Rock Progresivo

[jsc010 0]

He estado escuchando esta banda todo el dia, 4Front, supongo que no queda mas que recomendarla...., Gravity. Es mas tirado al jazzrock, me ha gustado. Esta en Tidal.

[jsc010 0]

Gran banda estos españoles de Kotebel, no los cachaba pero estan buenos, solidos, fastuosos, la mejor cepa progresiva. Recomendacion total, en Tidal.

[Grendel 284]

Hoy cumpleaños de un grande, Fish celebra 61 años

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[Figuish 41]

Grande Fish!!!!

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[Panchor 152]

Me estoy haciendo fan de Steven Wilson

Blackfield, otro de sus proyectos y muy bueno

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[Panchor 152]

hace 8 horas, jpollivet dijo:

Wilson..... Uffff... Es pa volverse loco.... Y todo lo que ha hecho es demasiado bueno, sobre todo cuando había perdido la esperanza de que se hiciera musica de calidad en estos tiempos..... Cuando venga le recomiendo a ojos cerrados que lo vea en vivo.... In show imponente... Slds.

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Tremendo músico

Todo lo que he escuchado de él me ha gustado. Como músico solista, en Purcupine Tree y Blackfiel, además ha trabajado en la producciones y remezclas con Anathema, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Camel y.... que mas se puede decir, tremendo curriculum..

Eso de verlo en vivo me llama mucho la atención, ojalá se de una vuelta por estos lares

[ponkine 535]

Excelente review del nuevo disco de Big Big Train

https://mrkinskimusicshack.com/2019/04/28/big-big-train-grand-tour-album-review/?fbclid=IwAR1Q971zuADVYXW6ttWIu6cwygYa86A5o9-SEKQGxjyCduW_GZSiL0fnR6k

Big Big Train – Grand Tour album review

28042019

Big Big Train release their new studio album Grand Tour on May 17th 2019. As with all Big Big Train albums, the songs tell stories that steer clear of the usual topics touched upon in modern rock music. The new album is inspired by the 17th and 18th century custom of the ‘Grand Tour’, where young men and women travelled to broaden the mind.

The band state that the Grand Tour takes you on an “epic journey over land and sea and through time and space…” with songs “…inspired by the legacy of the Italian Renaissance genius, Leonardo da Vinci; songs telling the story of the rise and fall of Rome…and of the shipwreck of a great poet, lost in a tempest off the coast of Italy.”

It’s clear that a great deal of thought has gone into the sequencing of Grand Tour, with clear ebbs and flows as the album progresses. Although there are three lengthy epics as part of Grand Tour, album opener Novum Organum is short, sweet and succinct. A percussive synth bell backing slowly builds as piano and voice enter the soundscape.

“For science and for art”

The albums lead single Alive is an uplifting track that showcases the quality production and intelligent arrangements that filter through on every track. The backing vocals and vocal interplay is a noticeable highlight on Alive and many of Grand Tour‘s tracks. I love the bass and drums duel around the three-quarter mark.

The Florentine features some of the most intricate performances on the album. Around 3 minutes into the track, a naggingly addictive guitar line teases in and out of the strings and Nick D’Virgilio’s intricate drum parts. The outro seemingly has lyrical nods to the Elvis Costello / Clive Langer song (also recorded by Robert Wyatt), Shipbuilding. Or maybe Close Your Eyes by no-man?

Roman Stone is a movement in five pieces, and became one of my favourite tracks on the album after the first few listens. The mood and pace shifts from melancholy progressive textures, to dark jazz interludes, then to a more pastoral (a term you will read in a lot of Big Big Train reviews) and gentle pace. Greg Spawton delivers a masterclass in powerful, and at times restrained, bass playing to underpin a complex, shifting arrangement.

“Trade new gods for old gods”

Pantheon is a haunting instrumental track, and the most progressive performance on the album, with some delicious time-signature twists and turns. Theodora in Green and Goldfeatures soaring Fripp-like guitar lines and David Longdon is joined by Nick D’Virgilio on lead vocals for the middle eight.

Ariel is the longest track, and contains the albums most powerful vocals from David Longdon. The various vocal parts throughout the eight different sections are simply stunning – with warm, multi-part harmonies slipping in and out of the evolving arrangement. By the end of the 14 minute plus track you will be left breathless.

“Laudanum plays the poet’s soul like
Orpheus’ lyre, Prometheus’ fire”

Except there is no respite, with another 14 minute track, in the shape of the gentler Voyager carrying on the story of exploration, this time far away from our planet, lifting off into space.

