It's very important for 'prog' that bands like BBT are making valid music in the present. An important channel like Doug's showcasing this music is priceless, thanks.
Victorian Brickwork is about the passing of Greg Spawton’s biological Father who he was estranged from - he became alcoholic which had split the family. Greg decided however to go and see his deceased Father in the mortuary but it was closed - the Victorian Brickwork kept him from seeing his late Father and processing his mixed feelings.
I would have have suggested "Transit of Venus Across the Sun" as a great shorter track to begin with, but it's hard to go wrong with anything by BBT. Looking forward to more!
indeed. Everytime I hear a tune from BBT I hadn't listened to before... I'm left wondering how it is I hadn't heard it and wondering just if they can do a bad tune
You've done it.... Watching this video of a band I didn't know prompted me to check them out on TH-cam. Then, when I saw an announcement that they were going to play live, not too far from where I live, I decided to buy tickets. That gig was last night. And now I'm a big big fan!!
Superb! Glad you got around to BBT. Be great to hear your take on 'East Coast Racer', a love song to a steam train; or, Judas Unrepentant, a song about fine art forger, Tom Keating... so much good stuff from this band!
Fantastic band who i have been listening to since Malcolm Parker of GFT mail order sent me a flyer advert for the 'Gathering speed' in 2004. I bought it on that and loved them ever since. Two of my absolute favourites are 'The Underfall Yard' and 'East Coast Racer'.....But much else as well...such an evocative band!
This may have been mentioned, but when this was played live it was accompanied by a film with illustrative clips and pictures. The faster middle section symbolizes the two world wars.
Rikard is amazingly talented. Might I suggest his previous band, Beardfish? Sleeping In Traffic is a long piece but great. Really can't go wrong with anything Beardfish did, IMO
The resurgence of Prog over the last 10 years or so has been great. But coming from old school of Genesis and Yes, I hadn't heard a real modern successor until I heard BBT, and I have been hooked since The Underfall Yard came out. I definitely think that album is worthy of a long form Doug assessment! Thanks Doug, and keep them coming!
I love that you do the best you can to find the meaning of the lyrics. I just discovered this band myself. Very reminiscent of early Genesis. Too bad about David's untimely passing.
A great band, excellent music and lovely people too. I was one of the lucky few invited to the launch party for the Folklore album at Real World Studios. They performed a couple of songs live too. What a day that was!
My favorite of the retro prog bands. English Electric is perhaps the best prog album of the last decade. I'll second those recommending Victorian Brickwork for the next listen. The live version is especially astonishing.
BBT are amazing. Recently discovered. Albums Folklore, English electric and Common Ground are outstanding. Any number of wonderful songs to sample. East Coast Racer, First Rebreather, Folklore, Atlantic Cable and The Underfall Yard are all a great listen. (Amongst many others)
BBT are such a great live band. Can I suggest some tracks that are one TH-cam. Judas Unrepentant, The Florentine or East Coast Racer. Looking forward to your next reaction.
Amazing band - been nagging you for months to listen to this band! You really need to listen to them live EAST COAST RACER or TRANSIT OF VENUS ACROSS THE SUN. A great long listen would be MASTERS OF LIGHT - all their best stuff LIVE! They are amazing and bear repeated listening. Great themes, excellent musicianship, interesting composition- no brass band on this one alas but plenty of Rachel on strings. What’s not to live about this band! Even a ref to the artist Turner! Nick D’Virgilio usually pops up when BBT is reviewed. David actually auditioned to replace Phil Collins but didn’t get the gig. This track is a part of a much bigger suite. The tracks I just suggested do represent the best if BBT. Nick D’Virgilio previously of SPOCKS BEARD once said that EAST COAST RACER was the kind of thing that he entered music to play.
Hi Doug, am I seeing this wrong or have you never done any song by Leprous? A Norwegian prog/post metal group with some strong classical influences? I'd love if you could give "At the bottom", "The sky is red" or "On hold" a chance! Cheers!
Glad to hear BBT on your channel, Doug. Their following is small compared with the storied Prog bands of the 1970 but BBT fans more than make up in zeal for their numbers, which has seen the band win several awards in recent years where there's a public vote. Keep at it ... there are a lot of great songs from this band.
