Release date: 17.05.2019
Label: English Electric
Production: David Longdon and Greg Spawton
Length: 74:11
Rating: 9.5
Genre: symphonic progressive rock
Few progressive rock bands to emerge over the past three decades can boast such a typically English sound, atmosphere and lyrics as British prog revivalists Big Big Train, who surprised everyone in 2019 with their new album »Grand Tour«. Unlike its predecessor »The Second Brightest Star« (2017), their latest offering consists entirely of new songs, and the standouts are the three epic, ambitiously constructed compositions (»Roman Stone«, »Ariel« and »Voyager«), each running over thirteen minutes, which will make the hearts of all loyal fans of these ‘third-wave’ proggers sing.
Over the last decade, Big Big Train’s albums have rightly been met with mostly enthusiastic praise from fans of old-school symphonic prog rock, who especially appreciated the remarkable sonic consistency and tightness of the seven-piece lineup, with singer David Longdon, drummer Nick D’Virgilio (Spock’s Beard), violinist Rachel Hall, guitarist Dave Gregory (ex-XTC) and keyboardist/guitarist Rikard Sjoblom (ex-Beardfish) standing out the most.
After some quieter but somewhat justified and constructive criticism that their recent albums were starting to repeat themselves a bit in terms of the structure of certain arrangements, they decided to air out their sound on »Grand Tour« and move at least a little away from the typical English atmosphere and the dominant pastoral arrangements. This time around, Big Big Train partly turned to our western neighbors for inspiration, working minimal elements of Mediterranean music into certain songs, which are at least roughly in tune with lyrics about Renaissance Italy and Leonardo Da Vinci (»Florentine«), the ancient Romans (»Roman Stone«, »Pantheon«) and Byzantium (»Theodora in Green and Gold«). The album has a conceptual bent and, besides worshipping Italian Renaissance artists, partly deals with the snobbish adventures and misadventures of English aristocrats, the early tourists who made a habit of traveling around Italy and the Mediterranean in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The occasional, gentle Mediterranean pulse owes the most to a few acoustic arrangements, Rachel Hall’s violin, certain flute passages and some rhythmic elements we’re not used to hearing from Big Big Train. Of course, Big Big Train still sound far more like Genesis and Camel than bands like PFM and Le Orme, but you can still hear that they listened to some records from the Italian prog rock scene of the seventies before recording »Grand Tour«. Even so, »Alive«, the second track on the album, is still quite English in flavor, except that it’s an unusually cheerful and bouncy creation that’s somewhat reminiscent of some of the achievements of cult art rock outfit It Bites. So at times Longdon doesn’t just sound like a Peter Gabriel ‘twin’, but like a more melancholic version of Francis Dunnery.
»The Florentine« is a more ‘traditional’ symphonic prog rocker with epic symphonic arrangements and melancholic guitar passages, where you can clearly hear for the first time that Big Big Train sound a little different from what we’ve gotten used to on the last three or four albums, and with excellent results. What keeps »Grand Tour« from coming across as overly cheerful is above all Longdon’s traditionally melancholic vocals, which shine especially on »Roman Stone«, where the nostalgic choir harmonies stand out the most. The instrumental »Pantheon«, which in structure comes closest to the pulse of seventies Italian symphonic prog and some parts of the unforgettable Jethro Tull, boasts majestic orchestral arrangements that won’t leave a single worshipper of Big Big Train’s music cold. The instrumental prowess of the entire seven-piece lineup, together with the superb production, stays at an exceptional level throughout the album, while the well-oiled interplay of complex harmonies and ambiences once again wins over anyone who misses the ‘good old days’ of symphonic prog rock.
»Grand Tour« is noticeably less gloomy and melancholic in that quintessentially English way, but it’s still unmistakably a Big Big Train achievement. Thanks to its remarkable variety and sheer epic scale, it’ll delight every longtime fan of these always ambitious proggers. Big Big Train deserve credit for trying something new on »Grand Tour« after the departure of founding bassist Andy Poole, and for creating an album that is without a doubt among the best of their discography so far and sounds fresh with every repeated listen.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Novum Organum (2:33)
2. Alive (4:31)
3. The Florentine (8:14)
4. Roman Stone (13:33) :
– Part 1: Foundation
– Part 2: Rise
– Part 3: Ne Plus Ultra
– Part 4: Fall
– Part 5: Legacy
5. Pantheon (6:08)
6. Theodora in Green and Gold (5:38)
7. Ariel (14:28) :
– Part 1: Come Unto These Yellow Sands
– Part 2: Noises, Sounds and Sweet Airs
– Part 3: New Place
– Part 4: O! There are Spirits of the Air
– Part 5: Music, When Soft Voices Die
– Part 6: Casa Magni, 1822
– Part 7: Approach, My Ariel, Come
– Part 8: Coda: The Triumph of Life
8. Voyager (14:03) :
– Part 1: On the Ocean
– Part 2: The Farthest Shore
– Part 3: The Pillars of Hercules
– Part 4: Further Beyond
– Part 5: Grand Finale
– Part 6: The Space Between the Stars
– Part 7: Homecoming
9. Homesong (5:12)
Big Big Train:
David Longdon – lead and backing vocals, flute, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, percussion
Dave Gregory – electric and 12-string guitar
Rikard Sjöblom – keyboards, electric and 12-string guitar, accordion, backing vocals
Danny Manners – keyboards, double bass
Rachel Hall – violin, viola, cello, backing vocals, string arrangements
Greg Spawton – bass guitar, bass pedals, 12-string guitar, wind arrangements
Nick D’Virgilio – drums, percussion, keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Guest musicians:
John Hinchey – string arrangements
Rick Wentworth – conductor
Everton Nelson – violin
Emil Chakalov, Richard George, Kathy Gowers, Oliver Heath, Ian Humphries, Martyn Jackson, Oli Langford, Kate Robinson, Nicky Sweeney – violin
Max Baillie – viola
Fiona Bonds – viola
Jake Walker – viola
Ian Burdge – cello
Chris Allan – cello
Tony Woollard – cello
Paul Kimber – double bass
Richard Pryce – double bass
Dave Desmond – trombone, wind arrangements
Ben Godfrey – cornet, trumpet
Jon Truscott – tuba
John Storey – euphonium
Nick Stones – French horn