The changes between the sections on Voyager are more subtle, so it has more of a feel of one continual piece. The orchestration on this track, and indeed the whole album, elevates the bands music to new heights. The feeling of elation as Voyager returns will stay with you long after the song has ended.

As I mentioned earlier, the sequencing is top class. Ariel and Voyager are two long tracks that would not normally be placed side by side on an album, but in this instance placing them together feels right. Fans of Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd are likely to fall madly in love with Voyager, a modern progressive masterpiece.

The theme of a return continues as the album wraps up with Homesong. Feet firmly back on the ground, the song lifts your mood with familiar imagery, and an appreciation of the places and the landscapes that we love.

“We are home now
We have found a way back home”

Grand Tour is an album that rewards you with repeated listens, which is the sign of an album that will stay with you over the long haul. The album has so many strong lyrical, vocal and musical highlights, that picking out a favourite is difficult, but the final three songs are such a powerful statement, and it’s rare for an album to have so many emotional highs in swift succession.

The more I play Grand Tour, the more I become convinced that this will turn into my favourite Big Big Train album so far.

Novum Organum (2:33)
Alive (4:31)
The Florentine (8:14)
Roman Stone (13:33)
Pantheon (6:08)
Theodora in Green and Gold (5:38)
Ariel (14:28)
Voyager (14:03)
Homesong (5:12)

[Grendel 284]

Lo vi cuando lanzó 4 1/2... Y toco el hand cannor erase completito (escuchelo, una joya de principio a fin)...... Casi 3 hrs de show.. Notable. Enviado desde mi SM-G950F mediante Tapatalk

Por acá fanático de Wilson también. En casi todos sus proyectos (no me gusta No Man). Lo he visto en vivo varias veces y es un espectáculo imperdible.

Uso siempre Luminol del Raven That Refuse to Sing para probar parlantes y amplificadores!!

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[Grendel 284]

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[Panchor 152]

Ohh, la cagaron

Todavía no escucho ni un tercio de los discos que muestran.

Espectaculares colecciones, mis felicitaciones por el buen gusto

[ponkine 535]

 

[Grendel 284]

Lástima q no sea completo

Al parecer no viene la sección de Fear o me equivoco?

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Ya me llegaron los discos y el BR. Efectivamente vienen sin el FEAR, en ambos fornatos. Ahora estoy escuchando el CD del dia del FEAR, la parte en que se tocaron las canciones viejas, desde el Clutching hacia atrás (

Aún no pongo el BR (capaz que yo salga en alguna toma!), pero el CD suena increible.

Punto aparte hay que destacar que me llegó desde Londres en poco mas de dos semanas, en despacho internacional, y no me pegaron aduanazo.

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[Figuish 41]

Ya me llegaron los discos y el BR. Efectivamente vienen sin el FEAR, en ambos fornatos. Ahora estoy escuchando el CD del dia del FEAR, la parte en que se tocaron las canciones viejas, desde el Clutching hacia atrás (

Aún no pongo el BR (capaz que yo salga en alguna toma!), pero el CD suena increible.

Punto aparte hay que destacar que me llegó desde Londres en poco mas de dos semanas, en despacho internacional, y no me pegaron aduanazo.

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Fantástico

Yo lo encargaré ahora

Igual me molesta q no venga entero

Siendo q fue una de las mejores partes

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[Figuish 41]

Por acá fanático de Wilson también. En casi todos sus proyectos (no me gusta No Man). Lo he visto en vivo varias veces y es un espectáculo imperdible.

Uso siempre Luminol del Raven That Refuse to Sing para probar parlantes y amplificadores!!

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Yo al reves

Me gusta mucho No Man o Bass Comunion

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[Floydiano 26]

hace 13 horas, Grendel dijo:

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Increíble colección. Yo de a poco voy interiorizandome en la discografía de Wilson, un ineludible referente del progresivo del último tiempo.

[Panchor 152]

Aquí va otra de Wilson. Estaba leyendo que parte de los temas de este disco fueron producidos por Alan Parsons

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[xabimc 309]

Pineapple Thief me encanta...........el ultimo disco "Dissolution" esta bien bueno

[carloher 156]

hace 21 horas, Grendel dijo:

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Te pasaste!!!

Para mí, Steven Wilson es El gran genio de la música de su generación, y probablemente el último de los grandes genios del rock.

