Introduction
Big Big Train Biography
Big Big Train have released five albums including the critically acclaimed The Difference Machine (2007). A new album, The Underfall Yard is due for release on December 15th 2009.
Big Big Train was formed in 1990 by Andy Poole and Greg Spawton. They were joined by Ian Cooper (keyboards), Steve Hughes (drums) and Canadian vocalist Martin Read. Initial influences on the band's music included Steve Hackett, Anthony Phillips, It Bites and Prefab Sprout. A demo cassette tape of the band’s first songs, recorded on 8-track, was released in October 1991 and was followed by live performances. The demo tape ‘From the River to the Sea’ was re-recorded and released as a self-financed demo CD in May 1992, following which BBT played some higher profile gigs in England.
In January 1993, a second demo tape, ‘The Infant Hercules’ was released and the band then spent the next six months writing the music for its first proper album, ‘Goodbye to the Age of Steam’. This was recorded in a hectic two week period in July 1993. Soon afterwards, BBT signed to the progressive rock label GEP, where they found themselves as label mates of IQ.
‘Goodbye to the Age of Steam’ was a big leap forward for the band, both in terms of songwriting and recording quality. The response to the album was very positive, culminating in a licensing deal in Japan where the CD was re-released in 1995, with a bonus track.
In the meantime, Ian Cooper had left the band (for family rather than musical reasons) and live performances were put on hold while a replacement was sought and a new album was written.
Recording of BBT's second album commenced in July of 1995 (with Greg filling in on keyboards) and continued, sporadically, until completion 18 months later. During the sessions, a new keyboard player, Tony Müller was recruited. Some of the songs from the new album were debuted at the band’s only show from this period at the Astoria, London. ‘English Boy Wonders’ was finally released in autumn 1997, although in an incomplete state as the band had run out of money to finish the album. English Boy Wonders combined progressive rock (Genesis, Van Der Graaf Generator) with indie-pop influences (XTC, The Cure.)
Steve Hughes left Big Big Train in September 1998 and went on to join The Enid. He was replaced by Pete Hibbit. They were subsequently dropped by their record label, GEP. After a few more live performances, the band’s momentum seemed all but spent.
In February 2002, the third BBT album, ‘Bard’ was released on the band's own label (Treefrog - later to become English Electric Recordings.) At the same time, the Enid went into hibernation and Steve Hughes rejoined BBT.
The Difference Machine album was released in September 2007 and went on to become the band’s biggest selling CD. The Difference Machine features extensive performances from Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Dave Meros (Spock’s Beard) and Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard, Genesis, Tears For Fears.)
In 2008, Big Big Train re-released English Boy Wonders (an updated and completed version of the album which was partly re-recorded by BBT and fully re-mixed by Rob Aubrey).
In February 2009, songwriter Gregory Spawton announced that Sean Filkins and Steve Hughes were no longer members of Big Big Train and had been replaced by Nick D’Virgilio and David Longdon.
David Longdon was signed to Rondor Music and recorded for Epic records in the 1990’s. His band The Gifthorse supported Kirsty MacColl, Blur and The Pogues amongst others. In the final days of The Gifthorse, Longdon was invited to audition as a potential replacement for Phil Collins as lead singer in Genesis. He worked with Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and producer Nick Davis from May to November 1996 on recordings that would become the Calling All Stations album. Genesis also worked with Stiltskin vocalist Ray Wilson at the same time and eventually he was preferred over Longdon.
Nick D’Virgilio, who plays drums for Big Big Train on The Difference Machine and The Underfall Yard also played on Calling All Stations.
Longdon’s first solo CD Wild River (2004) featured many musicians collectively known as The Magic Club. In 2008 Martin Orford (IQ) invited Longdon to sing on his swan-song album The Old Road which was also recorded by Rob Aubrey and once again featured Nick D’Virgilio. Shortly afterwards, Longdon joined Big Big Train in time to commence work on their forthcoming album, The Underfall Yard, due for release on December 15th 2009. Guest appearances on The Underfall Yard include Dave Gregory (XTC), Francis Dunnery (It Bites) and Jem Godfrey (Frost*).
Big Big Train CD Releases (with commentary)
Goodbye to the Age of Steam (1994)
Lyrically, much of the album was on the theme of people losing their way in their lives. The album title wasn't linked to this, but it conveyed a feeling of pathos which fitted the melancholy nature of the songs.
The album was recorded by Rob Aubrey at Parklands studios, only BBT's second time in a 24-track studio. Recording commenced on the 17th July, 1994 with guide tracks so that Hughes had something to play his drums against. The band briefly decamped to a village hall with a better acoustic setting to record the drums and these were completed over three days from the 19th July. The recording budget was tight and most days, the band worked until 3 or 4 in the morning. Martin Orford of IQ assisted with vocal arrangements and additional production. Work was completed on the 15th August.
Wind Distorted Pioneers, the trees which break cover and grow above the natural treeline but get battered by the elements for their trouble, was chosen as a metaphor for the theme of the album and became the title of the opening song. The lyrics were influenced by Ted Hughes. Wind Distorted Pioneers segued directly into Head Hit the Pillow, a ghost story based on real events from my university days.
Blow the House Down is an elegy for all the casualties of the Falklands War. The track consists of a long instrumental section, bookended by two piano passages. The section of music from 4.07 to 4.38, which is repeated later on in the track, was taken from an instrumental track called Hoarfrost, composed in 1988, years before the band was formed, and retrieved from an old tape which was found lying around.
Expecting Snow was a brief interlude between the two longest pieces on the album. This was the last thing written for Age of Steam, demo'd in one evening just before the band went into the studio. It was inspired by an Alan Garner novel, the Stone Book Quartet. Garner's other great book, Red Shift, was the inspiration for Blue Silver Red. One of the musical motifs from this piece originated in the closing section of Kingmaker, the last track on BBT's earlier demo tape, The Infant Hercules.
