixing.”

Wild River’ represented a transitional period for David, both artistically and emotionally. His father, Eric, had passed away in 1994, he had been through a divorce, and he’d auditioned to be the lead singer of Genesis following the departure of Phil Collins. However, after a protracted audition-cum-rehearsal process, he was immensely disappointed to lose out on the role. Which, with hindsight, was a blessing in disguise.

Around this time, XTC guitarist Dave Gregory was playing a session where he first met David. Between XTC projects, Gregory had been recording a version of the Genesis epic ‘Supper’s Ready’ and David, a big XTC fan, offered to sing on it, adding, “I really need to do this.” Gregory was astonished at how quickly David recorded the vocal parts: “Soup to nuts in an afternoon and an evening.” Rather than accepting payment for the session, David invited Gregory to play guitar and Mellotron on the work-in-progress ‘Wild River’. Gregory recalls, “The Genesis experience galvanised him. He was saying, ‘Look, this is what I can do. And I’m gonna f*cking show you’. That was a huge motivation for him. He felt rejected, so had to work a lot harder.”

Big Big Train’s sound engineer and David’s friend Rob Aubrey was asked to remix the album earlier this year. “It still fills me with sadness that he’s gone, but ‘Wild River’ needed to be made available again as it is such a strong album.” The last word on ‘Wild River’ goes to Sarah: “I don’t think it sounds like an album that’s 20 years old; it sounds very immediate and contemporary and that speaks of David’s talent,” says Ewing. “It’s hard for me to be objective, but I hear the younger David and in that regard it’s a beautiful time capsule.”

Preorder (UK/Europe): https://burningshed.com/store/english-electric-recordings
Preorder (North America): https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/david-longdon

Rick’s Quick Takes for Summer – Part One

On By kruekuttIn americana, art rock, Big Big Train, blues, country, hard rock, Industrial, pop, post punk, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, punk rock, Rock and Roll, southern rock, thrash metal, vernacular musicLeave a comment

Unless otherwise noted, title links are typically to Bandcamp for streaming and purchasing, or to Spotify for streaming with a additional purchase link where available.

Starting with an obvious choice around these parts: Ingenious Devices proves a winning Big Big Train compilation, featuring Greg Spawton’s life-enhancing explorations of humanity’s drive to expand its reach. Vividly orchestrated reworkings of “East Coast Racer” and “Brooklands” join a remix of Grand Tour’s “Voyager” and a stirring live take of “Atlantic Cable” featuring new lead singer Alberto Bravin; the result is a fresh, vital, thoroughly moving suite of prog epics. Recommended without hesitation!

Southern rockers Drive-By Truckers have also reached back — fleshing out their classic 2004 effort as The Complete Dirty South, the double album they originally conceived. Triple-threat guitarist/songwriters Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell reel off tale after compelling tale of characters caught in desperate circumstances, torn between bad choices, clinging to vagrant hopes. Their rampaging hard-rock energy, seasoned with delicate country soul balladry, is what elevates the whole concept beyond haunted fatalism to an intense meditation on courage in the face of overwhelming odds. (Having left the DBTs in 2007, Jason Isbell continues to go from strength to strength. His brand-new effort with The 400 Unit, Weathervanes, brings tons of sharp writing and fiery playing to a clutch of deeply empathetic Americana narratives, topped with irresistible choruses and just a pinch of classic rock a la Bruce, The Byrds and Neil Young. Whatever your take on country music, you really shouldn’t miss either of these.)

Also on the reissue front, Gentle Giant’s 1976 effort Interview now has a spruced-up, punchy remix from Steven Wilson (available here) that breezily clarifies the British quintet’s counterpoint vocals (“Design”), interweaving instrumental lines (the title track, frenetically funky closer “I Lost My Head”) and multistylistic hijinks (the unanticipated reggae chorus of “Give It Back”). The Moody Blues’ second release of 1969, To Our Children’s Children’s Children, becomes their third vintage set to get the multi-disc box treatment – though it’s only available digitally in the US. While the album proper leans toward studio psychedelia laced with wispy slow-dance tunes and the odd cabaret flourish, the bonus live tracks (including a complete set from the Royal Albert Hall) reveal the Moodies as quite the stomping rock outfit, slipping the leash on the album’s single “Gypsy,” the encore “Ride My Seesaw” and core tracks from Days of Future Passed.

Live releases have picked up again as well. For their concert video debut Island Live (available through Magenta’s Tigermoth label), Jem Godfrey’s tech-forward quartet Frost* reap a whirlwind harvest of monumentally proportioned prog. With bassist Nathan King and drummer Craig Blundell anchoring the jumpy polyrhythms, guitarist John Mitchell and keyboardist Godfrey eagerly splatter as many unhinged solos as possible across devilishly ingenious harmonic structures, singing their hearts out all the while. (Check out a video sample here.) Prefer calmer (though no less extended) sonic voyages? Lifesigns’ Live in the Netherlands should be just the ticket. Leaning on the music from 2021’s Altitude, keyboardist/composer John Young and guitarist Dave Bainbridge prove steady hands on the wheel, soothing the soul as they scale the majestic heights of “Open Skies,” “Ivory Tower” and “Last One Home”. (One other winner from outside the genre: for a 2021 COVID-time video, Bob Dylan fused his recent rummagings amongst the blues and pre-rock vocal stylings to revitalize his vintage repertoire. The unplugged sorta-soundtrack Shadow Kingdom is the winning result; order it here.)