Love Big Big Train! One of the bands that solidified my love for a specific style of progressive rock in the 2010s. I personally love the Grimspound album for how cleanly it tells the stories it wants to convey, and recommend anything off of it for that purpose. You can't go wrong with BBT though, so I hope you'll work your way through more of their material!
Thank you for listening to Big Big Train; a truly great band. A mention now has to go to David Longdon who has sadly died but whose memory lives on in those outstanding vocal performances.
I always wanted to see this song in the chanel, my favorite of BBT boys. If you feel this song is in a way, "unfinished", is because its part of a bigger piece called "The London Sequence", I recomend to you listen the whole suite some day. And please! continue reacting to BBT, there are so many good songs "Brooklands Secuence", "Victorian brickwork", "Folklore", "The transit of Venus across the sun" "Upton Heath". Cheers!
Been looking forward to this since you announced it. Great analysis. :) The Skylon was a reference to the 1951 Festival of Britain, which was an attempt to celebrate growth and development after the hardships of the 2nd World War. The Skylon was a futuristic silver cigar-shaped tower nearly 300ft in height that was built on the South Bank of the Thames almost directly across from York Watergate. :)
I just discovered Big Big Train last year and their album English Electric Part 1 was for sure my favourite album I listened to in 2020! Summoned By Bells is probably my favourite off that album, but there are several others on it that are also absolutely wonderful. I love how "English" they are (I'm not from the UK but their music just takes me there), how intelligent and evocative their lyrics are, how they weave gorgeous classical elements into their pop/rock bedrock, and just how artistic and rich the music is.
100% agree. The English Electric albums were my introduction too. Curator of Butterflies makes me cry, and Uncle Jack takes me back to when I was a kid in the old country. Their songs are so colourful and descriptive. Wonderful music.
I got sucked in by "Judas Unrepentant" form a pandora stream years ago. I loved that guitar tone... then I heard more from English Electric... and was hooked....
@@TedSchoenling What a great song, one that I originally was so-so about, but kept growing to be one of my favourites on the album! Inspired me to delve into Tom Keating's story.
@@bwhammm That is what I LOVE about BBT. It mixes my love of complex music and history.. Each song gives me something to ponder musically and something to look into historically LOVE that
BBT songs are almost always historical, about lifestyles and events long past. Nostalgic, wistful, and often romantic; but also realistic and reverent.
Hey, Doug, can you please react to Big Big Train's very latest music? We just lost David Longdon, the vocalist, a few hours ago, and I can't think of a more fitting tribute than to play his music alongside an incredible enthusiasm for it's construction, and someone who really appreciates what he brought to the band. Cheers, and hope you're having a great day!
With BBT most of their songs are historical, and all of them tell a story... once you get to the point where the music is in your head, you can listen again and get the lyrics...they are musically and lyrically rich. I would suggest "The Florintine" "Winkie" or "Transit of Venus across the Sun' as short tunes
Doug I really respect you but you step all over the most precious and tender moments of songs and Lyrics. You should please find a place to be quiet when personal emotions are expressed in lyrics to step back to love those individuals expressions and stop measuring/analyzing the music
Been waiting for some BBT to show up on this channel. Try some of their live stuff with a brass band, Swan Hunter a favourite of mine, (It's a ship yard in NE England). For something with a folky flavour their's Folklore, preferably the live version with Folklore Overture intro. B^)
Great reaction. The song Folklore on the same album is also excellent. One of my favorite Big Big Train song is The Florentine (Grand Tour album) and you should look at the live version. Anyways, you should see a live video of Big Big Train, they are amazing live (often around 15 musicians on stage). Another BBT (do not confuse with BLT lol) song that you should add to your agenda is East Coast Race (live version of course).
I think Big Big Train are probably one of the best Prog bands around.They are up there with the likes of Genesis and King Crimson…..very melodic and clever arrangements. Thanks for highlighting them and look forward to hearing more from them on this great channel
I would like suggest a song nu Rush, it's been a while y'all. And that song would have tot be Witch Hunt. I am sure you wil like the lyrics. Another suggestion is Anamnesis by White Willow.
Saw this band live just before lockdown, extremely good band, fabulous musicians, great frontman. However their last album was weak by their standards.