The final song on Age of Steam, Losing Your Way, drew together the lyrical and musical themes of the album. Most of the tracks are revisited in one way or another. The closing stages restate the middle section of Dragon Bone Hill before the album ends with two chords from Expecting Snow.
On the 14th August, just prior to completing the mixing, BBT spent an evening at an outdoor festival. Aubrey was the sound man for the festival and played much of the album over the PA. Former Genesis guitarist, Anthony Phillips was in the audience and told the band that the music sounded "very accomplished".
English Boy Wonders - original version (1997)
English Boy Wonders marked a change in direction for Big Big Train. The album was an attempt to loosen up the band's music, giving greater space for improvised passages. At the same time, the polished production of the previous album gave way to a more direct sound influenced by Radiohead's 'The Bends'.
As usual, Big Big Train produced a full working demo of the album and this was completed by the beginning of 1995. However, unlike Age of Steam, the album, when finally released in 1997, had very little in common with the original demo. The album was recorded in short bursts over a lengthy period, as and when budget allowed. Eventually, the budget ran out and the band had to release the album in a semi-complete state.
Many new tracks were added to the album during the protracted recording sessions, and others, such as Brushed Aside and Boxgrove Man, were largely re-written. One track, the 10 minute Big Empty Church, was abandoned only to make a re-appearance as part of For Winter on the later Bard album. Another track on the demo but not on the album was a new version of Lincoln Green, which had been originally released on the Infant Hercules demo tape.
Many of the songs on English Boy Wonders told the story of the failing relationship with my then wife. However, the conceptual nature of much of the album also got lost along the way.
The opening track, Big Empty Skies was inspired by a UFO sighting seen by a friend and, indeed, about half of the population in the Midlands region. Big Empty Skies segued into Brushed Aside, a song where Robert Falcon Scott meets Ayrton Senna . Brushed Aside dissolves into a jammed drum and piano section, played by Hughes and new keyboard player, Tony Müller.
Müller was a classically trained pianist and his piano playing is a significant feature of the album. Indeed, much of the recording budget was spent on a session at a studio in London equipped to record grand piano.
28 Years was a Martin Read composition which was arranged for two 12-string guitars. Martin Orford guests on flute. Pretty Mom was also based around 12-string guitars, but was an out and out pop song, influenced by Prefab Sprout.
The mood of the album then darkens, with the very heavy introduction to Out Of It. Two more songs made it from the original demo: Albion Perfide and Boxgroveman. Albion Perfide was a hybrid of pop song and progressive music. Boxgroveman was an almost completely different track from its earlier versions. Indeed, Boxgroveman in its new incarnation was one of three tracks from a suite of newer compositions which closed the album. These dark epics were bookended by two shorter songs, and, despite the difficulties in recording English Boy Wonders, are amongst the band's best work.
First of the longer closing pieces was The Shipping Forecast. This lengthy track was debuted in February 1996, at the Astoria, London, prior to the album release . Next up was the afforementioned Boxgroveman which was also debuted at the same gig.
Reaching For John Downland was based on the experiences of the victim of a road traffic accident who was known to the band. The victim suffered from the temporary effects of a serious head injury and whilst drifting in and out of consciousness was able to describe surreal and bizarre dreams. Much of the imagery in the song was taken straight from those dreams.
As for the shorter 'bookend' pieces, Right To The End Of The World is a two minute song influenced by XTC, whilst Fell Asleep closed the album on a poignant note, a song about childhood and about things that might have been.
Another three tracks were recorded for the album, one of which, Cloudless & Starry & Still made it on to the CD whilst the other two didn't; Two Poets Meet, which was a fusion-influenced instrumental, and Full Bodied I Said, a ballad which has not yet seen the light of day.
Bard (2002)
"A well-delivered and graceful work." Classic Rock
"Rendered with complete and utter tenderness...this is the sound of walking heartache and never has emotional turmoil seemed so achingly appealing." Ytsejam
"A great record. Strong songs with great arrangements and melodies that will rattle around in your head for days." Ghostland
"A wonderful album."
Progressive World
"One of the UK's finest prog bands." Glory Daze
"Imagine, if you will, the feel that exudes from works such as Genesis Trespass/Trick of The Tail and Anthony Philips output up to at least Wise After The Event... can be summed up in one word: beautiful." Hairless Heart Herald
"One of the best prog songs I have listened to over the past 10 years." Proggnosis - about 'Broken English'
"Underneath the mellow facade is power and energy built from the emotionality of the songs... I suspect that Bard will turn out to be good enough to end the year somewhere on my short list for best of the year 2002." Proggnosis
" Flashes of Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett, Pink Floyd, Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks etc. all come to mind. The musicianship is superb, and the arrangements are expertly honed." Progressive Ears
"This is a splendid album, full of style and finesse and it comes very highly recommended." New Horizons
With Short Visit completed and a couple of other songs underway, work began on a long piece of music. The long song (with the staggeringly original working title of 'Long One') didn't work as planned and it was eventually dismantled. Large sections of it make up most of the two lengthy pieces on the album - Broken English and For Winter. The latter track also incorporates Big Empty Church, a song which had been written just after we finished Age of Steam, but which we couldn't get right for 'English Boy Wonders'.
The closing parts of For Winter subsequently became a separate track, A Long Finish which revisits many of the themes which have been established over the course of the album. We've tried this idea before on 'Age Of Steam', but on Bard we go much further. Motifs crop up all over the album, sometimes repeated in familiar fashion, sometimes completely re-arranged. Aside from the cohesiveness, we also wanted to add complexity and interest so that the album pays revisiting and re-discovery.
