Big Big Train v. "A Flare On The Lens" Live In London '23, 3CD/1BD Sept. 13th

[The Letter M]

So the band are doing a "re-recording workshop" at Sweetwater this weekend. Alberto posted this on FB/Instagram:

"Last couple of days at @sweetwaterstudios recording something special! 😎
This place is incredible.
It has everything you can dream of and more.
And with @shawndealey everything sounds awesome."

Wonder if they might be recording some earlier material for release, or something new.

Has the long-forgotten Station Masters project been revived? 

Either way, it sounds like they'll have an EP or compilation coming, and I'm excited for that. Anything that keeps their momentum going! I'd love to see them back on their grind like they were between 2012-2019. If you look at their Band History chart (cleverly designs like a railway map), you'll see just how much output they had in those years, and it was astounding how quickly they released albums, EPs, and singles back then. Things have noticeably slowed down since Grand Tour, but they seem ready and raring to go now, so I wouldn't mind seeing them drop some more singles or EPs in the interim between studio albums. I wouldn't be surprised if they already had ideas for their next studio album, and if it came out before the end of 2025.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Has the long-forgotten Station Masters project been revived? 

Either way, it sounds like they'll have an EP or compilation coming, and I'm excited for that. Anything that keeps their momentum going! I'd love to see them back on their grind like they were between 2012-2019. If you look at their Band History chart (cleverly designs like a railway map), you'll see just how much output they had in those years, and it was astounding how quickly they released albums, EPs, and singles back then. Things have noticeably slowed down since Grand Tour, but they seem ready and raring to go now, so I wouldn't mind seeing them drop some more singles or EPs in the interim between studio albums. I wouldn't be surprised if they already had ideas for their next studio album, and if it came out before the end of 2025.

-Marc.

I believe they mentioned that they had about two hours' worth of music written to choose from as far as what to record in Trieste, so there is about an album's worth of additional music they could work into another album. Greg hinted at the next album being a possible concept album, so I imagine they are pretty far down the road on the next album in terms of writing. I'm not sure if Sweetwater had to do with a new album or not, but I imagine it's something intended to bridge the time between the two albums.

Alberto also had a short clip of himself recording a blazing mini-Moog solo on FB/Instagram yesterday that sounded really good. It was tagged as Big Big Train so I took it as a new piece of music that is being worked on.

[ProfessorPeart]

Several artists have done these re-recording workshops at Sweetwater. It is usually treated as a learning experience for people interested in studio engineering and the like. Some artists then release the sessions as an EP. I have the CD that The Dead Deads did there and I know Spock's Beard did that a few years ago as well (never picked that up but I know it is still available in their shop). I would expect a couple of songs re-recorded and that's it.

[The Letter M]

I believe they mentioned that they had about two hours' worth of music written to choose from as far as what to record in Trieste, so there is about an album's worth of additional music they could work into another album. Greg hinted at the next album being a possible concept album, so I imagine they are pretty far down the road on the next album in terms of writing. I'm not sure if Sweetwater had to do with a new album or not, but I imagine it's something intended to bridge the time between the two albums.

Alberto also had a short clip of himself recording a blazing mini-Moog solo on FB/Instagram yesterday that sounded really good. It was tagged as Big Big Train so I took it as a new piece of music that is being worked on.

Funnily enough, BBT just sent out an email newsletter and here's what it says about the Sweetwater sessions:

Sweetwater Studios Recording

After the Cruise we returned to Sweetwater in Fort Wayne. We spent a day recording in the magnificent studios there with house engineer Shawn Dealey and his team as part of a Sweetwater recording and mixing workshop. We hope to announce news about the results of this studio session during April.

Sounds like an April announcement is coming, with probably an mid-to-late summer release, if I had to guess. If it's like the SB "Live At Sweetwater" EP they released several years back, it'll be a few tracks from across the band's catalog re-recorded with the current line-up. I'd love to see them do songs from each of the band's previous periods - a Martin Read track, a Sean Filkins track, and a David Longdon track (or two), and preferably songs that haven't been done to death (so now "Wind Distorted Pioneers" or "Summer's Lease", although it would not surprise me if those were the Read and Filkins tracks they re-record with Alberto).

I do wonder if this will be another independent release through Sweetwater (as was the SB release), or if they'll push it through Inside Out now that they're with them.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Someone shared his experience of attending the sessions on Facebook. He obviously couldn't say what they were recording, but he mentioned NDV was only able to be there for one of the two days due to needing to leave for the Mr. Big shows in the UK. I don't know how many songs he might have banged out in a day (I'm sure he could have done quite a few, but maybe not a full album's worth of songs).