GET THE LIVE SHOWS ON DVD!! I stumbled across Big Big Train, oddly enough, by watching Nick demonstrating drum sets for Sweetwater. I’ve been a prog head since Yes released “Fragile”… ELP, Genesis, Kansas and others quickly followed. Fifty years later, I was convinced real musicianship had died, and no new “artists” could even reach the level of 1910 Fruitgum Company or The Archie’s. Enter BBT….. got “The Underfall Yard”… after listening I sat in silence-I was stunned-I was speechless…. listened a second time on headphones… tears. What a wonderful work. Went to Amazon and BBT website and bought EVERY RELEASED WORK they put out. Cranked up the surround system on the live sets. WOW WOW WOW. This restored my hunger and love of great musicianship. Thanks Doug! Always love to see your reaction to the different types of music. Please keep it up!!
I found Nick from Sweetwater demos too LOL. It lead me to Spock's Beard first. Then to Transatlantic, and a whole slew of other great bands. Only recently discovered Big Big Train, but I'm hooked.
Hey Doug I know your ear is extraordinary so there’s this 1972 Genesis song that opens Foxtrot called Watcher Of The Skies that has an incredibly complex chord progression on the Mellotron. If you could dissect it and help people like me to play the intro and outro on my Mellotron I would be so appreciative.Thanks Doug.
1st time listening to this group. Loving it! After I am done over here I will go listen with no critique talking . Kinda spoiling it for me. If you know the songs its fine. Hard for me to be able to listen to the song.. my opinion
Love Big Big Train. Love Victorian Brickwork & Rebreather. They’re touring in US for the very first time in a few weeks. Very excited…I got tix! 😊 Marty
Because Greg Spawton is a guitar guy he comes up with some unusual chords for keys! That’s why you find it flummoxing on occasion because he doesn’t go where a keys trained composer would go. Danny Manners is a jazz player so his keyboard work is tasteful and unexpected also. Rachel developed and recorded all those string parts.
Where to find London plane The London plane is thought to be a cross between the Oriental plane and the American sycamore - both of which had been introduced to Britain. By chance, one of each species had been planted in the London nursery garden of John Tradescant, the younger which cross-pollinated to produce a new hybrid. It was first noticed by Tradescant - a famous botanist - in the mid-17th century and named after the city where it originated. Planting of the new hybrid across London started in the late 18th century and nowadays it is a common tree in London, both as a street tree and in city parks. According to the London Tree Report, the London plane tree is one of the most 'important species' in Inner London (but not Greater London) along with birch (Betula spp), lime (Tilia spp.) and apple (Malus spp.). The report also notes that London plane trees make up the largest leaf area of all tree species in Inner London, potentially bringing the most benefits for air quality and shade.
Where does the phrase time and tide wait for no man come from? This proverbial phrase, alluding to the fact that human events or concerns cannot stop the passage of time or the movement of the tides, first appeared about 1395 in Chaucer's Prologue to the Clerk's Tale.
Hi doug, have you heard of the Trans Siberian Orchestra? If not then you should give them a try, they are a band and you can start with Requim(the fifth) if you want to. It would be great if you do so.
Time and tide wait for no man And now the ship has sailed And the crowds fade away But by the water's edge At the end of the road I still reach for the day's last light ~ Gregory Spawton ❤
Oh snap! Big Big Train is my latest big music find. A few years ago already, but nothing else comes to mind on the same level. English Electric I & II are insanely good albums and their live show releases are gorgeous.
Hi Doug, this is completley un-related to your video but I just opened up my Gifs on my Whatsapp and your face was there, on the main Gif page! It was just a total surprise to see you there and thought it was pretty funny and worth sharing.
I know you've already done a lot of DT and they have started blocking some of your vids, but I'm curious what you would think of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, disc 2. It's a 40-minute inter-connected piece.
There is a band that is very popular in the UK but unfortunately never made it big in America. They are called Status Quo and were formed in the 60's. They are still going now but their best material was from the 70's. I would really appreciate if you could check them out and consider featuring them on the channel. I would recommend Slow Train from Quo(1974), Mystery Song from Blue For You(1976) and Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home from Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon(1970). Thank you so much for making these analysis videos.
The entire London Suite (as on side 2 of the vinyl version of Folklore, with Mudlarks and Lost Rivers of London) is one of the greatest pieces of progressive music I've ever heard. The Skylon reference is to an apparently floating structure that was erected for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Sadly, I will never hear David Longdon sing this live. Rest in peace, maestro.