As well as the longer songs on Bard, there are many shorter and more accessible tracks and some ambient pieces.
The album opener, The Last English King is the first part of a song-cycle on the album which tells one of the epic stories of English history which unfolded in the autumn of 1066. After destroying the last great Viking army at Stamford Bridge, Harold and his men went down fighting at Hastings. Other songs in the cycle are Harold Rex Interfectus Est, Malfosse and How the Earth From this Place has Power Over Fire.
This Is Where We Came In is about children leaving home and the empty space left behind for the parents. It's one of the better songs on the album.
On Blacksmithing, the lyrics are based on an early English poem called Deor, with a bit of Alan Garner's Stone Book thrown in.
Love is her Thing is influenced by Entangled by Genesis and Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix.
For Winter evolved through so many changes that it is difficult to be clear about its evolution. Originally, For Winter started with the electric 12-string passage where the vocal begins. However, we decided to state an instrumental theme from Big Empty Church at the start of the song to help link the pieces thematically. It still lacked something, so we composed a re-introduction on Mellotron which is based on the chords and melody from a later section.
For Winter is about the destructive forces of love and betrayal and again finishes off some themes from English Boy Wonders. The title is taken from "A Winter's Tale" which links to the album title.
Just prior to release, the final part of For Winter became a separate entity called A Long Finish. The instrumental playout restates and explores themes and motifs from much of the rest of the album (Last English King, Blacksmithing, Broken English, Harold Rex, Short Visit and an unused track called British Racing Green.
Gathering Speed (2004)
Bard more or less emptied Big Big Train's stock of album quality material, so we started, this time, with a blank canvas and also with a definite intention of actually making an album.
Gathering Speed saw a significant change in direction for the band, with an approach that was now firmly rooted in the classic progressive rock tradition, probably too much so, as Gathering Speed, at times, sounds like a pastiche.
However, I'd been listening to a lot of post-rock (Sigur Ros, Mogwai) and this influence began to feature in the writing. My intention was to combine the excitement and complexity of progressive rock with the grandeur and modernity of post-rock. This took the writing into different and far more profitable directions; directions which became more fully realised on later albums.
The first few songs for Gathering Speed, Fighter Command, I Can't Go With You (which didn't make it on to the album) an early version of Road Much Further On and Powder Monkey were written very quickly and all explored the death of an individual and the impact on his family. Initially, the historical setting was incidental, but as I did more reading on the subject, the wider story of the Fighter Boys of 1940 became more important. Other songs and instrumentals were written around the album's themes and by February 2003, the demo for Gathering Speed was completed.
The demo and, indeed, the final album, has a more retro feel than any of our other recordings, and the classic progressive rock side of the band's music is at the forefront. However, there are a number of more contemporary influences in the melting pot.
During early spring 2003, Steve worked up his drum parts and these were recorded by Rob Aubrey during a two day session in May. Andy and Greg then worked over the summer months to improve the structure of the songs and the bass, keyboard and guitar parts. A considerable amount of additional writing was done in this period. The demo was used as a template and many parts of the demo made it onto the final album. Other parts were replaced and improved as necessary. Sean Filkins and Laura Murch then contributed their vocal and musical performances and ideas.
Mixing, by Rob Aubrey and Andy, took place in December 2003 at Rob's studio.
The album opens with a scene setting song, High Tide Last Stand, describing a way of life on the edge of destruction. In that dark period, everything seemed to change; rules and social norms were bent, buckled and broken. For individuals, life had to be lived in the now, because there may not have been a future.
The playout of High Tide was built on a jammed section. The influence here is part Lamb era Genesis, part Mars Volta.
The Difference Machine (2007)
Splendidly mellifluous UK prog, featuring appearances from Marillion's Pete Trewavas and Nick D'Virgilio from Spock's Beard.
Dave Ling, Classic Rock and Metal Hammer magazines
The Bournemouth band have extra locomotive power for their fifth album, with guest Pete Trewavas (Marillion), Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard, Genesis, Tears For Fears) and Dave Meros (Spock's Beard.) This is finely crafted and acutely involving, especially the chilling Salt Water Falling On Uneven Ground.
Geoff Barton, Classic Rock
Three epics in the 12 to 14 minute range dominate The Difference Machine, but the seven minute closer Summer's Lease stands its own beside the big guys, offering the most easily accessible melodies of the bunch on first listen. Make no mistake, though, the distinctive vocal harmonies and instrumental passage resolutions of the long tracks are what make this recording such a special experience. Score: 15.5 out of 16. Progression Magazine
It's f***ing brilliant.
Jem Godfrey, Frost*
You should definitely check it out. In my humble opinion it is one of the best prog releases of the decade.
Dave Meros, Spock's Beard
Here's a tasty slab of pure prog, the fifth album from a band that continues to plough its own considerable furrow without the aid of label support. This is an English garden variety of progressive rock, not the brutal 21st century insanity of LA's Upsilon Acrux, and Genesis and Marillion are your references (indeed, Pete Trewavas can be found guesting). Expect tracks in excess of 10 minutes, fuzz guitar of every colour, serious rocking out, Beatlesque Mellotronisms, grandiose organs and perhaps just a bit too much saxophone. But then nothing's perfect...
Guitar and Bass magazine
This latest disc from Big Big Train is a fine example of how an artist can combine classic progressive rock sounds with more modern textures in a mélange that, while nodding to the music of others is as a whole something unique. There are sections that will make you think of bands like Genesis, Marillion and others, but I doubt anyone has combined those elements into a composite that's quite like this. Featuring guest appearances from Marillion's Pete Trewavas and Nick D'Virgilio and Dave Meros from Spock's Beard. I suppose the easiest comparison to give you an idea of what the music sounds like would be The Flower Kings, but this doesn't completely cover it. With three epics separated by short instrumentals and some great music, Big Big Train's The Difference Engine should be on every prog fan's playlist.