Speaking of concerts, my prep for a recent show by British “post-Brexitcore” bashers black midi included their latest album Hellfire, which hit plenty of 2022 best-of lists in and out of the prog world. A detailed live review is forthcoming; suffice to say that on record, bm’s dense, anarchic musical interaction tracks all too well with their jaundiced first-person lyrical vignettes — it’s postmodern life as absurd, unstoppable apocalypse. A welcome bonus from that concert was meeting Mike Potter, Renaissance man of the Eastern Seaboard — astrophysicist, former recording studio owner and a whiz on keys, woodwinds and vocals too! Potter’s band Alakazam has just released their fourth disc, Carnival Dawn; it’s a heady conceptual effort that stirs equal parts Ray Bradbury and Stephen King into a bubbling stew garnished with ominous Mellotron, creepy clarinet and saxophone, and the wondrously deranged verbal musings of sundry evil clowns. By the pricking of my thumbs, it’s worth a listen — if you dare. And for a coolly energizing dose of order to chase the above chaos, you won’t do better than Sonar’s new Three Movements. Here Stephen Thelen and company harness a genuinely symphonic tension, building up towering rhythmic edifices that reach dizzying heights; at the climaxes, as guests David Torn on guitar and J. Peter Schwalm on electronics launch volley after volley of improvised ambience, the tension breaks, the clouds clear, and you might just hear the music of the spheres!

P.S.: in the aftermath of last month’s Nickel Creek concert, I’ve continued to delight in their back catalog. In addition to this year’s brilliant Celebrants, I especially recommend the final effort from their original run, 2005’s sprawingly eclectic Why Should the Fire Die?, and their tightly focused 2014 reunion, A Dotted Line. (Buy Nickel Creek CDs here.)

— Rick Krueger

Kruekutt’s 2022 Favorites

On By kruekuttIn afro beat, americana, art rock, avant-garde, Big Big Train, books, Cosmograf, electronic, Insideout Music, jazz, jazz rock, pop, progressive rock, Robin Armstrong, vernacular music2 Comments

A few notes before I dive in: items I’ve reviewed here are linked to the relevant Progarchy article via the artist/album title; If I didn’t review an item here or elsewhere, it’s marked with an asterisk (*) — but I hope the capsule description and listening/order links will encourage you to check it out!

My favorite new music of 2022:

  • Dave Bainbridge, To The Far Away: A thrilling, ravishingly beautiful album about love, longing, hope and a future. Lyrics of rich simplicity cradled in a lush orchestral blend of rock, prog and Celtic folk. My interview with Bainbridge is here.
  • Big Big Train, Welcome to the Planet: what turned out to be BBT’s final effort with the late David Longdon consolidates the widened horizons of Grand Tour and the intimate subjects of Common Ground, casting an epic light on the everyday glory of family, community, joy and loss.
  • Cosmograf, Heroic Materials: Elegiac in its evocation of past achievements, urgent in its contemporary call to action, breathtaking in its poised blend of fragility and strength, Robin Armstrong’s latest is a riveting listen.
  • The Flower Kings, By Royal Decree: TFK’s third double album in a row, this is the sound of Roine Stolt and company refreshed and revisiting their optimistic roots, soaring on the wings of one marvelous melody after another. As much a joy to hear as it must have been to create.
  • Mary Halvorson, Amaryllis & Belladonna: free jazz guitarist Halvorson hits a major label with two albums — teaming with a boisterously simpatico sextet on Amaryllis, then dancing atop and around modern classical textures from the Mivos Quartet on Belladonna. Audacious and engrossing, this music will open your ears real good!
  • Dave Kerzner, The Traveller: confident, appealing songwriting with hooky yet sophisticated melodies and structures, Kerzner’s best, widest ranging vocals to date and perfectly judged contributions from a stellar guest list. Letting his new songs sell themselves and keeping proceedings to the point, he both satisfies us and leaves us wanting more. 
  • The Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Cold As Weiss: An immediately accessible reboot of a classic jazz trio format. Organist Lamarr, guitarist Jimmy James and drummer Daniel Weiss are thrilling players who never fail to make their instruments sing. Funky, catchy bite-size tracks with great individual playing and razor sharp ensemble. 
  • Marillion, An Hour Before It’s Dark: The front half of Los Marillos’ latest has more swagger than they’ve mustered in a while; the back half’s meditative downshift climaxes with the sweeping smashcut finale “Care,” as power chords and massed choirs climb heavenward. Unique as anything in their catalog, and another thoroughbred winner.
  • Pure Reason Revolution, Above Cirrus: this fifth album reveals PRR at their best, consistently upping their game to the next level. For every moment of blissful harmonies and glidepath atmospherics, there’s an equal and opposite moment of feral guitar/drum slammin’ — and when they layer the two together, look out! Well worth buckling up for the ride.
  • The Smile, A Light For Attracting Attention: A Radiohead side project worth your while. Thom Yorke overflows with apocalyptic dread; Jonny Greenwood’s off-kilter instrumental instincts are keener than ever; Tom Skinner’s skittering beats relentlessly drive the grim, lush soundscapes forward. Music for our contemporary dystopia, irresistibly sucking you in.
  • Tears For Fears, The Tipping Point: Roland Orzbaal & Curtis Smith’s catchy-as-always comeback goes for catharsis via unstoppable rhythms, unforgettable choruses and naked vulnerability on every single track, Devastatingly gorgeous, uncompromising art-pop that will haunt you long after every listen.
  • And my Top Favorite of the year — Wilco, Cruel Country. A double set that detours from Jeff Tweedy’s thoughtful dad-rock toward Nashville and Bakersfield, the tactile interplay of the band and Tweedy’s quizzical, empathetic probes of societal alienation elevate this to an album of genuine tenderness and subtlety, gathering strength and heart as it unrolls. After a digital-only release this year, it’s finally coming out on LP and CD January 20!