He escuchado varios de sus proyectos, no se si todos, y los que mas me gustan son porcupine tree y su carrera solista. Por otro lado, bass communion, es lo que menos me ha gustado. 

[Trush20101 180]

que bueno es este disco:

[ponkine 535]

https://progreport.com/big-big-train-grand-tour-album-review/?fbclid=IwAR2AL18TiF1Rqbx8_oMWbDwfNEsMGNNRDA-Vb-qEP7mDaYBUYe8DtkLcpz4

Review of Big Big Train – Grand Tour released on May 17th 2019.


by Geoff Bailie

Sometimes you get to review an album where the words, and the praise, come easily – and this is one such album. I’ve been a BBT fan since “The Difference Machine” (TDM) drew me in around 2007/2008. To be honest, I bought the CD because musicians I liked from other bands guested on it, and I wasn’t disappointed. The members who made that album are mostly gone from the band, but such is the progression and evolution of a line up. Founder Greg Spawton remains and is also one of the main writers. TDM guest / now full band member Nick D’Virgilio gets both his first writing credit and solo vocal contribution on the new album. The other main writer is, of course, David Longdon, who also commands the microphone, with support from the now multiple gifted vocalists in the band. It also must be mentioned that BBT are a band where the artwork and the music are very closely integrated – and Sarah Louise Ewing plays her part in the creative process.

The last run of Big Big Train albums has seen the band exploring its Anglo-centric core but this one takes a different path, based on the 17th/18th century custom where wealthy young Englishmen undertook a trip through Europe to gain exposure to the cultural legacy of those countries, as part of their aristocratic education. Therefore the songs deal with exploration into science and art, both essential parts of our humanity, often enhanced by broadening of horizons that comes with travel. So we move from Plato in circa 400BC to the Voyager spaceships of the late 20th century, before returning to the English countryside, much like the travelers.

For those of you who enjoy reading the context and background to the lyrics and inspiration, the accompanying booklet gives you a lot of info on each track and this makes the experience even more rewarding. Much like my first listen to “Brave Captain”, I’ve found that listening and reading along is the ideal combination. You’ll also get to appreciate the amount of research and creativity behind each track.

With a seven piece line up (the first since the band’s inception without founder Andy Poole), five brass players and 18 string players, you may fear this could be an everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink style production. As with previous albums, the soundscape is immaculately crafted with the spotlight shifting between instruments as needed.

The album opens with “Novum Organum”, a mission statement track, taking its name and inspiration from the book of that title which many believe was a significant signpost to scientific discovery. Notable for the first (of several) compositional credits for Nick D’Virgilio on this album, in collaboration with Spawton, the musical box tones lead us on the album’s journey of discovery, whether that is by ships of the sea, air or space.

Gears shift for “Alive”, the first single from the album which many of you will be familiar with by now. It is rare in the world of prog to have a band who can create great, melodic “pop songs” such as this (and “Folklore”, “Wassail”, “Make Some Noise” etc) as well as the fully developed epics we encounter later in the album. Longdon sings this “carpe diem” song, which he also composed, and you can see the parallel inspirations of the rite of passage journeys young people undertook, and the journey of BBT itself as the band undertook their first mainland Europe shows last year. The song also provides Danny Manners and Dave Gregory with opportunities for some tasteful solos, and the track is powered by both the shifting mellotron riff and the exemplary Spawton/ D’Virgilio rhythm section. (As I type this I am on a week’s holiday having an amazing time and enjoying some great weather… and so this has become something of a theme song – “it’s great to be alive”).

Leonardo Da Vinci is the subject of David Longdon’s next contribution “The Florentine”. “Alive”s pop prog gives way to 12-string strums and what sounds like Dave/ Nick lead harmonizing. One of the most attractive aspects of BBT’s music, for me, is the orchestration, and how instruments combine and build, like the artist adding colors from his palette to the canvas. This track is a great example of that, with the acoustic strum-and-thump being joined by tasteful almost country-style electric guitar, some mandolin, violin and Moog. There are lovely shifts in dynamics as the vocals move to male/female harmony, altering the texture as the various sections of the song shift. This isn’t a busy over-crowded sound though – it is rich and spacious, with kudos to Longdon/Spawton production team, along with Rob Aubrey and Mark Hornsby, involved in the transatlantic aspects of the recording.