Music Street Journal
Unashamed, unreconstructed PROG F***IN' ROCK. The Difference Machine is bound to please fans of Yes, The Enid and early Genesis. This one's an epic...sit back and lose yourself.
Terrorizer
The Difference Machine.... arrived on my desk unbidden and with the barest of biographical sketches enclosed, and proceeded to take over half a morning of my time. Typically I'll throw a new arrival in and give it five or ten minutes before moving on, especially if the "to be reviewed" pile has gotten as big as it has just now. But The Difference Machine did not budge from my CD player until the closing notes of "Summer's Lease" had played out an hour later, by which time I had read as much as I possibly could about both this project and this band. The band -- avowed fans of early Genesis, King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator -- did not start out as a prog outfit but rather evolved into one over time, reaching full flower with 2004's well-reviewed Gathering Speed. The attention received by the latter album also opened doors for the band in the larger prog community, leading to some wonderful guest shots on this disc by modern prog stalwarts like Nick D'Virgilio and Dave Meros of Spock's Beard and Pete Trewavas of Marillion. The group's distinctive sound carries echoes of Gabriel-era Genesis in its complexity and seriousness of purpose, but also picks up threads of Dark Side-era Pink Floyd in its dreamy jams and liberal use of sax, not to mention a smidgen of Death Cab For Cutie-esque shimmering melancholy. Principally composed by Spawton and produced by Poole, The Difference Machine is a magnificent piece of work, one of the most engrossing and entertaining modern prog albums I've heard.
Jason Warburg, Daily Vault
Nothing stops BBT anymore, the audacity of how to succeed with this, their best opus at the end of fifteen years and seven discs, rather astounding, no? It is therefore high time to rehabilitate oneself with the band... because this is one of the best albums of Progressive Rock of the year without any argument. A band at the top of their creativity finally.I look for beauty, I cannot find a flaw. You want to give pleasure and you do not know which album to buy? You are blasé from being blasé? Nothing astonishes you anymore? Then you have not yet listened to Big Big Train's latest album. It is a must. Harmonie Magazine
A confident, complex time-signatured and, at times, colossal slab of unashamed symphonic prog rock combining IQ / Pendragon melodiousness, Crimson guitar and sax and Genesis / PFM Mellotron with some lovingly old-fashioned Hammond organ and refreshing classical colourations on viola.
Classic Rock Society
Impressive melodic prog adventure that falls somewhere between Spock's Beard, the clean-cut epicness of Amplifier or Mew and Trick Of The Tail period Genesis - if that sounds like your kind of thing then Big Big Train have a rather positive surprise waiting for you. The Organ
A band that are usually labeled neo-prog, but that is no longer an appropriate description of their music. It's more like mixing Anekdoten, It Bites and Talk Talk. And it is nothing less than brilliant! Just For Kicks
The Difference Machine is a brilliant symphonic prog CD. In my opinion BBT are worthy successors of '76-77' Genesis (think Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering and Seconds Out.) ProgGnosis
The history of Big, Big Train, based on the South coast, goes back nearly 20 years, but it wasn't until 1994 that the band released their first full length CD, with the excellent Goodbye to the Age of Steam. Musically, the band were placed very much in the Neo-prog genre which continues up to 2002s Bard. From 2004s Gathering Speed the band began to sound rather different, with the song-orientated material combining with a more experimental edge, with the band playing with sound and keyboard textures in an accessible way. This continues on 2007's superb The Difference machine, which also includes contributions from Nick D'Virgilio and Dave Meros of Spocks Beard and Pete Trewavas. One of the great, unsung bands of British prog. Sonic Bond
Big Big Train is a fantastic and sensational band in the best British Prog Rock tradition. Inspired by 70s "Yes", "VDGG", "King Crimson" besides the usual Symphonic Progressive Rock influences of "Genesis".... they are capable of combining different styles with genuine Progressive Rock elements, without sounding forced. Overall a fantastic CD and one I would suggest any fans of bands like "Yes", "Genesis", "Pallas", "IQ", "Marillion" and "Kino", will definitely love.
Progressive Rock and Progressive Metal
On The Difference Machine the band has invited famous progrock guest musicians: Nick D'Virgilio (drums/vocals) and Dave Meros from Spock's Beard and Pete Trewavas (bass) from Marillion/Transatlantic. The album contains six compositions, three have a running time between 12 and 15 minutes and I can tell you, never a dull moment: from dreamy with violin-Mellotron and compelling with fiery guitar/choir-Mellotron/saxophone to a final part with propulsive guitar and organ in Perfect Cosmic Storm, an inspired contribution by Nick and Pete and great work on keyboards and guitar in the alternating Pick Up If You're There and wonderful choir-Mellotron in the moving Salt Water Falling On Uneven Ground... this new CD is a real progrock party, what captivating music, loaded with interesting musical ideas and the Mellotron sounds quite omnipresent, you cannot beg for more!
Progarchives
I must say that this is one of the best records that I have listened to in a very long time. Artrock
Pick Up If You're There features some of Pete Trevawas's best bass playing ever.Obviously, it's a boon to find him playing along with Nick D' Virgilio who gracefully applies a number of ultra-groovy licks in tandem with his huskiest tones. USA Progressive Music
First of all, I feel I must preface this review with the statement that I am not secretly a member of the band seeking to solicit sales, nor am I with the label. (Actually they have their own.) And I've never met the band. (I live in another continent.) But the truth is, I really, really like this album. For symphonic prog ...I'll say it just doesn't get better than this. It truly is that good!
