Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Big Big Train
Label: English Electric
Release: 2017
Length: 67:52
Rating: 5/5
English prog rock heavyweights Big Big Train are back with »Grimspound«, their tenth studio album, which is a musical, conceptual and atmospheric continuation of their previous triumph »Folklore« (2016). »Grimspound« is actually the result of a happy accident: the international Big Big Train octet originally set out to record an EP called »Skylon«, featuring reworked, previously unreleased material from the »Folklore« sessions. While putting the EP together, though, they suddenly realized they had more than enough new music for an entirely new studio album, and so »Grimspound« was born, a full-blooded continuation of the masterpiece »Folklore«, which was one of the best prog rock albums of 2016. It’s hard to believe, but Big Big Train have pulled off another masterpiece that carries on and rounds out »Folklore« beautifully, leaning heavily on English folk tradition in the lyrics, while musically, alongside the ‘traditional’, eclectic symphonic prog rock and jazz rock fusion, there are more folk elements than ever before. Big Big Train’s sound collage is characteristically English and slightly recalls some representatives of the so-called Canterbury scene, but with a modern production sheen, of course.
The octet, made up entirely of outstanding musicians and led by founding members Andy Poole (guitar/keyboards) and Greg Spawton (bass/keyboards), has outdone itself once again and made an album that will be a very special treat for every prog rock romantic, one they’ll keep coming back to. The emphasis is once more on gorgeous string arrangements that conjure up a pastoral atmosphere, while the guitar artistry of former XTC guitarist Dave Gregory, occasionally helped out by Poole and Swedish ‘jack of all trades’ Rikard Sjöblom of the recently disbanded Beardish, is pure balm for fans of versatile guitar virtuosos. Ever since former Spock’s Beard drummer and singer Nick D’Virgilio took over the drum stool at Big Big Train, delighting us again with his acrobatics here, they’ve been practically unstoppable. David Longdon’s voice is another special ingredient: over the years he’s established himself as one of the best singers in modern prog, lending Big Big Train’s music a deeply emotive blend of depth, maturity and romanticism. And by now it hardly needs saying that, besides Longdon, who also handles the flute, almost all the band members have not just outstanding instrumental chops but also a considerable singing talent, especially D’Virgilio and Sjöblom.
The nearly thirteen-minute opening epic »Brave Captain« is stuffed with dramatic Mellotron textures and mighty string arrangements, while the band deftly weaves elements of symphonic prog, folk and jazz fusion through its numerous time changes, never sacrificing the melodic structure for a second, backed by Longdon’s brilliant vocal performance. This powerful opener is followed by the no less impressive and complex instrumental »On the Racing Line«, soaked in a mysterious, nostalgic mood where, to the ethereal sound of strings, you can easily picture evergreen English moors and the remains of once-mighty castles. Sparkling guitar passages winding through the complex rhythmic meanders, meanwhile, supply that prog rock lucidity, that element of surprise, that turns a good composition into a masterpiece.
The ten-minute epic »Experimental Gentlemen«, which opens with the dramatic sound of Mellotron, piano and guitar, is another treat for all prog gourmets, while Longdon’s vocal approach, this time richly backed by excellent vocal harmonies, gives the song a Victorian flavor. In the closing, exceptionally beautiful instrumental section the song changes its character almost completely. The acoustic-leaning »Meadowland« contains elements of Irish folk music, and its melodic nature, carried on the wings of acoustic guitar and piano, gets a generous boost from yet another superb Longdon vocal performance. The title track, with its fantastic instrumental sections where something is always happening and the octet’s members are in perfect harmony throughout, is steeped in an indescribably nostalgic atmosphere thanks to the melancholic string arrangements by violinist Rachel Hall (ex-Stackridge), who proves herself as lead singer on the closing track »As the Crow Flies«. That one ends the album on a high after a relatively simple start, gaining rhythmic and arrangement complexity and drama as it goes, with the peak coming in the lead vocal exchange between Longdon and Hall.
Special guest on the folk rock-leaning ballad »The Ivy Gate« is singer Judy Dyble, whom folk rock fans know as a founding member of the legendary Fairport Convention. It’s less well known that, for a short time, together with her then-boyfriend, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, she was a member of Giles, Giles & Fripp, just before they renamed themselves King Crimson. Her recordings with Giles, Giles & Fripp came out in 2001 on the compilation »The Brondesbury Tapes«. After a brief adventure with the psychedelic folk rockers Trader Horne in 1970, she withdrew from the music world for a long time, then launched a solo career at the start of this century. The vocal interplay and exchange between Longdon and Dyble is outstanding, with Celtic-flavored arrangements behind them, not to mention the superb mini moog solo.
The complex symphonic prog/folk prog masterpiece »A Mead Hall in the Winter«, one of three epics on the album, is one of the most interesting creations in Big Big Train’s output so far, as they experimented a little with new wave elements here, and the main riff is especially intriguing. The interplay between all three guitarists is fantastic, and David’s singing can’t be praised enough. You can also occasionally hear Sjöblom’s songwriting influence and a bit of the Scandinavian approach to prog he brought with him from Beardfish.
»Grimspound« is a worthy successor to the masterpiece that was »Folklore« in every way, and an album prog fans will be arguing about for a long time in 2017. You can feel on every single track that the musicians poured their heart and soul into it with everything they had, which is exactly what you so often miss in modern prog acts. Despite a certain arrangement and concept kinship between »Grimspound« and »Folklore«, the two albums are different enough when you compare individual compositions that there’s no talk of copying a proven recipe, the way some of Big Big Train’s peers do far too often. A sharp ear will here and there catch certain influences from prog giants, especially Genesis, mostly thanks to Longdon’s voice, which slightly recalls Peter Gabriel, but over the years Big Big Train have managed to develop a thoroughly recognizable style, and that’s one of the main reasons they’re now among the most popular and respected prog rock bands around.
Lineup
David Longdon – lead vocals, backing vocals, flute, melodica, electric and acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, celesta, synthesizer, mandolin, lute, percussion
Dave Gregory – electric and 12-string guitar
Andy Poole – acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Rikard Sjöblom – guitar, keyboards (8), backing vocals
Danny Manners – keyboards, double bass
Rachel Hall – violin, viola, cello, backing vocals, string arrangements
Greg Spawton / bass, bass pedals, backing vocals
Nick D’Virgilio – drums, percussion, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Judy Dyble – vocals (6)
Philip Trzebiatowski – cello (2)
Production
Big Big Train
Tracklist
1. Brave Captain (12:37)
2. On The Racing Line (5:12)
3. Experimental Gentlemen (10:01)
4. Meadowland (3:36)
5. Grimspound (6:56)
6. The Ivy Gate (7:27)
7. A Mead Hall In Winter (15:20)
8. As The Crow Flies (6:44)