You should give their song "Folklore" a listen. This band had to be heavily influenced by the original makeup of Genesis. David Longdon's voice even sounds very similar to Peter Gabriel's.
Loved that you picked up the similarity of David Longdon's voice to Peter Gabriel's. David auditioned to take over vocals from Phil Collins for the last Genesis album (eventually they went with Ray Wilson). Interestingly, one of the drummers on that album was Nick D'Virgilio who is also in BBT. There are loads of references in the lyrics which, to me, demonstrate the intellectual side of the band and I thought it might be helpful to explain. Here are a few: Mudlarks - people who scavenged in the mud of the Thames at low tide in the 18th and 19th century looking for items of value. This continues to this day with metal detectorists often finding items of archeological interest (I think I am right in thinking that Greg Spawton is a trained archeologist) 'knows the mood of kings and crowds and priests' - is taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling regarding Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, which is some 20 miles upstream of central London. Turner - is a reference to the famous painter, JMW Turner who had a lifelong association with the Thames and moved to a house overlooking the Thames in 1805. He painted some astonishing pictures of the river and would sail out in a boat to get the viewpoint. "the Alice is clean gone" - refers to the sinking of the SS Princess Alice that sank in the Thames 1878 with the loss of between 600 and 700 lives. Skylon - which you picked up from Greg's notes, was a slender, vertical, cigar-shaped steel structure built in 1951 for the "Festival of Britain" which itself was a festival to give the people of Britain a feeling of successful recovery from the war's devastation. Pretty brilliant stuff! And thank you for reviewing! - cannot wait until the next BBT track
Hey Doug, BBT has a short and VERY original piece, a little obscure maybe, but I know you’ll appreciate it. It was composed and recorded by the early band lineup. It was later rearranged by a newer member (Danny Manners), into piano, violin and voices. Really worth your time : Wind Distorted Pioneers, off of the album From Stone and Steel. Only 4 minutes
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It's very important for 'prog' that bands like BBT are making valid music in the present. An important channel like Doug's showcasing this music is priceless, thanks.
Looking forward someday to you tackling Big Big Train's "Victorian Brickwork", one of my favorite prog tracks of this century.
Mine too
@@richardthresh3587 me too
Me three.
Yes! Victorian Brickwork please.
Victorian Brickwork is about the passing of Greg Spawton’s biological Father who he was estranged from - he became alcoholic which had split the family. Greg decided however to go and see his deceased Father in the mortuary but it was closed - the Victorian Brickwork kept him from seeing his late Father and processing his mixed feelings.
I would have have suggested "Transit of Venus Across the Sun" as a great shorter track to begin with, but it's hard to go wrong with anything by BBT. Looking forward to more!
There's a good "live in the studio" video version on You Tube.
indeed. Everytime I hear a tune from BBT I hadn't listened to before... I'm left wondering how it is I hadn't heard it and wondering just if they can do a bad tune
You've done it....
Watching this video of a band I didn't know prompted me to check them out on TH-cam. Then, when I saw an announcement that they were going to play live, not too far from where I live, I decided to buy tickets.
That gig was last night. And now I'm a big big fan!!
Thanks for posting this. Never heard of them, but now I'll be looking for their music.
You are in for a great ride.
Took me a while to enjoy this band but I came to love their historical references and then the music. Really like the Grand Tour epics.
Superb! Glad you got around to BBT. Be great to hear your take on 'East Coast Racer', a love song to a steam train; or, Judas Unrepentant, a song about fine art forger, Tom Keating... so much good stuff from this band!
Fantastic band who i have been listening to since Malcolm Parker of GFT mail order sent me a flyer advert for the 'Gathering speed' in 2004. I bought it on that and loved them ever since. Two of my absolute favourites are 'The Underfall Yard' and 'East Coast Racer'.....But much else as well...such an evocative band!
Any band with Dave Gregory on guitar from XTC needs to be listened to ... repeatedly!
David is one of the best. Always puts the song first but still blows your mind.
Love your face listening to the first verse. Quality content there. Seriously.
You should probably listen to more of this.
Curator of Butterflies brings me to tears. This band are truly wonderful.
You too?
This may have been mentioned, but when this was played live it was accompanied by a film with illustrative clips and pictures. The faster middle section symbolizes the two world wars.