My favorite reissues of 2022:

  • The Beatles, Revolver Special Edition*: No Revolver, no Sergeant Pepper — no prog? Regardless of what ifs, the Fabs’ great leap forward of 1966 was brilliant in its own right, dragging pop headlong toward the avant-garde. Here it gets a subtle yet effective remix, with fascinating studio outtakes framing the cutting-edge results.
  • Tim Bowness & Giancarlo Erra, Memories of Machines: an irresistible mix of unflinchingly intimate art-rock and lowering ambient backdrops. Ten years on, original arrangements and track lengths are restored, Erra’s textural work is inched forward — and as always, Bowness breaks your heart with his ringing couplets and his stoic voice.
  • My Top Favorite Reissue of the year: Robert Fripp, Exposure/Exposures. The guitarist’s 1979 return to active duty after a post-King Crimson sabbatical, binding together a disparate set of songs and guest artists with his innovative ambient Frippertronics. Whether by itself or as part of a gargantuan box set that chronicles Fripp’s entire “Drive to 1981,” it’s a wild, worthwhile listen in and of itself, while providing distinctive previews of coming attractions.
  • Marillion, Holidays in Eden Deluxe Edition*: my introduction to the band (I first saw them live on the US tour promoting the album), Holidays was partially a product of record company pressure for hit singles, but it also has plenty of Marillion’s trademark ambition, power and lyricism. A fresh remix complemented by exciting live shows on both audio and video.
  • Soft Machine, Bundles*: Add blazing young guitarist Allan Holdsworth to one of the pioneering British jazz-rock bands, stir in quirky compositions by keyboardists Karl Jenkins and Mike Ratledge, and stand by for fireworks! This fresh reissue also includes a hot live set featuring Holdsworth’s successor John Ethridge (still active with the Softs today).
  • Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Super Deluxe Edition*: The album that put Wilco on the map (after they were dropped by their label), YHF mutated from Americana through dream-pop to electronica-tinged folk-rock as band members and producers came and went. Eight discs that copiously chronicle the recording process, plus blistering two live sets.

My favorite (re)discoveries of 2022:

My favorite live album of 2022: Big Big Train, Summer Shall Not Fade*. Equal parts power and grace, BBT’s 2018 headlining gig at Germany’s Night of the Prog may be their best live release yet. Playing to their largest crowd ever, David Longdon commands the stage; Greg Spawton and Nick D’Virgilio provide a muscular foundation; Dave Gregory, Rikard Sjobom, Danny Manners and Rachel Hall serve up one delightful moment after another. Bryan Morey’s review nails it; this is indispensable.

My favorite rock documentary of 2022: In The Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50*. The most unconventional band of the last five decades gets the most unconventional documentary possible. Crims past and present weigh in on “living, dying, laughing, playing and rocking out”, with Robert Fripp providing the ever-present focal point in a particularly puckish fashion. There’s also a deluxe edition with live Crimson video (both in the studio and at 2019’s Rock in Rio festival) and four bonus CDs of soundtrack cuts, rarities, etc.