[The Letter M]

Someone shared his experience of attending the sessions on Facebook. He obviously couldn't say what they were recording, but he mentioned NDV was only able to be there for one of the two days due to needing to leave for the Mr. Big shows in the UK. I don't know how many songs he might have banged out in a day (I'm sure he could have done quite a few, but maybe not a full album's worth of songs).

If they were there for a second day without NDV, I'd imagine they could do one or two acoustic covers without Nick, which could be fun considering many members of the band are multi-instrumentalists!

-Marc.

[HOF]

New BBT newsletter out today. Bunch of tour and merch related stuff, but the snippet at the end was the most interesting part to me:

AND FINALLY...

Our next show is the Summer Fog festival in Poland on 13th July. However before then, there will be two or three other significant pieces of news...

Guessing one of these is the Bard reissue and another is an announcement about a concert film from last year's European tour, but could be anything. 

[Jamesman42]

I love this album. It's getting regular play from me.

[King Postwhore]

Seeing them live blew me away.

[HOF]

I love this album. It's getting regular play from me.

I've been trying to let it rest, but I did listen to some of it this weekend. Hard to put it down for sure!

[Orbert]

I ordered the deluxe package (or whatever it's called -- the one with the CD and the 5.1 Blu-ray) and it arrived yesterday.  I listened to it twice last night, and again this morning.  Wow!  I was actually a little worried because "Love is the Light" is a nice enough song, but hardly the amazing, expansive prog I've come to expect from BBT, and "Oblivion" was pretty cool, very intense, but also somehow seemed a bit on the simple side.  Maybe that's why they were the advance singles; I don't know.  "Miramare" was more adventurous, but the video was so bad that I just found it distracting, and at that point I decided to just wait.  I really don't remember much about "Miramare" other than the video.  That's not how it's supposed to work.

But within the context of the album as a whole, "Love is the Light" and "Oblivion" were both great, as was the rest of the album.  I tried something different this time; rather than listening while reading through liner notes and looking at pictures, I just pressed Play and let it go.  I listened "blind".  So I have no idea even which songs were which, except for the singles I'd heard before, and things flowed so well that I didn't even know when we'd gone to a different song, a different movement of the same song, or what.

Alberto seems pretty cool.  We've had plenty of chances to see what he's done with the older BBT songs, and I like his way of mostly channeling David yet putting his own mark on things.  But this album was obviously a big test, and he and the rest of the new lineup have passed with flying colors.  As I said, the singles I'd heard concerned me, but the album as a whole feels really consistent, and it sounds really good.

Now I just have to wait for some time when Mrs. Orbert is out, so I can crank up the 5.1 surround mix in the living room.

[HOF]

Love is the Light is amazing. I thought they did a great job of melding a pop ballad with prog there. Miramare didn't grow on me until I heard the album either, but it's a great track.

[Jamesman42]

Oblivion is currently my favorite track. But I have been in a "simple music" mood while I finish up teaching this school year, I don't want anything too crazy all the time.

[HOF]

Only about half way through this (it's over 2 hours!), but this is a very cool radio program featuring Greg Spawton playing/talking about the music that has influenced him with Richard Macphail (who was a part of the Genesis camp back in the day).

https://www.mixcloud.com/richpickings/rrp-gregory-spawton-23-april-2024/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3gfV5h-k3cQcCzBUR5-fIbRxfZ0WblXolOiwtYRdEhyO0UqwZhkeNjCRw_aem_Af6sEm9czyQdlGMX3fRRxVg_hlciBX0Hoc6I-nAMoWRf0hy0r1Uxdtt6z37w-3eVvdTF6yb5Gcqy3Jmp6qR72p1c

[nick_z]

Love is the Light is amazing. I thought they did a great job of melding a pop ballad with prog there. Miramare didn't grow on me until I heard the album either, but it's a great track.

Revisited the album today, I couldn't agree more on Love is the Light. Absolutely wonderful melodies. It's not easy to strike the right balance of elements on a ballad like this, and the song feels heartfelt in all the right ways, without falling in the "too sappy" trap. 

Fantastic record.

[The Letter M]

Happy 5th anniversary to Grand Tour!

-Marc.

[HOF]

New book coming documenting the European tour with Alberto.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/new-book-shines-spotlight-on-big-big-trains-first-tour-with-new-singer-alberto-bravin

[HOF]

From today's BBT newsletter. Guessing this is the product of what they were recording at Sweetwater.

Look/listen out for an alternative version of a song from our recent studio album The Likes Of Us which we expect to release digitally via InsideOut next month before our summer festival appearances.

[HOF]

From Greg on Instagram:

Working on material for the next Big Big Train album which we will be releasing in 2025. For the album, we're going to attempt something we've not done before; let's see how we get on.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7wHS_4oQ97/?hl=en

Greg has mentioned there was a possibility that they might do a concept album next, but technically speaking they have done two of those in the past (pre-Longdon). So this might refer to something else altogether (even if the next one is a concept album).

