[And so it begins. . . the reviews of the latest release from Big Big Train, English Electric Vol. 2.  You can pre-order now, as the official release date is March 4, 2013.  BBT is already shipping.  Our Progarchists will be reviewing the new release intensively and extensively between today and March 4, 2013.  Indeed, let us declare the four days of BBT an official holiday of leisure, truth, and beauty in our little Republic of Progarchy–Brad, ed.]

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“English Electric Pt 2 – Pictures at an Exhibition”

by Alison Henderson

I like to think that listening to English Electric Pt 2 is like visiting a rather exclusive sonic picture exhibition.  You walk into the gallery and you are instantly surrounded by seven exquisite works of art, each with its own character, telling a different story, but somehow all inextricably linked. As the album begins to play, you are drawn to each of them individually, especially the detail and care that has been taken into bringing them to life and you are filled with admiration for their creators, and with awe for the effect they have on you.

East Coast Racer is a tour de force of the collection, big and certainly epic enough to cover a whole wall because of the detail and precision that has gone into its making.  At its centre, you see this legendary steam locomotive the Mallard taking shape through Danny Manners’ intricate piano lines that start and end the piece, introducing us to its sleek lines and curves, before it bursts out of the canvas at breakneck speed, David Longdon’s voice soulfully expressing the pride and passion felt by the men who crafted and engineered this beautiful mechanical masterpiece. Ever changing, ever evolving, this work shifts up and down the gears several times, the attention to detail paid through the painstaking instrumentation, adding texture to the Turneresque picture evolving in the music.

Continue reading “So it Begins. . . Big Big Train, English Electric Vol. 2” →