Judas Unrepentant is only 7 minutes. Honestly one of the best songs in their catalogue
They have greater tracks than this, though it is good, 'East Coast racer"yes, a long track, but amazing, you should do it as 1st long track😊
Rikard is amazingly talented. Might I suggest his previous band, Beardfish? Sleeping In Traffic is a long piece but great. Really can't go wrong with anything Beardfish did, IMO
Doug, I love the research you put in surrounding the song you are reviewing. It adds an added dynamic to your review. Keep up the great work you do.
The resurgence of Prog over the last 10 years or so has been great. But coming from old school of Genesis and Yes, I hadn't heard a real modern successor until I heard BBT, and I have been hooked since The Underfall Yard came out. I definitely think that album is worthy of a long form Doug assessment! Thanks Doug, and keep them coming!
I love that you do the best you can to find the meaning of the lyrics. I just discovered this band myself. Very reminiscent of early Genesis. Too bad about David's untimely passing.
A great band, excellent music and lovely people too. I was one of the lucky few invited to the launch party for the Folklore album at Real World Studios. They performed a couple of songs live too. What a day that was!
My favorite of the retro prog bands. English Electric is perhaps the best prog album of the last decade. I'll second those recommending Victorian Brickwork for the next listen. The live version is especially astonishing.
BBT are amazing. Recently discovered. Albums Folklore, English electric and Common Ground are outstanding. Any number of wonderful songs to sample. East Coast Racer, First Rebreather, Folklore, Atlantic Cable and The Underfall Yard are all a great listen. (Amongst many others)
First Rebreather, what a brilliant song! Hope Doug will get into that later 😊
I highly recommend 'Kingmaker' by Big Big Train. My favourite track of theirs
BBT are such a great live band. Can I suggest some tracks that are one TH-cam.
Judas Unrepentant, The Florentine or East Coast Racer.
Looking forward to your next reaction.
Amazing band - been nagging you for months to listen to this band! You really need to listen to them live EAST COAST RACER or TRANSIT OF VENUS ACROSS THE SUN. A great long listen would be MASTERS OF LIGHT - all their best stuff LIVE! They are amazing and bear repeated listening. Great themes, excellent musicianship, interesting composition- no brass band on this one alas but plenty of Rachel on strings. What’s not to live about this band! Even a ref to the artist Turner! Nick D’Virgilio usually pops up when BBT is reviewed. David actually auditioned to replace Phil Collins but didn’t get the gig. This track is a part of a much bigger suite. The tracks I just suggested do represent the best if BBT. Nick D’Virgilio previously of SPOCKS BEARD once said that EAST COAST RACER was the kind of thing that he entered music to play.
Hi Doug, am I seeing this wrong or have you never done any song by Leprous? A Norwegian prog/post metal group with some strong classical influences? I'd love if you could give "At the bottom", "The sky is red" or "On hold" a chance! Cheers!
Glad to hear BBT on your channel, Doug. Their following is small compared with the storied Prog bands of the 1970 but BBT fans more than make up in zeal for their numbers, which has seen the band win several awards in recent years where there's a public vote. Keep at it ... there are a lot of great songs from this band.
Love Big Big Train! One of the bands that solidified my love for a specific style of progressive rock in the 2010s. I personally love the Grimspound album for how cleanly it tells the stories it wants to convey, and recommend anything off of it for that purpose. You can't go wrong with BBT though, so I hope you'll work your way through more of their material!
Thank you for listening to Big Big Train; a truly great band. A mention now has to go to David Longdon who has sadly died but whose memory lives on in those outstanding vocal performances.
Check out Rikard Sjöbloms Gungfly and Beardfish (Rikards first band)
I always wanted to see this song in the chanel, my favorite of BBT boys. If you feel this song is in a way, "unfinished", is because its part of a bigger piece called "The London Sequence", I recomend to you listen the whole suite some day. And please! continue reacting to BBT, there are so many good songs "Brooklands Secuence", "Victorian brickwork", "Folklore", "The transit of Venus across the sun" "Upton Heath". Cheers!
Been looking forward to this since you announced it. Great analysis. :)
The Skylon was a reference to the 1951 Festival of Britain, which was an attempt to celebrate growth and development after the hardships of the 2nd World War. The Skylon was a futuristic silver cigar-shaped tower nearly 300ft in height that was built on the South Bank of the Thames almost directly across from York Watergate. :)
Give Doug a ticket to an aeroplane, he ain't got time to take a speeding train. His baby Megan wrote him a letter.
