BIG BIG TRAIN : COMMON GROUND

BIG BIG TRAIN : COMMON GROUND

Part One

The Strangest Times
All The Love We Can Give
Black With Ink
Dandelion Clock
Part Two
Headwaters
Apollo
Common Ground
Atlantic Cable
Endnotes

Label : English Electric Recordings

Release Date : July 30, 2021

Length : 62:06

Review (ProgWereld) : Ten tijde van het vorige album van Big Big Train, "Grand Tour", zag de wereld er nog compleet anders uit. De band had een stabiele line-up, er werden voor het eerst optredens gepland op het vasteland van Europa en een pandemie was nog iets uit een boek van Stephen King. Twee jaar verder heeft de band de geplande optredens helaas moeten annuleren en zijn er enkele mensen opgestapt. De band moet het nu doen zonder Rachel Hall, Danny Manners en Dave Gregory. Er werd besloten om hen niet te vervangen, waardoor de band nu nog bestaat uit Greg Spawton, David Longdon, Nick D'Virgilio en Rikard Sjöblom. Op dit album worden de heren bijgestaan door zangeres Carly Bryant, gitarist Dave Foster en violist Aidan O'Rourke. De eerste twee zullen (samen met violiste Clare Lindley) de band ook live bij gaan staan. Hoewel de band zeker in de laatste jaren behoorlijk productief is geweest, zal het niet doorgaan van de optredens er ongetwijfeld aan hebben bijgedragen dat er tijd over was om aan nieuw materiaal te werken. En dat is een verdomd groot geluk bij een ongeluk, want "Common Ground" is weer zo'n ouderwets schitterend Big Big Train album geworden. Zeker sinds "The Underfall Yard" is elke plaat die de band uitbracht van een ongekend hoog niveau geweest en "Common Ground" kan zeker aan die rij met klasse albums worden toegevoegd. Daarbij kan ik direct de criticasters van de band gelijk geven, want van enige vernieuwing is hier zeker geen sprake. Sterker nog, sommige van de nieuwe nummers hinten wel heel erg naar liedjes uit het verleden, maar daarover straks meer. Overigens, als een band klinkt zoals Big Big Train hier doet, mag elke vorm van vernieuwing wat mij betreft linea recta de prullenbak in. Het album trapt af met The Strangest Times dat - in elk geval tekstueel - zeer hedendaags klinkt. Het door David Longdon geschreven nummer handelt over de huidige tijd van lockdown en 'social distancing' en hoezeer dat onze drang om erop uit te trekken versterkt. Het is een lekker uptempo nummer en een ideale albumopener. D'Virgilio tekende voor het daaropvolgende All The Love We Can Give dat in de eerste helft sterk hint naar zijn verleden bij Spock's Beard, maar dat halverwege een compleet andere kant op gaat met een heerlijk snel stuk. De gitaarriff van Sjöblom, Spawton's ronkende Rickenbacker en een stevige Mellotron zorgen voor het eerste euforische moment. Longdon en D'Virgilio zijn ieder verantwoordelijk voor een tweetal nummers. Greg Spawton is wederom verantwoordelijk voor het leeuwendeel van de nummers op het nieuwe album. Het zijn weer die typische verhalende songs over bijzondere onderwerpen uit onze rijke historie. Black With Ink verhaalt over hoe wij toch vaak geneigd zijn bijzondere plaatsen van kennis (zoals bijvoorbeeld de bibliotheek van Alexandrië in een ver verleden) te vernietigen en Dandelion Clock lijkt te gaan over vergankelijkheid in zijn algemeenheid. Het lieflijke instrumentale Headwaters leidt het tweede deel van de plaat in, waarna we met D'Virgilio's Apollo direct opnieuw op een instrumentaal nummer worden getrakteerd. Alle registers worden hier open getrokken en het is hoofdzakelijk Rikard Sjöblom op toetsen en gitaar die hier de hoofdrol opeist. Hier zijn voor het eerst de koperblazers te horen die zoveel nummers uit de catalogus van Big Big Train dat extra cachet hebben gegeven. Ook nu gebeurt dat weer buitengewoon smaakvol. Hoewel het als een na laatste geplaatst is, is het vijftien minuten durende Atlantic Cable het centrale stuk op het album. Een schitterend episch nummer waarop Spawton toch patent lijkt te hebben. Het verhaal over de aanleg van de communicatiekabel door de Atlantische Oceaan is opgedeeld in vijf stukken en hoewel de verwijzingen naar een nummer als East Coast Racer er af en toe wel erg dik bovenop liggen, doet het nummer er niet voor onder. Het afsluitende Endnotes is haast net zo'n juweel. De Victorian Brickwork-achtige finale waar de blazers met Spawton's baspedalen strijden om de aandacht is om kippenvel van te krijgen. Het is bijna niet te geloven, maar opnieuw slaagt Big Big Train erin om met een magistraal album op de proppen te komen. De lat lag erg hoog, maar "Common Ground" slaat alles behalve een modderfiguur in de imposante catalogus van de band. Als de heren op deze voet door blijven gaan, zijn ze misschien wel hard op weg naar de beste discografie binnen de progressieve rock. Dat zijn grote woorden, maar dit is ook grote muziek. Benieuwd in hoeveel jaarlijsten deze weer gaat opduiken.

