Despite the tragic loss of their charismatic vocalist, songwriter, and frontman David Longdon a few short years ago, progressive rock act Big Big Train has chosen to carry on, enlisting the help of PFM vocalist Alberto Bravin to step in and assume the role going forward, and his studio debut is here with The Likes of Us. Going in a completely different direction with Bravin, who is clearly no Longdon clone, was the right idea, as his unique and powerful voice seems to be taking BBT down a slightly different path here, as if it's a brand new start, which, it pretty much is. After the opening bombast of the instrumental title track, Bravin proves his mettle on the engaging "Oblivion", a real rocker of a song and quite catchy, which is followed by the 17-minute "Beneath the Masts", a dreamy prog gem filled with sumptuous keyboard layers and textures. Alberto again shines on the Genesis-inspired "Skates On", surrounded by lush acoustic guitars and keyboards. "Miramare" is another epic-length track, and once again the band shows off their great use of multi-layered vocal harmonies and dreamy instrumentation. It's a real highlight of the album, and Clare Lindley's lovely violin adds a nice touch. She's at it again on the lovely "Love Is the Light", which also features a stunning guitar solo courtesy of Rikard Sjöblom, and for those that really are drawn to the pastoral nature of BBT's music, "Bookmarks" and "Last Eleven", the two closing tracks, are just wonderful, the latter soaked in Mellotron, violin, and nimble lead bass lines, Bravin soaring all over the top of everything. Yes fans will easily love this killer song.
Though it certainly hasn't been an easy last few years for the band, they haven't missed a step here with The Likes of Us. Highly recommended to prog fans of all ages!
Track Listing
1.
Light Left In The Day 06:10
2.
Oblivion 05:27
3.
Beneath The Masts 17:26
4.
Skates On 04:28
5.
Miramare 10:17
6.
Love Is The Light 06:11
7.
Bookmarks 06:23
8.
Last Eleven 07:55
9.
Miramare (Single Edit) 08:55
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