Love Big Big Train. The Genesis atmosphere, the melancholic voice. More, please!
I just discovered Big Big Train last year and their album English Electric Part 1 was for sure my favourite album I listened to in 2020! Summoned By Bells is probably my favourite off that album, but there are several others on it that are also absolutely wonderful. I love how "English" they are (I'm not from the UK but their music just takes me there), how intelligent and evocative their lyrics are, how they weave gorgeous classical elements into their pop/rock bedrock, and just how artistic and rich the music is.
100% agree. The English Electric albums were my introduction too. Curator of Butterflies makes me cry, and Uncle Jack takes me back to when I was a kid in the old country. Their songs are so colourful and descriptive. Wonderful music.
I got sucked in by "Judas Unrepentant" form a pandora stream years ago. I loved that guitar tone... then I heard more from English Electric... and was hooked....
@@TedSchoenling What a great song, one that I originally was so-so about, but kept growing to be one of my favourites on the album! Inspired me to delve into Tom Keating's story.
@@bwhammm That is what I LOVE about BBT. It mixes my love of complex music and history.. Each song gives me something to ponder musically and something to look into historically LOVE that
BBT songs are almost always historical, about lifestyles and events long past. Nostalgic, wistful, and often romantic; but also realistic and reverent.
Hey, Doug, can you please react to Big Big Train's very latest music? We just lost David Longdon, the vocalist, a few hours ago, and I can't think of a more fitting tribute than to play his music alongside an incredible enthusiasm for it's construction, and someone who really appreciates what he brought to the band. Cheers, and hope you're having a great day!
With BBT most of their songs are historical, and all of them tell a story... once you get to the point where the music is in your head, you can listen again and get the lyrics...they are musically and lyrically rich. I would suggest "The Florintine" "Winkie" or "Transit of Venus across the Sun' as short tunes
Nicely done Doug. Little info in the beginning and a little Doug on Keys in the middle. So lovely. Great song. I'm a sucker for these kind of lyrics.
next step? the live version of VOYAGER from EMPIRE...
Came here to give a like and request some Thank You Scientist! BBT is amazing tho, hope to see more soon.
Terrible news of the death of David Longdon on the 20th of November this year, a fantastic singer and songwriter.
Doug I really respect you but you step all over the most precious and tender moments of songs and Lyrics. You should please find a place to be quiet when personal emotions are expressed in lyrics to step back to love those individuals expressions and stop measuring/analyzing the music
I love your videos, but I like the ones more where you don't sit on a keyboard! Please listen more, play less ;)
Been waiting for some BBT to show up on this channel. Try some of their live stuff with a brass band, Swan Hunter a favourite of mine, (It's a ship yard in NE England). For something with a folky flavour their's Folklore, preferably the live version with Folklore Overture intro. B^)
Great reaction. The song Folklore on the same album is also excellent. One of my favorite Big Big Train song is The Florentine (Grand Tour album) and you should look at the live version. Anyways, you should see a live video of Big Big Train, they are amazing live (often around 15 musicians on stage). Another BBT (do not confuse with BLT lol) song that you should add to your agenda is East Coast Race (live version of course).
EXTRAORDINARY band and song.
I think Big Big Train are probably one of the best Prog bands around.They are up there with the likes of Genesis and King Crimson…..very melodic and clever arrangements. Thanks for highlighting them and look forward to hearing more from them on this great channel
I would like suggest a song nu Rush, it's been a while y'all. And that song would have tot be Witch Hunt. I am sure you wil like the lyrics. Another suggestion is Anamnesis by White Willow.
Anorher band to check out: Wobbler!
RIP David Longdon 🙏
I enjoy more optimistic sounding songs of them like "Make some noise" or "Folklore"
I see you like prog. Please make Haken - Pareidolia, Leprous - Running Low or David Maxim Micic - Nostalgia from Bilo 3.0 album!
Give "East Coast Racer" a listen if you have a few minutes, totally worth it!
Saw this band live just before lockdown, extremely good band, fabulous musicians, great frontman. However their last album was weak by their standards.