Review (Louder) : This album nearly didn't happen. After the shock exits of Dave Gregory, Rachel Hall and Danny Manners in 2020, Big Big Train's Greg Spawton and David Longdon wondered if the band might have run their course. Ultimately they realised there was more to be done, and the 13th BBT LP is a lucky turn indeed. Common Ground is the sound of the core members - Spawton, Longdon, Nick D'Virgilio and Rikard Sjöblom - regrouping, refining and hunkering down, together. With the help of some new faces and trusted sidemen, they've distilled the band's essence and forged some of the best music yet. Common Ground's central theme is communication, communality and (every middle manager's favourite phrase) 'reaching out'. We've all had to do a lot of that over the past god-awful year, something addressed by the opener, The Strangest Times: 'This world's gone mad, we find ourselves in lockdown/Trying to get the lowdown from the PM's 5pm address.' It's a little on-the-nose, but Longdon's take on the pandemic is a bright, major-key affair, a defiant smile through gritted teeth. BBT's primary keyboardist now, Sjöblom grabs the role with both hands, channelling his inner Elton with ebullient, Pinball Wizard-esque piano arpeggios. This is the band in Alive mode; it's the kind of strong pop-rock tune that gets some prog fans a little antsy. They needn't worry - the album's freighted with serious progressive rock too. Take Atlantic Cable, the very-Spawton 15-minute, five-part evocation of the laying of the first telegraph cables across that ocean. As well as furthering the album's theme ('Close the distance, bring all together/A world undivided, let mankind be as one'), it ruminates on Man's interaction with the Earth, and the hard-skilled achievements of engineers. Great Eastern, the ship that laid the cable, was designed by Brunel (he of The Underfall Yard), and gets its own section. The tale is set to washes of sparse, melancholy piano and flute, to upbeat, hard-rocking Moog/Mellotron prog with funky clavinet moments, and a stirring motif. Incoming tour guitarist Dave Foster offers the fastest guitar solo in BBT history on this centrepiece among centrepieces. D'Virgilio's All The Love We Can Give has an odd meter and odder chords, yet it's a life-affirming tune. Longdon starts out in an uncharacteristically low vocal register not too far from the Human League's Philip Oakey. There's some hard proggin' to come over its eight minutes, with Spawton doing his best Chris Squire, but it's pegged by a catchy, on-message refrain: 'Decide to save another, Make it right to love each other/Making the heart grow stronger.' D'Virgilio and Longdon are very different singers, but their co-vocals work well on here, the two pulling together in common purpose. More accomplished symphonic prog comes on Black With Ink, Spawton's historical paean to libraries, with yet another highly contagious chorus line: 'We see the same stars, walk the same ground/Lit by the same sun we could be one.' Here and elsewhere BBT's stalwart engineer Rob Aubrey brings the sparkle to the sound, his mixing/mastering work totally in sync with the creative propulsion of the band. Happily, the vocals of new touring keyboardist Carly Bryant are all over the album, adding skilful harmonies and a welcome female tone. On Dandelion Clock, her floating backing lines enhance the mood of a song about the transient nature of life. The album's violinist - Lau's Aidan O'Rourke - tastefully doubles the piano/synth parts here. His strings are a texture throughout; we're beyond Folklore's meadow now. The nearest we get to folk is the verse of the spine-tingling title track. A heartfelt love song with a big, big chorus, Common Ground wears its musical complexity with ease and grace. Its writer Longdon is in fine voice, and Sjöblom gets his teeth into a guitar hero wah-wah solo. (Hard to believe he's the same person playing on Headwaters, the album's reverb-drenched, palate-cleansing piano piece.) A symphonic behemoth in 5/4, Apollo is D'Virgilio's stab at writing Big Big Train's Los Endos. All members play out of their skins, and Dave Desmond's brass quintet make a welcome return on it. Their warm, stoic sound still taps straight into a very British pathos, almost at DNA level, and that's never been truer than on closing track, Endnotes. This grand Spawton love song will leave you with a little something in your eye as the brass, the band, and then the record gently peter out. With its beating heart, massive brain and positive theme, Common Ground is the sound of a band strongly reinvigorated. They retained their nerve through the strangest times, and Big Big Train have rebounded with some of the biggest, best and proggiest music in their catalogue.