My favorite books about music of 2022:

  • Vashti Bunyan, Wayward: Just Another Life to Live. Singer-songwriter Bunyan’s unlikely late-60s odyssey from Swinging London to the Hebrides forms the heart of this evocative narrative. Laboriously traversing the heart of England, she gains understanding of the natural world, of human kindness and cruelty — and of her own sturdy inner core.
  • Dan Charnas (with musical analysis by Jeff Peretz), Dilla Time: The Life And Afterlife Of J Dilla, The Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm*. In Charnas’ telling, Dilla emerges as an innovator who laid down new paths for neo-soul and conceptual hip-hop, via his subtle yet unsettling variations on previously straight-up rhythms. Peretz’s equally innovative graphic depictions of rhythmic innovations across the decades buttress the page-turning narrative.
  • Robert Fripp, The Guitar Circle*. More a philosophical tome than a how-to book, though still remarkably practical, Fripp’s highly conceptual explanation of his process (as unfolded in Guitar Craft courses and Guitar Circles) won’t be for everyone. But those who dig in will grasp where this eternally questing musician is coming from better than ever before.
  • David Leaf, God Only Knows: The Story of Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys And The California Myth*. The third edition of Leaf’s lifework chronicles The Beach Boys’ journey from surf-rock through eccentric art-pop to the dead end of nostalgia, then sidesteps to Wilson’s solo comeback, culminating in the completion of his masterwork Smile. Not in the least objective, but comprehensive, even-handed toward the rest of The Beach Boys, and heartfelt.
  • Grant Moon, Big Big Train – Between The Lines: The Story Of A Rock Band. How BBT became a prog powerhouse — through sheer bloody-mindedness, growth in craft and a keen ear for musical contributors — is the tale told in this richly detailed bio/coffee table tome. Both a celebration of the music made and an unflinching look at the price paid for a dream.

And in closing . . .

If you’re interested, check out these recordings I played or sang on that were released in 2022:

— Rick Krueger

Bryan’s Best of 2022

On By Bryan MoreyIn Big Big Train, progressive rockLeave a comment

This year has been an interesting one for me musically. For much of the middle of the year I was absorbed by older progressive metal music, primarily diving into back catalogs for Meshuggah, Pain of Salvation, TesseracT, and Caligula’s Horse. I found that I wasn’t as compelled by more traditional “prog rock,” at least not in its shorter forms. I did find myself enjoying some of the longer form tracks, like Lobate Scarp’s “Flowing Through The Change” and Ryo Okumoto’s “The Myth Of The Mostrophus.” Much of my favorite new music leaned towards post-progressive music, with a few more traditional picks thrown in as well. I’ve reviewed a lot of music this year and listened to far more, some of which would have made a best-of list in years past where I listened to less music. Alas.

The following order is relatively arbitrary apart from my top album at the end.

GH-2022-cover-1080px-PREVIEWGlass Hammer – At The Gate
The third record in Glass Hammer’s Skallagrim trilogy of fantasy albums doesn’t disappoint. In fact in may be the best of the trilogy. Equal parts heavy and proggy, I think my favorite parts are when the band goes full Rush. You don’t hear many bands really showing a mature Rush influence (as opposed to hearing elements of a Rush sound), and it was great to hear it on this album.

tangent-hard-shoulderThe Tangent – Songs From The Hard Shoulder
The Tangent returned this year with a collection of prog epics (and one R&B, disco, funk track), sure to thrill longstanding fans and possibly scare away the uninitiated. Check out my review of the album: https://progarchy.com/2022/06/28/album-review-the-tangent-songs-from-the-hard-shoulder/. Check out Rick Krueger’s interview with Andy Tillison, as well: https://progarchy.com/2022/05/27/andy-tillison-the-progarchy-interview/.

Lobate Scarp - You Have It AllLobate Scarp – You Have It All
This record was a long time in the making for Lobate Scarp and it’s mastermind, Adam Sears. The record masterfully blends prog with pop sensibility, all while bearing a strong Spock’s Beard influence. My favorite song is the 17-minute “Flowing Through The Change.” Beyond that, I’ve found many of the uplifting lyrics from other tracks running through my mind over the course of the year. Check out Time Lord’s review: https://progarchy.com/2022/05/06/album-review-you-have-it-all-by-lobate-scarp/.

a0006828710_10Dave Brons – Return to Arda
Dave Brons recently released a follow-up to his 2020 Tolkien-influenced record, Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost. Return to Arda looks at nature within Tolkien’s “Middle-Earth” through a celtic progressive rock lens. Featuring vocals from Sally Minnear, and mixing by Dave Bainbridge. Check out the album on Bandcamp: https://davebrons.bandcamp.com/album/return-to-arda.

Gabriel Keller - Clair ObscurGabriel Keller – Clair Obscur
I reviewed quite a few albums from France this year, and this record was my favorite of those. It contains a blend of English and French lyrics with multiple vocalists. The album has a variety of styles, gradually getting darker and heavier as it goes along. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/11/13/gabriel-kellers-stunning-musical-journey-clair-obscur/.

8716059014463-cover-zoomInhalo – Sever
I reviewed this debut album from the Dutch proggers for the Dutch Progressive Rock Page earlier this year, and it was a very pleasant surprise for me. It reminded me of TesseracT if they were playing just hard rock and not metal. Very atmospheric with a mature sound. I love their wall-of-sound approach. It’s a solid record, and I look forward to more music from the band. Check out my DPRP review: https://www.dprp.net/reviews/2022/071.