GET THE LIVE SHOWS ON DVD!! I stumbled across Big Big Train, oddly enough, by watching Nick demonstrating drum sets for Sweetwater. I’ve been a prog head since Yes released “Fragile”… ELP, Genesis, Kansas and others quickly followed. Fifty years later, I was convinced real musicianship had died, and no new “artists” could even reach the level of 1910 Fruitgum Company or The Archie’s. Enter BBT….. got “The Underfall Yard”… after listening I sat in silence-I was stunned-I was speechless…. listened a second time on headphones… tears. What a wonderful work. Went to Amazon and BBT website and bought EVERY RELEASED WORK they put out. Cranked up the surround system on the live sets. WOW WOW WOW. This restored my hunger and love of great musicianship. Thanks Doug! Always love to see your reaction to the different types of music. Please keep it up!!
I found Nick from Sweetwater demos too LOL. It lead me to Spock's Beard first. Then to Transatlantic, and a whole slew of other great bands. Only recently discovered Big Big Train, but I'm hooked.
Great band, my favorite new-ish band . Davids singing to me is a combo of Gabriel and Steve Wynwood.
Has a definite Steve Hogarth sound for me too.
Steve Martin and John Candy instructed Doug on Planes Trains and Automobiles.
Love this album, ty for the react/thoughts
Hey Doug I know your ear is extraordinary so there’s this 1972 Genesis song that opens Foxtrot called Watcher Of The Skies that has an incredibly complex chord progression on the Mellotron. If you could dissect it and help people like me to play the intro and outro on my Mellotron I would be so appreciative.Thanks Doug.
R.I.P. David Longdon
Doug made sure to catch a ride on the Big Big Train, not the Big Train, so he could get on the plane to London.
Fabulous band and song. You will really enjoy exploring their catalogue. Wonderful job, Doug.
Sooooo glad you got to BBT. Great start. Look forward to many more of their works. As always, I appreciate your take and analysis. Cheers!
1st time listening to this group. Loving it! After I am done over here I will go listen with no critique talking . Kinda spoiling it for me. If you know the songs its fine. Hard for me to be able to listen to the song.. my opinion
Fabulous band and song. You will really enjoy exploring their catalogue. Wonderful job, Doug.
Love Big Big Train. Love Victorian Brickwork & Rebreather. They’re touring in US for the very first time in a few weeks. Very excited…I got tix! 😊 Marty
Go on Doug masterpiece Friday EAST COAST RACER
Masters of LIGHT - MASTERPIECE FRIDAY!
Leprous.
Because Greg Spawton is a guitar guy he comes up with some unusual chords for keys! That’s why you find it flummoxing on occasion because he doesn’t go where a keys trained composer would go. Danny Manners is a jazz player so his keyboard work is tasteful and unexpected also. Rachel developed and recorded all those string parts.
Where to find London plane
The London plane is thought to be a cross between the Oriental plane and the American sycamore - both of which had been introduced to Britain. By chance, one of each species had been planted in the London nursery garden of John Tradescant, the younger which cross-pollinated to produce a new hybrid. It was first noticed by Tradescant - a famous botanist - in the mid-17th century and named after the city where it originated.
Planting of the new hybrid across London started in the late 18th century and nowadays it is a common tree in London, both as a street tree and in city parks.
According to the London Tree Report, the London plane tree is one of the most 'important species' in Inner London (but not Greater London) along with birch (Betula
spp), lime (Tilia spp.) and apple (Malus spp.). The report also notes that London plane trees make up the largest leaf area of all tree species in Inner London, potentially bringing the most benefits for air quality and shade.
Where does the phrase time and tide wait for no man come from?
This proverbial phrase, alluding to the fact that human events or concerns cannot stop the passage of time or the movement of the tides, first appeared about 1395 in Chaucer's Prologue to the Clerk's Tale.
Hi doug, have you heard of the Trans Siberian Orchestra? If not then you should give them a try, they are a band and you can start with Requim(the fifth) if you want to. It would be great if you do so.
Also refers to Turner. The painter J.M.W. Turner, (renowned painter of seascapes and bad weather) taking his boat out to catch the light.
"Skylon," more than just being another BBT tune, was a London landmark.