Progressive Ears
There are so many things to like about this album. Spawton's subtle use of the keyboards comes as a breath of fresh air and is nicely contrasted by the crunching guitar. The bass and drums are top notch, even more so when guests Nick D'Virgilio, Pete Trewawas and Dave Meros make an appearance. I really enjoyed the addition of strings and woodwinds (by former IQ man Tony Wright). They added a classical feeling to the music. Some of their influences are obvious from the first listen, while others are much more subtle and better hidden when incorporated into the compositions. Gregory Spawton and company have created an album that they can truly be proud of and even this reviewer, who dislikes most neo (not that this is a neo album), would suggest listening to this album. Progressive Ears
In the months before its release The Difference Machine was hyped somewhat on the internet. First there were the comments on the web log of Jem Godfrey (of Frost fame), who predicted that BBT could well be the 2007 dark horse of prog on the basis of what he heard of the new album on BBT's MySpace site. And secondly there were rumours of Spock's Beard and Marillion members guesting on the album. And now the album is released, is it any good? Yes it is! It is a very good album. The album has a great modern sound (producer Andy Poole did a great job with Rob Aubrey mixing), but what really draws the attention is the fact that BBT sound confident on this album as if they finally found their sound and direction. And that is giant step forward. And you know what; Jem Godfrey was right, with The Difference Machine, BBT have made a damn good album. One of the best progressive rock albums this year, at least for me.
Dutch Progressive Rock Pages (DPRP)
The album is basically four songs with three instrumental pieces linking or introducing the longer songs, the first of which, Hope This Finds You, perfectly combines Wright's alto sax, King's viola and Spawton's keyboards and occasional guitar in a mood setting and delicate beginning. The extended sustained ending is shaken away by some cutting guitar chords that hails the arrival of Perfect Cosmic Storm. Featuring the Beard's rhythm section only two of BBT actually appear on this track, yet it still maintains a lot of the characteristics of the BBT sound - dynamism, variety and a signature keyboard sound. However, this is BBT in an angrier and more adventurous mode. Wright's initial sax bursts bring forth memories of King Crimson at their most curious and even Van Der Graaf Generator in full flight. With immense variety, the track proceeds, Spawton employing a whole range of classic keyboard sounds, D'Virgilio proving once again that he is a great drummer (and adding some fine backing vocals to boot) and the sax and viola providing more delicate moments that bridge the more intense moments. Perfect Cosmic Storm certainly sets a high standard for the rest of the album to maintain as it is unquestionably one of the best, if not the best, pieces of music to be released under the BBT name to date. The aptly named Breathing Space, a soundscape to clear the audio palette, leads into Pick Up If You're There featuring the same musicians as Storm with the exception of Pete T replacing Dave M on bass. With some intricate weaving about, changes in mood and tempo, the song slips between time signatures driven by more great work from the rhythm section, Trewavas laying down his most intricate bass line in years towards the end of the song.
DPRP
A rich and many-sided album with a stirring melancholic feeling...the music should flow easily in the ears of all listeners accustomed to prog. You hear an affinity to Genesis around 1976-77, at the same time the album has a consistent modern arrangement. Big Big Train can still be considered as a well hidden secret, in any case compared to bands like Spock's beard and Flower Kings. It's about time they reached a larger audience within the prog community.
Tarkus
The Difference Machine received significant critical acclaim and, at the time of writing, is our best-selling CD. After the release of Gathering Speed, we invested the proceeds in our studio to ensure we could record music at the highest possible quality for an independent band. Furthermore, Andy had gained considerable experience as an engineer and we felt much more confident in our ability to get the most out of our studio.
The Difference Machine is a concept album - a 'small' story; the loss of loved ones as life progresses, set against a 'big' story; the death of a distant star. The songs for the album were written quickly. The prog rock / post-rock crossover thing was now fully formed and everything flowed very smoothly. Indeed, a number of other songs which didn't make it onto the album also came out of the writing sessions (Brambling, Hope You Made It and a 17 minute track - The Wide Open Sea.)
The main musical motif for the album is set out early on in the opening track - an instrumental called Hope This Finds You. Played on viola by Becca King, the theme is restated briefly in Pick Up If You're There before returning at the end of the album in the closing section of Summer's Lease.
Other musical motifs abound, some buried deeply in the music, some combining with others to form new themes. For example, the main album theme on the playout of Summer's Lease is intertwined with a motif from Perfect Cosmic Storm which is initially set out in an understated manner on electric piano, before returning as the grand closing section of the song.
There's a lot of this on The Difference Machine - it is an album which is intended to pay repeated listenings with new discoveries.
Amongst the epic long-form tracks, there are some short ambient pieces, intended to add atmosphere to the album. Breathing Space is exactly that, a short interlude between two intense epics, and From The Wide Open Sea is an excerpt from the currently unreleased track The Wide Open Sea.
The Difference Machine saw our first involvement with Nick D'Virgilio who subsequently became our permanent drummer. Nick played drums on Perfect Cosmic Storm and Pick Up If You're There for what was intended to be a special edition of the album with alternative versions of some of the songs. However, Nick's performances were so strong that we decided to use them on the album versions where we partnered Nick with Dave Meros and Pete Trewavas to provide a powerful rhythm section.