Big Big Train - Welcome to the PlanetBig Big Train – Welcome To The Planet
This record was bittersweet, being the final Big Big Train record to feature David Longdon on lead vocals. It was also an album of change for the band, with new member Carly Bryant taking a more prominent role on the record compared to Common Ground released a mere six months earlier. The record contains a pleasant blend of the band’s more accessible bits as well as their proggy moments. “Capitoline Venus” is a touching love song, while “Oak and Stone” fits in a long tradition of Big Big Train’s pastoral contemplative tracks. The title track is a bit unlike anything we’ve heard from the band, at least during Longdon’s tenure, reflecting Bryant’s new influence. It took me a few listens, as it took me by surprise at first. But once I “got” it, I really came to enjoy it. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/01/19/album-review-big-big-trains-welcome-to-the-planet/; and check out Rick’s review too: https://progarchy.com/2022/01/21/ricks-quick-takes-for-january/.

Big Big Train Summer Shall Not FadeBig Big Train – Summer Shall Not Fade
The band’s 2018 performance at the Night of the Prog in Loreley, Germany, has been a bit legendary amongst the band’s fans for years, and I suspect the band decided to release it this year due to Longdon’s tragic passing last year. The concert finds the “classic” lineup of the band playing at or near their best in front of a very large crowd. We’re reminded of how great a frontman Longdon really was. It’s a pleasant way to remember this part of the band’s history. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/11/05/big-big-train-summer-shall-not-fade/.

Bjørn Riis Everything to EveryoneBjørn Riis – Everything To Everyone
This record dominated my listening early in the year. Riis is an excellent guitarist, and his atmospheric rock is always compelling. Every one of his solo albums is worth listening to for his music, vocals, and lyrics. His albums are melancholic, like most of the progressive rock I’ve heard from Norway. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/05/09/album-review-bjorn-riis-everything-to-everyone/.

dt-lightwork-front-coverDevin Townsend – Lightwork/Nightwork
Devin may have gone quieter on Lightwork, but the album displays his talent as well as any of his records. His skills as a mixer, writer, composer, guitarist, and singer are on full display. The companion album, Nightwork, has some heavier moments, perhaps to soothe parts of his fan base. Either way, both records are great. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/12/22/devin-townsend-lights-the-night-lightwork-and-nightwork/.

meshuggah-immutableMeshuggah – Immutable
It has taken me close to a decade of listening to progressive metal before I was able to finally get into Meshuggah, and it happened this year! I’ve long known about them and respected them, but I just couldn’t get it. Maybe me getting into Devin Townsend’s more extreme side over the past couple years helped open that door, but I’m now a big Meshuggah fan. I could even hear a Meshuggah riff (from “Demiurge”) coming from my knife and cutting board when I was chopping celery last week. “Immutable” is a fantastic record, finding the band tweaking their sound a bit without changing their substance at all. “Broken Cog” is heavy, brooding, and atmospheric. The scream of “broken cog” close to the end is absolutely epic. Check out Mahesh Sreekandath’s review: https://progarchy.com/2022/11/25/immutable/.

Porcupine-Tree-–-Closure-ContinuationPorcupine Tree – Closure Continuation
I didn’t get into Porcupine Tree until after their hiatus following 2009’s “The Incident” and subsequent tours. I had no real expectations for this record, since Porcupine Tree has played a lot of different styles over the course of their long career. I kept an open mind, and I was highly rewarded. This album is pure Porcupine Tree without feeling like it’s trying to create a certain sound. It’s just what came about from the members writing and playing together on occasion over the past decade. Upon reflection, I think my dislike for some of Steven Wilson’s poppier solo work might be tempered if he continues to make music like this in other outlets. Check out Rick Krueger’s review of the band’s live show in Chicago: https://progarchy.com/2022/09/23/porcupine-tree-in-concert/.

marillion-ahbitd-1Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark
Another record that dominated my listening early in the year. This record is almost as good as 2016’s F.E.A.R. Perhaps not quite, but it is close. It’s one I’ll likely enjoy for years to come. Well written music and lyrics (for the most part – I have my beefs with one track) that ponder the turmoil of the last few years. It’s a hopeful album that has some calls to reflect and change our ways. In the end, it makes you think, as all good art should. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/03/27/we-still-have-time-marillions-message-of-hope-an-hour-before-its-dark/.

Oak - The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise1. Oak – The Quiet Rebellion Of Compromise
Oak never disappoint me. Their latest record finds them evolving their sound a little bit, but it is still definitively Oak. Their layered soundscapes, haunting vocals, and thoughtful lyrics have kept them at the top of my list of favorite newer bands since I first heard them in 2016, and they’ve only confirmed that for me with this record. They’re a band that deserves far more recognition from the prog world. Check out my review: https://progarchy.com/2022/12/14/oaks-third-masterpiece-the-quiet-rebellion-of-compromise/.

steven-wilson_limited-edition-of-one_bookMy favorite prog book of the year was Steven Wilson’s Limited Edition of One. Breaking the mold of rock artist memoirs, Wilson (and Mick Wall, who helped him in the writing process) created a post-modern masterpiece. I typically dislike anything deconstructive (in an academic sense), but Wilson turned it into an art form. He combines memories with lists of his favorite music, books, and movies along with more philosophical commentary on his career and on music in general. Check out my full review of the book: https://progarchy.com/2022/05/08/more-than-a-memoir-steven-wilsons-limited-edition-of-one/.