Review (Sonic Perspectives) : When UK Prog Rockers Big Big Train released their last album "Grand Tour" in 2019, they had their sights set on international exploration, if not exactly domination. Branching out beyond the quintessentially English stories that defined previous albums, "Grand Tour"'s lyrics were primarily inspired by greater European history and the wonders of travelling. Unfortunately, their hopes of applying this ethos moving forward were held up by the global pandemic, which not only forced the band to cancel their first North American tour, but also caused splits within the band internally and geographically. Three long-standing members all departed over the course of 2020 and two of the remaining four members were bound to their home countries of Sweden and the USA. This left the band with no choice but to go full steam ahead into their next album, writing and producing remotely. The result is "Common Ground", which sees bandleaders David Longdon (Vocals, Flute) and Gregory Spawton (Bass, Bass Pedals) working together in the UK, with Rikard Sjöblom (Guitar, Keys, Vocals) and Nick D'Virgilio (Drums, Vocals) sending songs and stems from their homes in Sweden and America, respectively. Traditionally, Longdon and Spawton have handled most of the storytelling, but Sjöblom and D'Virgilio have gradually been bringing in more musical ideas since joining, and they have now reached a point where they are fully integrated into the creative process. Despite being physically separated, there is as much collaboration on "Common Ground" between the four musicians as there would have been if they were all in the same studio. The shadow of the pandemic looms large over the album's lyrics, with its overall theme of personal connection and the strength that comes from people working together. Album opener "The Strangest Times" is the only song with lyrics that relate directly to the pandemic and the album's weakest track in this writer's opinion, adding nothing of major insight to the conversation. Instead, it's just a summary of all the frustrations everybody has felt over the last year. In the first two minutes alone, lyrical references are made to lockdowns, social distancing and "The PM's 5PM Address", and rather than being a strong, welcoming opener, "The Strangest Times" feels a bit like a forced treading of old ground, with the band calling out to its existing audience, longing to reconnect. Fortunately, the rest of the songs on "Common Ground" are much more successful in providing a response to the current state of the world. Both the title track and "All the Love We Can Give" are simple love songs at their lyrical core, but take different approaches to dealing with the subject. "Common Ground" is an upbeat folk-pop song written by Longdon, taking direct inspiration from his own personal relationship with BBT Illustrator Sarah Ewing and weaving a story that not only fits in with his existing lyrical landscape of songs such as "Folklore", "Uncle Jack" and "Hedgegrow", but also provides a message of hope that works in any context. By contrast, "All the Love We Can Give" is largely a solo composition by D'Virgilio, who has always put more nuance and emotion into his musical arrangements than his lyrics. D'Virgilio and Longdon trade vocals throughout the eight-minute song, which weaves in and out of movements, melodies, and time signatures. The result is a mix of classic and modern prog, with all the hallmarks of D'Virgilio's previous band Spock's Beard. D'Virgilio's musical chops are further flexed later in the album with his instrumental "Apollo", which appears to be heavily influenced by classic jazz fusion from the likes of Weather Report, Jean Luc-Ponty and Mahavishnu Orchestra. Based around a recurring musical head played on flute, violin and lead guitar, the song takes several detours in-between where all the members of BBT get a chance to shine, including their signature brass ensemble. "Apollo" is also preceded by a piano piece by Sjöblom entitled "Headwaters", which enables him to show off his skills as a more laid-back and subtle pianist before letting loose on "Apollo" with a technical Hammond Organ solo. The remaining tracks on the album are based around the storytelling style that has come to define much of BBT's music over the years, but this time the stories of "science and art" have been chosen to tie in more with the '"Common Ground"' theme. The XTC-inspired acoustic ballad "Dandelion Clock" ponders the difficulty of having to literally change with the seasons, while "Black with Ink" recounts the formation of the Library of Alexandra, home of the muses. The trading of vocal passages between Longdon, D'Virgilio, Sjöblom and incoming keyboardist Carly Bryant fits well with the subject matter, as each singer takes on the role of a muse, telling their part of the story which flows together. Continuing in the tradition of previous BBT epics such as "East Coast Racer", "A Mead Hall in Winter" and "Voyager", the album's penultimate track is an epic song cycle based on a historical story. In this case, "Atlantic Cable" clocks in at fifteen minutes and inspired by the laying of a 3000-mile cable across the Atlantic Ocean in the 19th century, when telegraphs were used to communicate in real-time. Being the longest song on the album, it has allowed for the most amount of collaboration amongst the musicians - A full article has been published on the band's website detailing how the musicians bounced musical ideas off each other. Highlights include the organ-heavy overture (a departure from previous overtures which have traditionally been driven by guitar, piano or brass), the heavy Rush-inspired 7/8 groove before the climax, and BBT's trademark vocal call and responses with Longdon leading and D'Virgilio, Sjöblom and Bryant supporting. Ultimately, "Atlantic Cable" has all the calling cards of previous epics, but with a few musical subversions. Finally, the album closes with "Endnotes", a calming coda to the entire album as "Homesong" was to Grand Tour. Twelve years on from their breakthrough album "The Underfall Yard" and almost thirty years on from starting out as a side outlet for Spawton's alternative musical musings, Big Big Train have now reached a point where they know their style and they know their audience. Consequently, "Common Ground" might appear to be on the safe side, with many of the band's familiar tropes and sounds carried out across another 62 minutes of music that could easily be switched out for any of the albums that came before it. However, from a production standpoint, it's been anything but safe: many of the lyrics are much more personal and introspective, and the writing is more of a band effort than ever before. If you've never heard a Big Big Train album before, maybe I'd point you towards "Folklore" or "English Electric" instead, but for long-time fans and passengers, "Common Ground" stands as much as a victim of the circumstances as an necessary step forward in the band's already rich history. Still rooted in the longstanding strengths of Big Big Train, it results in a more diverse and ultimately satisfying album as the band continues to evolve.