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English Boy Wonders - re-released version (2008)
Big Big Train has always been a band looking for perfection. Perfection in both sound and artwork. And this they have certainly achieved with this excellent re-release. The whole album has a kind of “old” Porcupine Tree feeling: same warm sound, atmospheric feeling and emotional vocals. Although the voice of Martin Read is completely different than Steve Wilson, both have the same “timbre”. Whereas Porcupine Tree’s music became heavier and more metal orientated, Big Big Train’s music is more mellow, pop orientated and “old-school”. The overall sound is old Genesis, mixed with Sigur Ros, Steely Dan, XTC, King Crimson, Prefab Sprout and Oceansize. Some might find this album too mellow, too soft and would like this music to be a bit more heavy or adventurous. But for the overall fan of fine “old school” Camel-like, mellow-progressive music this is an excellent release. The fine melodic voice of Read perfectly fits with the epic-Gilmouresque guitars and Tony Muller’s beautiful grand piano. Muller’s grand piano sound is nothing less than stunning and he is the driving force behind Big Big Train’s symphonic sound. Also the fine mellotron sound reminds me of the fantastic big prog releases of the 70ties. Not only the sound is very 70ties also the song writing and lyrical approach brings back memories of this symphonic decade. Prog-Nose
This is the best Big Big Train album. In fact I'd go as far as choosing it the best pop-prog album ever made. And here is why: English Boy Wonders mixes pop melodies and prog compositions in a style where neither element dominates the other. The influences on the album - stated by the band - include Genesis, King Crimson, Radiohead, XTC, The Cure, Anthony Phillips and Prefab Sprout - what a mixture! Last mentioned group, lead by the great Paddy McAloon, is one of my all time favourite pop groups of the 80's, especially their two first albums Swoon and Steve McQueen. Needless to say, BBT doesn't make the influences so obvious that you would get a feeling of copying. And this applies also to other bands in the list. Greg Spawton's "Holdsworthian" guitar sound, Tony Müllers keyboards and Martin Read's vocals - and the remastering by Rob Aubrey - create an atmosphere where the listener finds himself floating in ecstasy. I must emphasize the role of Martin Read. You will find here the finest songs of the band but without Read's beautiful voice and his range this would not have been possible. Great voice with great harmonic adaptations make good songs even better. Prognosis
After the release of The Difference Machine in late 2007, we immediately began work on our 6th album, The Underfall Yard. All of the songs for the album were written and the drums were recorded. However, we put the development of The Underfall Yard on hold for much of the early part of 2008 whilst we returned to work on a new version of an earlier album - English Boy Wonders.
The new version of English Boy Wonders was released in late 2008. In August of that year, I was interviewed by the band's artist, Jim Trainer. This interview tells the story of the re-release and is published again here:
Of all the albums in your catalogue what made you choose to re-release English Boy Wonders?
English Boy Wonders is our underachieving album and we want to try to re-write our history a little bit to make it the album it should have been.The mid 1990's was quite a difficult period for us. We had to deal with some line-up changes and our record label, GEP, wasn't being especially supportive, so we only had a very small advance. Consequently, we kept running out of money for recording sessions which led to a protracted period of recording with lots of stops and starts. The sessions felt very disjointed and, in fact, we never really finished the album properly, it was released in a semi-complete state with lots of bits missing where there should have been guitar and keyboard parts and textures. It was also released with minimal publicity and, in sales terms, it died a bit of a death. So, it wasn't any fun to make and it failed both artistically and commercially, which seem like good reasons to leave it in the deleted column! But, and there is a big but for us with this album, EBW contains many of our best songs and it's been frustrating for us to have these songs buried on an unavailable album with such a low profile. We've talked for a while about how we might try to make some of the material available again and then we unexpectedly got an offer from our Russian distributers to re-release the whole album. Luckily, we'd taken the precaution of transferring all of the sessions onto Pro-Tools so we had access to all of the original multi-track recordings. So, we agreed on a re-release but on the proviso that we would spend a little bit of time finishing the album off to make it sound as we had always wanted it to and also that we re-mixed it rather than just re-mastered.
What changes can we expect?
Well, we've actually had a blast working on the album again. We've spent far more time on it than we expected to and have done some extensive re-working of the original material. Some songs have been mostly left alone where we couldn't really improve on the originals, but others have been, effectively, remade. We now have access to much better gear as well so it is sounding great. We have proper Mellotron and Hammond and all of the things we couldn't afford in the 90's, so many of the sounds we have used are a lot better.
EBW was a very special album to me, so you can imagine it was with both anticipation and trepidation that I greeted the idea of a remixed and re-recorded version. I'm pleased to say, from what I've heard so far, it all sounds even better than the original. Would you say that the remixed album is closer to the album you wanted to make then, or the album you would make now? Have you learnt any thing from the process?
That's an interesting question and I'm going to answer it by sitting on the fence a little. Many parts of the re-made album are much, much closer to how I originally envisaged them. Albion Perfide is a good example - it was always supposed to have big Mellotron sections at the start and the end and the piano instrumental bit was intended to be more orchestrated for the whole band. Those things didn't happen on the original and we've put that right. Boxgrove Man is another example, where we originally had a guitar solo on the playout which got lost along the way. That's now been re-instated. However, we've learnt a lot about arranging and production since we started working out of our own studio in 2002 and I can't pretend that some of that learning hasn't gone into the album. So, some things are closer in to BBT in 2008 rather than BBT in the mid 90's. As to what we've learnt, I think the main thing for me is that it's reminded me how important songs are to the BBT sound. We've gone into more and more alternative prog and post rock territory in recent albums and have moved away from conventional songs. It's been nice to be reminded about our earlier more song-orientated approach.
I always felt EBW was an album of extremes, containing some of the longest songs and shortest songs you've written. Ranging from full on progressive rock, to moments of almost bedsitter folk, the songs rocked between the shear bliss of absolute and unquestioning love to the misery of loss and betrayal. I felt it was a very personal album, and there are certain lyrics which are so tangible they have to be true. It's a real roller coaster ride of musical and human emotions, and there appears to be a common thread which holds the songs together (camouflaged in the individual setting of each song). Was it always intended to create these tensions between the songs, like people out of love and hiding their feelings, or was this just a reflection to your mood at the time?Is there a hidden story line?
