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Big Big Train: Grand Tour

Grand Tour is the twelfth full-length studio release from beloved British progressive rock act Big Big Train, and comes hot on the heels of 2017's well received Grimspound and The Second Brightest Star. Filled with lengthy tracks and the band's penchant for mixing charming folk, pop, and '70s inspired prog-rock, Grand Tour features nine new songs, performed by the current line-up:


Nick D'Virgilio - drums, percussion, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Theodora in Green and Gold", additional keyboards, guitars
Dave Gregory - 6-string and 12-string guitars
Rachel Hall - violin, backing vocals
David Longdon - lead vocals, flute, additional keyboards, guitars
Danny Manners - keyboards
Rikard Sjöblom -6-string and 12-string guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Greg Spawton - bass guitar, bass pedals, additional 12-string guitars

The album kicks off with the moody "Novum Organum", which quickly flows into the bright, melodic "Alive", subtle Yes & Genesis flavors seeping through the arrangement, with plenty of endearing vocal harmonies to be found every step of the way. "The Florentine" is the first of the many epic tracks, ripe with assorted textures, moods, and colors, Hall's violin lovely, Manners' keyboards ever searching, layers of acoustic & electric guitars, and loads of engaging vocal melodies. The epic "Roman Stone" clocks in at just over 13-minutes, a lush, melodic track that contains all the elements that makes Big Big Train such an endearing act to listen to, the violin weeping, the Peter Gabriel-styled vocals of Longdon passionate, the guitars lovely, and the keyboards ever so soothing. A lovely tune. "Pantheon" follows, an instrumental rich with dramatic keyboard sounds, punchy bass, Nick's intricate drumming, and tasty electric guitars. Gregory's fuzzy lead guitar lines, more violin and piano permeate the lush "Theodora in Green and Gold", while the 14+ minute "Ariel" is a moody yet majestic piece, piano, violin, and guitars perfectly interwoven around gorgeous vocal melodies. It's easily one of the albums highlight, Big Big Train reaching for and achieving glorious heights. They follow that up with another 14-minute tour-de-force, "Voyager", another track packed with violin, piano, synths, and pastoral guitar patterns, Longdon's vocals dripping with emotion, and the album closes with the more upbeat "Homesong", D'Virgillio's tricky drum fills and lots of tasty Gregory electric guitar lines snaking through the arrangement, building up to a symphonic climax seeping with Mellotron and brass.

All in all, Grand Tour is a stunningly beautiful album from Big Big Train. While they may lack the bombast and rock firepower of some of their contemporaries, their music doesn't really need it, the subtle yet dense musical arrangements and rich vocal passages more than satisfy time and time again. Gorgeous stuff all around from a band that just keeps getting better and better, now nearly 30 years into their existence.


Track Listing
1. Novum Organum 02:33
2. Alive 04:31
3. The Florentine 08:14
4. Roman Stone 13:33
5. Pantheon 06:08
6. Theodora in Green and Gold 05:38
7. Ariel 14:28
8. Voyager 14:03
9. Homesong 05:12

Added: July 14th 2019
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1288
Language: english

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» Reader Comments:

Big Big Train: Grand Tour
Posted by Molly Whipple on 2021-06-27 15:08:54
My Score:

I discovered Big Big Train as a result of listening to Sea of Tranquility videos in 2121. It's one of the best finds I've had. The lyrics are occasionally a tad too impressionistic for me, but the music is sublime. I now have a half dozen of this band's efforts and Grand Tour is another fine one. I would add to Pete's comment that they do not have the bombast of some contemporaries that that is actually a strength. The music is too lovely to be turned into machine gun fire for any reason. I can't wait to see where they go from here.




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