I only went to one concert this year: Steve Hackett. Interestingly, Hackett was the last concert I saw before governments shut everything down for Covid. The band played the Seconds Out setlist, along with some of his solo tracks. It was a brilliant show, with Hackett clearly demonstrating that his band is the best thing touring right now. He even released a live album from the tour that is well worth checking out. Check out my concert review: https://progarchy.com/2022/04/27/live-again-steve-hackett-plays-st-louis-4-26-22/. And check out Rick’s concert review too: https://progarchy.com/2022/05/06/steve-hackett-in-concert-from-spectral-surrender-to-seconds-out/.

This best-of list feels woefully incomplete considering how much excellent music was released this year… Muse, The Flower Kings, Six by Six, Ryo Okumoto, The Bardic Depths, Cosmograf – all great records, but the above list really captured my attention for one reason or another.

Hopefully 2023 will be another great year for prog. As usual for me, music has been an escape, a sedative, a lighthouse in the storm. With 2022 being one of the most difficult years of my life, music provided much needed comfort and direction over the course of the year. I suspect that will continue in the new year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks so much for reading.

Big Big Train Release Live Video For “Snowfalls”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Big Big TrainLeave a comment

Big Big Train have released a live video of the current lineup performing deep cut, “Snowfalls,” at De Boerderij in the Netherlands a few months ago. The song was the B-side for the band’s Christmas song, “Merry Christmas,” released in 2017. It’s a great track, and the band did a great job with it at this show. It’s nice to see new singer Alberto Bravin in action.

Big Big Train – Summer Shall Not Fade

On By Bryan MoreyIn Big Big Train, progressive rock1 Comment

Big Big Train, Summer Shall Not Fade: Big Big Train Live At Loreley, 2022 (concert recorded July 13, 2018), Blu-Ray/2CD
Tracks: The First Rebreather, Folklore, A Mead Hall In Winter, Kingmaker, Summer’s Lease, Brave Captain, Prelude and Fugue, Judas Unrepentant, The Transit of Venus Across the Sun, The Permanent Way, East Coast Racer, Drums and Brass, Wassail

Big Big Train never cease to amaze me. While this release has been out for a couple weeks now, I’ve just gotten time to sit down and enjoy the band’s latest live recording, Summer Shall Not Fade. The live show marks the band’s first time playing in Europe, at the prestigious Night of the Prog festival in Loreley, Germany on July 13, 2018. It also marks a closing of the curtain for what I consider to be the band’s “classic” lineup. Sadly, David Longdon passed away just under a year ago, and Dave Gregory, Danny Manners, and Rachel Hall all left the band in 2020. With everyone present, this show really finds the band at their peak.

Musically, this show sounds good enough to be a studio recording. There may be a few hiccups, but they are indeed few and far between. Be it Nick D’Virgilio’s intricate and soulful drumming, Rikard Sjöblom’s rocking Hammond and guitar, Dave Gregory’s shredding… I could go on. They all sound great.

One of the things that really stands out to me in this performance is how David Longdon really came into his own as a frontman. Since the show was at an outdoor festival, the stage was pretty big, allowing this Big Big Band to spread out more than in their other live recordings. There is also a small runway, which allowed Longdon to get out closer to the audience. Rachel Hall even used it at one point during “A Mead Hall In Winter.”

An example of Longdon’s showmanship appears during the first track, “The First Rebreather,” when he breaks into maniacal laughter after the lyrics, “This man will walk into darkness / Without fear of what lurks in the shadows.” The editor of the Blu-Ray zooms the view in on David’s face, which is lit with red light. It also appears like his head gets bigger, exaggerating the impact of his disturbing laughter. It’s a small moment, but it brought a whole new element to the song, bringing the terror of the darkness to the forefront.

The performances themselves are stellar. D’Virgilio is ever the champ on the drum kit, as well as with his backing vocals. Danny Manners shined on the instrumental “Prelude & Fugue” leading up to “Judas Unrepentant.” It’s a nice way to remember his time in the band. Dave Gregory, who also left the band in 2020, shines throughout with his guitar-work. His work will certainly be missed moving forward, although I have full faith in Rikard Sjöblom and Dave Foster.

Speaking of Rikard, he was so much fun to watch. His Hammond solo in “A Mead Hall in Winter” demonstrates his importance in this band, and watching him headbang during “East Coast Racer” was total fun. Since Longdon’s tragic passing, I’ve come to see that the new core of the band moving forward is Greg Spawton, Nick D’Virgilio, and Rikard. Obviously the others will (and already have) contribute, but these will be the mainstays (I hope).