About half of the songs on the album are about the failure of my marriage, those bits of the album are a sort of prog rock-style Face Value or Blood on the Tracks. On the re-release, these songs have been placed in two sequences and collected under a separate heading of For Autumn. So, where there was a hidden thread, we've now made that clearer. My love life was a bit of a mess in the mid to late 90's and I went on to write quite a few more songs on the same subject, most of which appeared on the next album, Bard and some of which will be released on When Everything Was Made of Wood* in 2010. The other songs on the album are not about failed relationships, although some are autobiographical. I didn't really intend to create tensions between the songs, to be honest. I think what happened is that we treated the album as it was going to be our last one and so used the CD format to include a lot of songs and make what would once have been a double album. This made it a very diverse set. One of the things I like about the re-release is that we've been able to emphasise the individual quality of each song. So, the proggy stuff is more proggy, and the jangly-pop stuff is more, er, jangly. Yet it all seems to hold together as an album very well.
It is a very honest album, was it hard to give that much of yourself? I always felt "Out Of It" could be taken in two ways, "Don't dissect me, don't even try to second guess me, can't you just leave it alone" as a swipe at your partner, and perhaps the listener.
Whatever makes me want to pick up a guitar or pen and write at any particular time is good for me, although this was new territory and so I was a little bit hesitant to put songs forward at times. The band were a bit surprised and there were a few raised eyebrows at the nature of some of the lyrics. To their credit, they went with the flow and, probably, bit their lips a bit. And you're right about Out of It, there was a dual meaning intended.
EBW is probably the most played CD in my collection. Do you often listen to your own material? And what does it feel like to revisit what is obviously a very emotional set of songs?
After the release of any album, we very rarely listen to it, so this has been an interesting experience for us, especially given the nature of the songs. I'm clearly not in the same place now as I was in the mid 90's, so I was wary about re-visiting songs where some fairly raw emotions were expressed. But I like this set of songs very much and we just had a great time, wallowing in misery all over again!
EBW is a very special album, not least for the honest chronicling of that part of your life, but more so for the shear diversity of styles and moods. Perhaps it was that thought, that this could have been your last album, which inspired such diversity. However, there has been a significant change in the sound of BBT from the early albums, and each album is different from the last. Is it right that Goodbye to the age of Steam was largely composed on classical guitar, Gathering speed on twelve-string and The Difference Machine on electric? (I hope I've not picked this up from some unreliable source, or just imagined it). Is this something you've done intentionally to make the sound different and how was English Boy Wonders composed?
No, you didn't imagine that. At the time of Age of Steam I was studying classical guitar, and most of the album started off as a bunch of classical guitar solo pieces. Some of the classical guitar parts made their way directly onto the album, others were arranged for different instruments and then played by the band. English Boy Wonders and Bard were composed mainly on a steel 6-string acoustic and for Gathering Speed, it all came out very quickly on a 12-string. Difference Machine was actually composed a bit more in the head and then onto electric guitars or keyboards. None of this has been intentional, however. I tend to write very little most of the time and then just have huge bursts where a whole album can come out in a few weeks. Sometimes changing to a different instrument helps get the creative juices flowing, other times it is just whatever is to hand. I have to say I do feel the need to make some deliberate changes after our next new studio album, which is all written, and partly recorded. It'll be the third in a series of albums which have been very much rooted in the prog rock genre, and I think it may be time to explore some different sounds after the release of that one.
You've talked about EBW containing some jangly pop songs.The early progressive albums by bands such as Yes, Genesis, and King Crimson were very diverse with a mix of short songs and longer (what were later to define) "prog" elements. I never ever felt that songs such as For Absent Friends, Clear Days, or Book of Saturdays were any less deserving, or progressive, than The Musical box, And You and I or Court of the Crimson King.It sounds as if you feel constrained by what the genre has become?Are there specific areas you'd like to include in the BBT sound?
First and foremost, I am a huge fan of prog rock and am not looking to disown what we do or have done within the genre. Indeed, our next album of new material will include our first and maybe only 23 minute epic on it, and I think that song could well be our biggest achievement. However, I was just reading some comments on a forum about Duke and most of the posters seem to hate Please Don't Ask, which I think is a good song. I'm not sure why Please Don't Ask is beyond the pale, while More Fool Me from Selling England is acceptable? These sort of comments do make me feel a bit constrained as to what is expected from the genre and make me a bit wary about stepping off the familiar path. The problem we have is that we have built up a reasonable audience for our music and if we take a wrong step I worry that the audience could drain away. If our CD sales go, so does the band. My hope and belief is that fans of BBT will enjoy us experimenting with the music rather than taking the well-trodden path. There are many different sides to my writing that I'd like to express. That includes the prog influence, the XTC-loving indie-pop side, the post-rock thing, ambient music and English folk. Of course, if you tried to reflect all of those influences on the same album, you could end up with a mess, so I find that different things creep in at different times. On English Boy Wonders, the jangly pop side came through, on Difference Machine we welded prog to post rock. The next album will build on the Difference Machine style, while the one after, which I'm writing for now, will, I think, be a little bit of Raconteurs and a little bit Anthony Phillips with a story-telling approach to the lyrics. It'll still sound like Big Big Train, though. It always does.
Please Don't Ask is a good song but the arrangement is not as strong as it could have been, and Misunderstanding - lets not go there. Steve Wilson was quoted as saying he uses Porcupine Tree for the darker prog rock material, Blackfield for the AOR, and NoMan for the ambient electronic stuff. When it's all good music I'm not convinced it has to be catalogued so distinctly, but I appreciate some things just don't sit well together. Was this a worry you had with English Boy Wonders?