[The Letter M]

From Greg on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7wHS_4oQ97/?hl=en

Greg has mentioned there was a possibility that they might do a concept album next, but technically speaking they have done two of those in the past (pre-Longdon). So this might refer to something else altogether (even if the next one is a concept album).

If I had to guess, it could be a more "rock opera" style album with a narrative theme across its runtime, and given that the band has utilized more and more vocalists over their past few albums, I wouldn't be surprised if the story included multiple characters being sung by the different band members who can sing. It'd be a bit like an Ayreon album, but with the BBT flare and sound, which I would personally love.

-Marc.

[HOF]

I might not love that, but I'll trust their judgment. They did start and abandon the "Hope" project that David Longdon was working on, and I think that was in part because it was going to require extra musicians to round out the cast of characters and just be really difficult to pull off.

[HOF]

Nick has started a new podcast called "So... You Wanna Be A Musician" where he is going to interview lots of other musicians he knows about their experiences as musicians. Mike Portnoy is one of the guests he's lined up. Lots of other cool people too. First episode is just him talking about his experiences but it's up now and worth a listen.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ifbdLUHz-CA&list=PLDLTh15yTDwTabOttgaCky01qYxJcuSUr&index=3&pp=iAQB

Pretty sure I know what gig he mentions being fired from. Won't say it since he didn't, but I always wondered what the story was there.

[Zydar]

After four years with the band, Dave Foster is leaving Big Big Train.

Dave Foster comments: "Unfortunately both last year and later this year Big Big Train's touring has clashed with my Steve Rothery Band commitments. Additionally, when the band toured in the United States a few months ago, logistics meant that it was necessary for me to sit out those shows. We have all concluded that these challenges are neither in my nor BBT's best interests and therefore it makes sense for us to go our separate ways.

I'm very proud of my involvement in the Common Ground, Welcome To The Planet and The Likes Of Us albums and will always treasure the memories of the shows that I played with the band in the UK and the Netherlands in 2022. While I'm sorry to be exiting Big Big Train, I will be rooting for the band's continuing success."

Gregory Spawton says: "Dave is a great player and a wonderful personality and we're very grateful to him for his contribution over the last few years to Big Big Train. He will always be part of the wider BBT family and we wish him the very best of luck in his future musical endeavours".

While Dave's live performances with Big Big Train have been limited by his other musical commitments and practicalities, we're pleased that the stars and diaries do briefly align this summer. The Steve Rothery Band and Big Big Train are both playing on 21st July at the Night Of The Prog festival, which means that Dave will be able to play a song with us and depart Big Big Train in style.

Big Big Train will continue with a line-up of Alberto Bravin, Nick D'Virgilio, Oskar Holldorff, Clare Lindley, Rikard Sjöblom and Gregory Spawton.

[The Letter M]

That's some sad news but not entirely unexpected given his inability to join the band live. Seems like they won't be filling in his position and perhaps passing some lead and solo guitar duties to Rikard if I had to guess. The band returns to being a six-piece once again, though I'll miss DF's playing in the band.

-Marc.

[HOF]

A little surprised they won't at least re-enlist Maria Barbieri for live duties, but maybe her schedule didn't align either. It may be best to just continue with a smaller unit anyway.

[Kram]

Maybe Alberto will start to contribute more on guitar as a result.

[HOF]

Here is (at least one of) the song they were re-recording at Sweetwater.

Last Eleven Sweetwater version

https://youtu.be/zFNzlkpMdTY?si=hG9RtFtGnN9ZL6GJ

https://www.loudersound.com/news/its-tuned-it-into-a-different-song-big-big-train-share-new-recording-of-last-eleven

[Zydar]

In August and September 2023, multi-national progressive rockers Big Big Train undertook their longest ever tour to date, performing 17 shows over 21 days across nine countries in the UK and Europe, and concluding with two triumphant concerts at London's prestigious Cadogan Hall. Those two concerts are now immortalised as 'A Flare On The Lens', released on 13th September 2024 via InsideOutMusic.

To mark the announcement, you can now watch a video of the band performing 'A Boy In Darkness' here: https://youtu.be/ksu0ZhDgxXM

Pre-order 'A Flare On The Lens' and stream 'A Boy in Darkness' here: https://bigbigtrain.lnk.to/AFlareOnTheLens-Live

This new concert film package includes every song performed by the band over those two evenings and is available as a Limited 3CD+Blu-ray media book, with the concert film audio mixed in 5.1 surround sound and stereo. A gatefold 180g 2LP vinyl version is also available, which features a carefully selected range of material from the Cadogan Hall shows. The Blu-ray film runs to around 3 hours and contains no fewer than 17 songs, including both back catalogue favourites such as 'East Coast Racer', 'Hedgerow', 'Folklore', 'Judas Unrepentant', 'Curator Of Butterflies' and 'Victorian Brickwork', live instrumental tour de force 'Apollo' and future classics 'Love Is The Light' and 'Oblivion', plus a 3 song acoustic medley. 'Love Is The Light' and 'Oblivion' have subsequently been available on the band's acclaimed studio album, 'The Likes Of Us', released in March this year.