The Spawton epic, “Roman Stone” is next up and is an epic based around the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. If that sounds like a prog rock cliche, it isn’t – in fact I’d go so far as to say that I can’t think of another band in rock music who could pull off this type of historical track without it descending into cliche. More than just another European capital city, the Roman Empire rose and grew across Europe and into Asia and beyond, and the sleeve notes give us an overview of how the different sections of the songs reflect that. The uniqueness of BBT is once more highlighted in a brass band and orchestral section mid song. This isn’t an awkward Atom-Heart-Mother mismatch but a glorious mashup, leading into a jazz drum and flute section before all of the elements link together – a quality fusion, painting the narrative for the listener.

Remaining in Rome, “Pantheon” is a first – namely, the first Nick D’Virgilio solo composition on a BBT album. It’s an instrumental that conveys the majesty and mystery of the 2,000 year old building that inspired it. As a long term fan of NDV’s, I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like this from him, displaying yet another facet of his talents in the multi-layered instrumental. A solid drum groove, with a delightful, slightly atonal, guitar riff, are joined by brass, Moog and flute. The time signatures shift, and a crunching guitar enters, before a Crimson-esque guitar/ flute section is joined by violin. It’s a glorious track and, for me, one of the album’s highlights.

The Roman trilogy is completed by “Theodora in Green and Gold”, inspired by the mosaic in Ravenna of the Empress who was one of the most influential women of the ancient world. To an extent, a more traditional song, with a great chorus depicting the mosaic referred to in the title. Instrumentation is more sparse in service of the song, and a middle eight features the first Nick D’Virgilio solo vocal for BBT – a great contrast that adds to the rich vocal mix throughout this album.

BBT’s back catalogue contains lots of epic tracks, many of which acquire fan-favorite status, particularly during live performance. “Ariel” is such an epic and I imagine will join that list. It’s an eight part song cycle that blends fact and fiction, and a huge variety of musical styles in its narrative. From the sombre cremation song that kicks the track off, the glorious choral sections throughout, this once again illustrates the vocal capabilities of the band. Part Four of this track is perhaps my favorite part of the album – I have visions of the BBT fans punching the air at gigs while singing the names of cloud types, with the “Come Cirrus, Come Stratus” section being a brilliant hook. The song ends with a return to the cremation theme, in an amazing finale. This is epic BBT and what other band would follow that with… another 14 minute epic?

“Voyager” makes a shift from Europe and indeed Earth, to the voyages in the great sea of space made by the Voyager space craft. A very different sound, this Spawton epic, celebrates this exploration and, like “Ariel”, blends vocal and instrumental passages to illustrate the quest. The epic grandeur leads into a delightfully proggy middle section in Part Four (what is it about the Part Fours on this album!), dare I say, very Genesis sounding with Nick, Greg, Danny and Dave pulling out an amazing instrumental section that will leave you open mouthed! And yes, another swaying hands, air punching finale, that I expect will move adults to tears in live performance!

The simplicity of the opening of final track “Homecoming” momentarily gives us chance to recover breath, before the jazzy rhythms kick off. Taking the themes introduced in “Novum Organum”, we have this track about the ending of the journey, that shifts and moves even within its five minute length, allowing all of the band to shine and leading to another epic conclusion! “We are home now, we have found a way back home!”

It’s hard to sum this one up, but I’ll address my conclusion to the three potential camps of readers of this review:

– If you’ve never listened to the band and are thinking of exploring: Take this Grand Tour, you won’t be disappointed.

– If you’ve listened before but not been convinced: I assure you this is an album for you to reassess that.

– If you’re a long term fan who is wondering how the band can climb any higher: Relax – the Big Big Train you know and love are still able to surprise and delight you!





Released on May 17th, 2019
Key Tracks: Alive, Ariel, Voyager

Grand Tour tracklist
1.Novum Organum (2.33)
2.Alive (4.31)
3.The Florentine (8.14)
4.Roman Stone (13.33)
5.Pantheon (6.08)
6.Theodora in Green and Gold (5.38)
7.Ariel (14.28)
8.Voyager (14.03)
9.Homesong (5.12)

– David Longdon / lead & backing vocals, flute, acoustic guitar, mandolin, percussion, string and brass
– Dave Gregory / guitars
– Rikard Sjöblom / keyboards, guitars, accordion, backing vocals
– Danny Manners / keyboards, double bass
– Rachel Hall / violin, viola, cello, backing vocals, string arrangements
– Greg Spawton / bass, bass pedals, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
– Nick D’Virgilio / drums, percussion, backing vocals