I agree with you about Misunderstanding - its inclusion weakens the album. I like that quote from Steve. As you know, we set up a little side-project band of our own a few years back, called Treefrog. The idea was that we could release our poppier stuff under Treefrog and keep the prog material for BBT. For one reason or another, we never got round to it and most of the unreleased Treefrog songs will be coming out on When Everything Was Made of Wood* in 2010. I was very concerned about the diversity of material on English Boy Wonders and I think the reviews were hostile partly because of that. They were sort of 'is this a prog album or not?' But now I feel differently; I think there is strength in that diversity and as a set of songs, it hangs together very well. Of course, not everyone will agree with that view.
There are a lot of historical and archaeological references in your work, from Dragon Bone Hill, to Vespasian, to the theme for Gathering Speed, and many elements of the Bard album. What interests you so much in history?
History is a real passion of mine. I studied archaeology at university and have a very strong connection to the history that surrounds us in the landscape and in ideas. Over the years my interest in history started to creep more and more into the songs. Most of the next album has a historical theme or setting and I think it's going to carry on and develop further from there.
A few lyrics in the BBT songbook flip between time scales as the song moves from line to line (like history repeating itself or running in parallel). I tried to link Reaching for John Downland with the love story in English Boy Wonders assuming you'd used the same approach there and ended up totally confused, but that's all part of the enjoyment - and one of the reasons I love the lyrics on this album so much. Reaching for John Downland particularly contains some strong visual elements, like fragments of some weird full colour nightmare. Is it important for you to retain this abstract element in the writing, and can you tell us a little bit about the other songs on the album (outside the Autumn suite)?
I love the timeslip approach. I pinched it from an Alan Garner book called Red Shift which tells three parallel stories across different eras, stories which he links in an astounding fashion. I've used it a lot and will continue to do so. John Dowland actually sits outside the Autumn story, though, and I don't think I linked it across at all. It's a true-life story, based on somebody that Andy knew who had a serious car accident. This left him with a temporary brain injury which caused him to have extraordinary, vibrant dreams, full of Lucy-in-the-Sky kind of imagery. I wrote some of these dreams down and then added some of my own ideas just to complete the song. It is a very abstract piece and I think it's one of my stronger sets of lyrics. With songs, often it's the sound of words together that is important and that tends to lead towards an abstract style. The opening pair of tracks on the album, Big Empty Skies and Brushed Aside are both about leadership, political and otherwise. The setting of Brushed Aside is Robert Falcon Scott's doomed voyage to the Antarctic. Boxgrove Man is mainly about my father. His life was full of ups and downs, and there were many downs in his later years when he lost his way a bit. I've always been frightened of making similar mistakes, but I seem to be making my own. 28 Years is Martin's set of lyrics - I think he was reflecting on his life up to then.
I'm pleased you retained the original vocals, Martin does a great job. I loved his voice and thought this was his strongest work with the band. For a Canadian he has a very English sound. It's a lot different from the classic rock style of Sean. Was there ever any temptation to rerecord the vocals?
Sean was keen to do the vocals again, and it was certainly discussed. However, we felt we had to draw the line somewhere, so we retained the vocals and Steve's drums, both of which were recorded to a high standard. My feeling was we should keep to the original line-up of musicians on English Boy Wonders rather than parachute any other performances in from players who have worked with us subsequently. Therefore, it's just the line-up we used on the album when it was first released. Martin Orford has done some additional keyboards for the bonus track, Two Poets Meet, but he played flute on the original album so that was ok. Once or twice, it did feel restrictive as we could hear sections that Sean would have added a great deal to, and there were one or two bits where I had to do some additional vocals, but I felt we should stick to the plan. Martin was a big part of the band in the early days and this was certainly his best album. He brought a different style of vocals to the table than that used by many prog bands, a clear singing voice rather than a voice with influences from the classic prog rock vocalists. His main weakness was that he couldn't really step up and belt it out, he had a softer style. Sean has a greater range and control of dynamics.
On the blogspot videos you talk a little about the packaging, it was great to have the chance to do some illustrations for the album, how will these be used in the final product?
The original cover artwork was done by a chap called Michael Griffiths who also did the artwork for Bard. We like the cover a lot, but the artwork didn't transfer very well into the booklet, which is where you come in. The album will be released as a digipak, and that will include a 12 page booklet including all of the lyrics and sleeve notes. The booklet features 12 of your new paintings. It looks fantastic, it's the best packaging we've put together so far.
I can't wait to see the finished item it's a real buzz to be associated in someway with one of my favourite albums.You've talked about plans for the next album and one after that - it sounds like a busy schedule?Are there any concert plans, I can imagine the remix would be a much more difficult album to recreate on stage than the original?
We do have a busy schedule, and I want to keep the momentum up with a release every year for the next three years. We haven't gigged for quite a while and I think we're missing out on one of the most rewarding and fun aspects of being in a band. But BBT is not a full-time project as we don't earn enough from it, so we need to be careful about how we use the limited time we have. Our music has become increasingly ambitious, so we would need to put a lot of time into rehearsals to make it work, which means less time for writing and recording. My view at the moment is that our future is guaranteed by increasing our CD sales, and gigging could become an expensive ego trip. Having said all that, English Boy Wonders is eminently playable live. Most of the more complicated songs were gigged previously and, although there would be more parts to perform, we've done nothing to them on the re-release that would be too difficult.
So it's a definitely maybe? I was hoping you might have toured in support of Spock's Beard - that would have been cool. As ever it's been a pleasure, and thanks for taking the time out to talk to me.
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