That tracklist is awesome - Hedgerow, Swan Hunter AND Judas Unrepentant? Golly.

CD1:

1. Folklore
2. The Connection Plan
3. Curator of Butterflies
4. Summoned by Bells
5. Drums & Brass 2023 (Medley)
6. Love Is the Light
7. A Boy in Darkness
8. Apollo

CD2:

1. Acoustic Medley
2. East Coast Racer
3. Victorian Brickwork

CD3:

1. Oblivion
2. Swan Hunter
3. Keeper of Abbeys
4. Brooklands
5. Hedgerow
6. Telling the Bees
7. Judas Unrepentant

[The Letter M]

The best news to wake up to today! Immediately pre-ordered from The Bandwagon USA. I'm REALLY happy to see they included every song from both nights, making this their longest live album release yet. Three hours?! How spoiled are we?

-Marc.

[HOF]

What an outstanding performance of A Boy In Darkness. Can't wait for this.

[The Letter M]

That tracklist is awesome - Hedgerow, Swan Hunter AND Judas Unrepentant? Golly.

CD1 - 60:00
1. Folklore  7:25
2. The Connection Plan   4:14
3. Curator of Butterflies  8:21
4. Summoned by Bells  10:24
5. Drums & Brass 2023 (Medley)  5:34
6. Love Is the Light   7:02
7. A Boy in Darkness  8:29
8. Apollo  8:31

CD2 - 44:27
1. Acoustic Medley  13:57
2. East Coast Racer   16:12
3. Victorian Brickwork  14:18

CD3 - 57:51
1. Oblivion   5:53
2. Swan Hunter  6:43
3. Keeper of Abbeys  7:46
4. Brooklands  13:23
5. Hedgerow  8:36
6. Telling the Bees  7:30
7. Judas Unrepentant  8:00

Total CD Length - 162:18

Blu-ray
1. Folklore  8:02
2. The Connection Plan   3:57
3. Curator Of Butterflies  8:00
4. Summoned By Bells  9:35
5. Drums & Brass 2023  4:53
6. Love Is The Light   6:38
7. A Boy In Darkness  7:58
8. Apollo  8:14
9. Leopards  3:45
10. Meadowland  3:21
11. Wassail  6:02
12. East Coast Racer   15:42
13. Victorian Brickwork  13:09
14. Oblivion   5:32
15. Swan Hunter  6:17
16. Keeper Of Abbeys  7:21
17. Brooklands  12:57
18. Hedgerow  8:13
19. Telling The Bees  6:51
20. Judas Unrepentant  7:32

Looks like the "Acoustic Medley" is one track on the CD, but three on the BD - "Leopards", "Meadowland" and "Wassail". Also, added the track times from Burning Shed to the quoted text, plus my own math for the CD and Total lengths, which add up to 162 minutes, not quite the advertised 3 hours, but close enough.

-Marc.

[Kram]

That tracklist is awesome - Hedgerow, Swan Hunter AND Judas Unrepentant? Golly.

CD1:

1. Folklore
2. The Connection Plan
3. Curator of Butterflies
4. Summoned by Bells
5. Drums & Brass 2023 (Medley)
6. Love Is the Light
7. A Boy in Darkness
8. Apollo

CD2:

1. Acoustic Medley
2. East Coast Racer
3. Victorian Brickwork

CD3:

1. Oblivion
2. Swan Hunter
3. Keeper of Abbeys
4. Brooklands
5. Hedgerow
6. Telling the Bees
7. Judas Unrepentant

AND Keeper of Abbeys.. Killer setlist!  Ordering this for sure.

[HOF]

BBT closed out the Night of the Prog festival in the rain by reports. Pretty nice setlist (for those not concerned about spoilers on the upcoming tour).

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/big-big-train/2024/freilichtbuhne-loreley-st-goarshausen-germany-13a93921.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1ZaDaoWXGU4KEu-TCp2NdOnPcpXq2Tf3qxY0tiRNQyeoQepsbdgBhVNP0_aem_qe8kgTpko_KAZxQIFSKr_g

[NoseofNicko]

I just started listening to this band. Bought The Likes of Us and I love it. Now I want to listen to The Underfall Yard, should I go with the original or the 2021 remix?

[HOF]

I don't have a strong leaning when people ask me this. You can't go wrong with the original. The remix does improve on the clarity of the instruments though, so if sound quality is a major concern to you (particularly coming off their latest album which sounds really good), I'd probably go with the remix.