Review (ProgRadar) : 'Common Ground' is the self-produced new album from Big Big Train on their own label, English Electric Recordings. The new album, recorded during the worldwide pandemic, sees the band continue their tradition of dramatic narratives but also tackles issues much closer to home, such as the Covid lockdowns, the separation of loved ones, the passage of time, deaths of people close to the band and the hope that springs from a new love. 'Common Ground' sees the band taking in wider musical and lyrical inspiration from artists such as Elbow, Pete Townshend, Tears For Fears, Elton John and XTC, as well as acknowledging their more progressive roots. Following the departure of long time members of the band, the core of Big Big Train is now Greg Spawton (bass), David Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D'Virgilio (drums, vocals) and Rikard Sjöblom (guitars, keyboards, vocals). Carly Bryant (keyboards, guitars, vocals), who contributes vocals to 'Common Ground', Dave Foster (guitars), who plays on two tracks on the new album and Clare Lindley (violin, vocals) will join the band for the upcoming tour and there will also be the welcome return of a five piece brass ensemble. After finishing my first listen through of the new album, my first impressions were that, while it is familiar (especially with David Longdon's distinctive vocals), there is something new and dynamic about it. Like all the best albums, it needs more investigation and listening to, but, to my ears, a subtle reinventing of Big Big Train is afoot! So, a few days and many, many listens later, how do I feel about 'Common Ground' now? Read on and all shall be revealed. It's bloody marvellous, basically! I am a long time fan of the band and this is the first album that has really grabbed me and not let me go since the 'English Electric' series. The wondrously upbeat Strangest Times with its brilliant Elton John inspired piano lines (take a bow Rikard Sjöblom) opens the album in fine style. David Longdon is in fine voice, especially on the ever so catchy chorus, and the guitar playing throughout is sublime, I'm left with a huge grin on my face as the track comes to a satisfying close. The track sees David writing about the Covid lockdowns, the separation of loved ones, the passage of time, deaths of people close to the band "After the death of a collaborator Judy Dyble in July 2020, I time spent shielding with an ill relative. With everything that was happening around me and for the world with the relentless doomwatch tone of the news broadcasts, I spoke with Greg. I said I couldn't just be writing songs about historical figures and scenarios. I felt that I needed to write about the here and now. In 'The Strangest Times'." All The Love That We Can Give is a more laid back affair with a wistful feel to the keyboards and David's vocal with a deeper tone. There are swathes of contemplative Hammond Organ and the guitar just sits in the background, like a conductor leading the band. Vocal harmonies abound and Greg and Nick prove what a fantastic rhythm session they are and then the track goes off into proper progressive rock territory, full of energy and intricate musicianship, another rather fine song indeed! When the intro to Black With Ink starts I'm immediately drawn to a comparison with Kim Wilde's Kids In America (wait until you hear it, then it won't sound so daft!). The edgy keyboards and vocals sound like a call to action and the song just picks up and goes from there, it's certainly up there with the best upbeat songs that the band have ever recorded. The vocal interplay is excellent and gives a real urgency to the track. If this is part of a new direction for the band then please count me in on the journey. To my ears, things get even better in the second half as a distinctive musical refrain starts to be heard (it's one that continues to surface throughout the rest of the album too.) and becomes an earworm that you can't get rid of, and don't want to actually! Dandelion Clock is a nostalgic and thoughtful song that is dear to Greg's heart a beautifully written piece of music with David's vocal at its most plaintive and heartfelt. The chorus is a work of art and the whole track just works its way into your affections. A quite exquisite song that leaves you in a totally reflective and introspective state of mind. Headwaters is the first of two instrumentals and is Big Big Train at their best when it comes to telling stories without words, a dreamlike, meditative piece that is painstakingly and perfectly created, just beautiful. Then we go to the opposite end of the musical spectrum with the vibrant notes of the energetic and dynamic Apollo. Nick D'Virgilio wanted ".to write the band's version of Genesis's Los Endos and to make a track that really showed off the talent of all the amazing musicians in the band." And, boy, he certainly did that and has created one of the best progressive instrumentals of recent times. The title track of the album sees the band in anthemic mood, Common Ground is a powerful piece of music, a statement of the state of humanity but delivered in a way that only Big Big Train can. Soaring vocal harmonies, powerful melodies and excellent musicianship create a an energetic and passionate song that grabs your attention and makes you listen and absorb the message within. The guitar and violin interplay is absolutely superb, this is a song that will have the audience at the live shows singing their hearts out, just outstanding! It wouldn't be a Big Big Train album if there wasn't an epic song with a dramatic historical narrative that shows British pastoral progressive rock at its very, very best would it? Well, the band don't let us down and deliver a transcendent fifteen minutes of heart and soul in the majestic Atlantic Cable. There'll always be a place for tracks like this in the musical universe, soaring crescendos mix with intricate musical passages to create musical works of art that will always pass the test of time. Take songwriters of consummate skill and musicians at the top of their game and you will end up with superb songs of substance and heart and soul that have meaning and that tell the grandest of stories in the perfect manner. Endnotes closes the album on an emotive note. Another one of Greg's favourites (and mine), it is a perfectly composed song with heartfelt vocals from David that just bleed compassion and sentiment. The musical accompaniment is exquisitely elegant and the harmonies just make your heart sing and then, the brass! Oh my god, the hairs just stand up on the back of your neck as the notes sound out, there's just something about that sound that makes my soul soar and Big Bg Train do it so well. What an incredible end to the album, I don't mind admitting it has made me quite emotional. So, there you have it, 'Common Ground' is recognisably Big Big Train but a Big Big Train that have moved the game on a little and given us an album of its time. Vibrant and upbeat, thoughtful, wistful and even melancholy at times, it is a collection of amazing songs that will touch you on a basic level and move you on many others. 'Common Ground' is the album that will make you fall in love with the band all over again and I can't give it any higher praise than that!