Time and tide wait for no man
And now the ship has sailed
And the crowds fade away
But by the water's edge
At the end of the road
I still reach for the day's last light ~ Gregory Spawton ❤
Oh snap! Big Big Train is my latest big music find. A few years ago already, but nothing else comes to mind on the same level. English Electric I & II are insanely good albums and their live show releases are gorgeous.
This song makes me very emotional and I’m Australian, plus DL is gone, such a tragedy and great loss to all
At the end of the road I still reach for the days last light. This song……
Hi Doug, this is completley un-related to your video but I just opened up my Gifs on my Whatsapp and your face was there, on the main Gif page! It was just a total surprise to see you there and thought it was pretty funny and worth sharing.
I saw that last night...laughed for about 30 minutes.
@@Doug.Helvering LOL I just saw it! Do you recall from which episode that is?
Sad news today David Longdon of BBT was killed in an acident on Friday morning 😔
What a great song, and it's nice hearing you figuring it out on the spot and playing along. Cheers!
First Time for me to hear this! Greetings From Sweden
Judas Unrepentant is a fun track.
God, I love this channel!
Thanks for the review.
Transcendent band
Beautiful song.
RIP David Longdon. Desperately sad news.
East Coast Racer is their best.
I know you've already done a lot of DT and they have started blocking some of your vids, but I'm curious what you would think of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, disc 2. It's a 40-minute inter-connected piece.
There is a band that is very popular in the UK but unfortunately never made it big in America. They are called Status Quo and were formed in the 60's. They are still going now but their best material was from the 70's. I would really appreciate if you could check them out and consider featuring them on the channel. I would recommend Slow Train from Quo(1974), Mystery Song from Blue For You(1976) and Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home from Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon(1970). Thank you so much for making these analysis videos.
The entire London Suite (as on side 2 of the vinyl version of Folklore, with Mudlarks and Lost Rivers of London) is one of the greatest pieces of progressive music I've ever heard. The Skylon reference is to an apparently floating structure that was erected for the Festival of Britain in 1951.
Sadly, I will never hear David Longdon sing this live. Rest in peace, maestro.
You should give their song "Folklore" a listen. This band had to be heavily influenced by the original makeup of Genesis. David Longdon's voice even sounds very similar to Peter Gabriel's.
Great reaction.
Loved that you picked up the similarity of David Longdon's voice to Peter Gabriel's. David auditioned to take over vocals from Phil Collins for the last Genesis album (eventually they went with Ray Wilson). Interestingly, one of the drummers on that album was Nick D'Virgilio who is also in BBT.
There are loads of references in the lyrics which, to me, demonstrate the intellectual side of the band and I thought it might be helpful to explain. Here are a few:
Mudlarks - people who scavenged in the mud of the Thames at low tide in the 18th and 19th century looking for items of value. This continues to this day with metal detectorists often finding items of archeological interest (I think I am right in thinking that Greg Spawton is a trained archeologist)
'knows the mood of kings and crowds and priests' - is taken from a poem by Rudyard Kipling regarding Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215, which is some 20 miles upstream of central London.
Turner - is a reference to the famous painter, JMW Turner who had a lifelong association with the Thames and moved to a house overlooking the Thames in 1805. He painted some astonishing pictures of the river and would sail out in a boat to get the viewpoint.
"the Alice is clean gone" - refers to the sinking of the SS Princess Alice that sank in the Thames 1878 with the loss of between 600 and 700 lives.
Skylon - which you picked up from Greg's notes, was a slender, vertical, cigar-shaped steel structure built in 1951 for the "Festival of Britain" which itself was a festival to give the people of Britain a feeling of successful recovery from the war's devastation.
Pretty brilliant stuff! And thank you for reviewing! - cannot wait until the next BBT track
Hello all!!! Little sugestion here!!! Ayreon's live Isis and Osíris!!! Just EPIC!!!
Hey Doug, BBT has a short and VERY original piece, a little obscure maybe, but I know you’ll appreciate it. It was composed and recorded by the early band lineup. It was later rearranged by a newer member (Danny Manners), into piano, violin and voices. Really worth your time : Wind Distorted Pioneers, off of the album From Stone and Steel. Only 4 minutes
Manowar-Heart of steel (with orchestra or not)
Keep at it Antonio’s. One day. Eric Adams has such a great voice.
@@lowdz68 And a great song!
Lets go with another Genesis song please! I strongly recomend you to react to the "Seconds Out" live version of "The Cinema Show"