Rachel Hall also really came into her own as a performer in this show. She was connecting really well with the audience, and her vocals and violin added a lot to the overall sound.

The visuals on the recording are quite good. At the beginning of the show, the stage was poorly lit by the passing light of day (I know, I know, wrong band reference), causing the camera-work and editing to look somewhat amateurish. This went away a few minutes in after the sun fully set, allowing the stage lighting to bring a professional feel to the performance. The editor also made good use of cuts and split screens without making the show feel overworked. It all felt natural, especially with how they were able to include shots of the large screen of images behind the band.

The audio is stellar, especially for an outdoor venue. That’s either a credit to the mixing crew during the show or to Rob Aubrey in the mixing booth in preparation for this release – or both as I believe Aubrey handles mixing for their live shows as well. I haven’t heard the 5.1 mix since I sadly don’t have that setup, but the stereo mix sounds great. Both Gregory Spawton’s intricate deep end and the crystal-clear high end of the brass sound wonderful, and most importantly, they sound clear.

Summer Shall Not Fade is an excellent performance from the definitive and now lost lineup of one of the most important bands in the progressive music scene today. Any progressive rock fan should certainly give this a look, but fans of well-composed and expertly performed music should also take note. While it’s sad to say goodbye to Longdon, as well as the other members of the band who have left, I’m happy we get this live album to remember this chapter in the band’s memorable history.

https://www.bigbigtrain.com
Purchase (UK/Europe): https://burningshed.com/store/bigbigtrain/big-big-train_summer-shall-not-fade_2cd_blu-ray
Purchase (North America): https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/big-big-train/products/big-big-train-summer-shall-not-fade-bluray-2cd-pre-order-only

Progarchy’s Band of the Decade – Big Big Train!

On By Bryan MoreyIn Big Big Train, progressive rock1 Comment

As we wind down our month-long celebration of Progarchy’s tenth birthday, we bring you our pick for the band of the decade – Big Big Train. For long term readers, this pick should come as no surprise. The original inspiration for this website came from a love and appreciation for Big Big Train and what they were doing.

To celebrate this Big Big Band, Progarchy’s editors (Chris Morrissey, myself, and Rick Krueger) have each written short essays that we hope touch on the band’s brilliance and importance in the progressive music scene today.

Chris Morrissey
A Grand Decade of Big Big Train: Reflections from Progarchy’s Resident Time Lord

It was the band’s freely offered download of “The Underfall Yard” that exercised a magnetic pull on so many potential listeners to Big Big Train. And then, once the track was downloaded and digested, those explorers were hooked for life. 

That was back in 2009. For me, it was the magic of David Longdon, now added to the band, that pushed their work into the upper echelon of prog artistry. 

And then, for me especially, “The Wide Open Sea” track on the Far Skies, Deep Time EP (2010) offered further proof that this was a band destined for eternal greatness.

And then the grand decade of Big Big Train ensued, from 2012 to 2022, which saw them soar ever higher. No wonder, then, that Progarchy.com came into co-existence, and rode along as prog passengers, chronicling this glorious time in prog music history

Big Big Train has been the engine drawing us all forward. It’s been an honor to track their musical arc here at Prograchy.com for the past ten years of glory. 

Thank you, everyone, for celebrating this, during our site’s anniversary month of Progtober, which has included celebration of the decade’s top albums, and also its top artists: Hackett; Wilson; and Morse & Portnoy. 

I urge you now to kick back, take time off, and play through BBT’s back catalogue.

To help further your enjoyment of these happy musical memories, I point you to the wide collection of commentary which I have authored that resides here in the Progarchy archives:

Virtual liner notes for English Electric—Part 1 (2012)

Virtual liner notes for English Electric—Part 2 (2013)

My controversial commentary on English Electric Full Power (2013)

Virtual liner notes for Folklore (2016)

My ★★★★★ album review of Folklore (2016)

My ★★★★★ album review of Grimspound (2017)

My reflections on BBT, analog/vinyl, and Grimspound (2017)

As you can infer from the above, The Underfall Yard (2009), Far Skies Deep Time (2010), English Electric Part One(2012), English Electric Part Two (2013), Folklore (2016), and Grimspound (2017) are the six albums that will always be my favorite BBT albums. 

I was mildly annoyed when BBT again reworked material on The Second Brightest Star (2017) since it seemed to confirm some of my earlier misgivings. In retrospect, I see my complaints did not adequately take into account the sheer generosity of the band, a band which was being kind enough to admit us into the inner sanctum of the artist’s musical process. Musical excellence is always a work in progress—by constantly being workshopped and refined. I see now that BBT’s superabundant dynamism was something to celebrate, rather than quibble too much about.

I confess I took them for granted in the past few years, only to be shocked by David Longdon’s untimely death. Now I find myself returning to their superb recent albums that I didn’t appreciate enough to write about adequately on Progarchy.com: Grand Tour (2019), Common Ground (2021), and Welcome to the Planet (2022).

