Big Big Train: Folklore

Within the many genres covered here at SoT some artists reach into fantasy for inspiration, others find joy in the technical aspects of music amongst many other raison d'etres. Veteran proggers Big Big Train get a kick out of being very English indeed. They didn't make English Electric Parts 1&2 for nothing you know. If anything they may be ever so slightly poppier than previous incarnations of the band especially on the tremendous title track – and if you haven't seen the Wicker Man style video by now, stop whatever you are doing and make it so.

Nick D'Virgilio, Dave Gregory, David Longdon, Danny Manners, Andy Poole, Greg Spawton, Rikard Sjoblom, Rachel Hall are the current members of the band. I find it interesting that former XTC man Dave Gregory is a member of Big Big Train making fantastically English songs such as the pastoral, languid "London Plane" whilst his former partner in XTC crime is one of the writers on the new Monkees album which is a masterclass in sunny, succinct pop music. There's very little succinct about this album but that's not to say that it is in any way flabby or self-indulgent. Yes, some of the songs are over ten minutes long but that's fine because some of us have attention spans!

There is a temptation with an album this good to drone on about every track but I think that if you like early Genesis, Jethro Tull, Mostly Autumn and their like you should dash to your local record dealer ( if you still have one) or download Folklore immediately.

Tracks Listing:

1. Folklore
2. Along the Ridgeway
3. Salisbury Giant
4. London Plane
5. Mudlarks
6. Lost Rivers of London
7. The Transit of Venus Across the Sun
8. Wassail
9. Winkie
10. Brooklands
11. Telling the Bees

Added: June 17th 2016
Reviewer: Simon Bray
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 2566
Language: english

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