Over the past decade, if I had to pick a “top ten” list of ten albums that we editors of Progarchy could collectively designate as our officially designated and editorially endorsed canon, then I would simply gesture to the ten BBT albums I have just named above. I suspect my bandmates would agree.

—Chris “Time Lord” M. (on drums), who dedicates these BBT-focused musings on the grand decade (2012–2022) with gratitude to: Bryan M. (on lead guitar); Rick K. (on organ and keyboards)

Bryan Morey
“Following a Dream of the West”

I discovered Big Big Train back in 2013 with English Electric: Full Power. I was blown away, and I still am. A bit later I dug into The Underfall Yard, and then Folklore came out and I was really hooked. Ever since, their albums – both live and studio – have been at or near the top of my yearly best-of lists. They have always remained true to the nature of progressive music by mixing in splashes of folk, pastoral themes, haunting brass, and even pop.

We’ve talked about all that at length over the years here at Progarchy. I want to talk briefly about why I think Big Big Train matters so much, beyond merely the brilliance of their music and lyrics.

Big Big Train stand for something much bigger. They stand, to steal from their own lyrics, for “science and art / And beauty and music / And friendship and love.” In a world that shuns anything connected to the past or tradition, Big Big Train have managed to embrace both that and hope for the future. They recognize the need for both, which is what the Western tradition has always been about. We take what is good from the past and use it to guide our steps forward. And we also learn from the mistakes of the past to influence our way forward.

Big Big Train recognize that “The poets and painters and writers and dreamers” matter. Without them, the world becomes a dull, dreary, and despotic place. Big Big Train represent the poets, painters, writers, and dreamers in their work.

The lyrics of Gregory Spawton and David Longdon are poetry of the finest order. The paintings of Jim Trainer and Sarah Louise Ewing have been some of the finest album artwork of the last twenty years.

As writers, of course their lyrics, but also the liner notes they have included with some of their albums. The original issue of English Electric: Full Power is particularly wonderful in this regard, in addition to having some of the finest packaging of any CD released in the last decade. They showed us how even the humble CD could be presented in a beautiful form one would be proud to display on their shelf.

And dreamers… how could a band that writes about everything from King Alfred the Great to a hero carrier pigeon be anything but dreamers of the highest order?

In doing all this, Big Big Train have inspired us listeners to do the same. I’m inspired to be a better writer when writing about them or any other band. I’m inspired to practice watercolor painting. I’m inspired to dream about the good, true, and beautiful. Few other bands draw me into the sublime the way Big Big Train routinely does. For that, I name them the finest band of not just the decade, but this century.

Rick Krueger

Despite Prog Magazine’s consistent championing of Big Big Train, I managed to resist their appeal until 2016.  Searching for a musical mood enhancer one afternoon at work, I came across From Stone and Steel on Spotify.

Any number of things about that set were appealing: the bracing tightness of the band, David Longdon’s adventurous vocals, the scenarios and soundscapes BBT conjured up.  But it was the brass that got me.  When they slammed into the choruses of “The Underfall Yard” and the lead trumpet soared heavenward at the end of “Victorian Brickwork”, I was hooked!  I had to hear more.

Folklore was just out, so I grabbed it ASAP and loved it.  Ditto for the back catalog, including my favorite to this day, English Electric: Full Power.  And to cap it all off, I ordered the Stone and Steel Blu-Ray via BBT’s website.

Only when I got it, the thing wouldn’t play – due to technical issues with my Blu-Ray player that had already caused fellow fans in the USA headaches aplenty.  What to do?  Enter Big Big Train’s amazing Facebook group, better known as the Passengers.  With an enthusiastic welcome and all the kindness in the world, they steered me toward both a downloadable version of the video and a Blu-Ray player that would play S&S.  I was so moved, I figured out how to burn the download version to DVD and shared instructions for doing so with the group – gathering kudos even from band members!  

This was a band and a fandom where you could feel at home, and I started proclaiming the wonders of BBT to anyone who would listen.  When a friend saw Sarah Ewing’s Folklore-era band portrait functioning as my laptop’s background screen, he said, “I need to introduce you to another friend of mine – he writes for this website called Progarchy.”

Which is how I started here, five years ago.  Since then, I’ve followed the ups and downs of Big Big Train’s career with all of you. I’ve delighted in hearing them break new musical ground with every release; my wife and I were thrilled to get BBT tickets in early 2020, then disappointed when that trek became The Tour That Never Was; I had the privilege of interviewing the late David Longdon in the summer of 2021, as he touted Common Ground and eagerly anticipated the long-delayed Stateside tour.  In the wake of his death, even as that interview reached a worldwide audience via a link from The Guardian, all of these thrills , ever so briefly, seemed completely hollow.

But in line with Longdon’s wishes, Big Big Train perseveres, and we are the better for it.  Their unique blend of pastoral atmosphere, historical narrative, mellifluous harmony and hypermodern groove is moving forward, with Alberto Bravin fronting the band onstage this fall and new music promised for 2023.  Saluting them as Progarchy’s Band of the Decade, I can only say, long may their journey continue!