Big Big Train

Oct 03

universalheadMusic , 6 Comments

Who says prog is dead? In fact it’s undergoing somewhat of a resurgence, and there is no better modern exponent than the band Big Big Train, whose music I’ve been greatly enjoying lately. For those young’uns who only listen to muzak cobbled together from drum machines and auto-tuned vocals, check out the bizarre spectacle of real musicians playing real instruments! And then be further astounded by the fact that this is the first time these musicians have toured live together.

Oh, and that’s the incredible Dave Gregory, ex-XTC, on guitar.

6 Comments (+add yours?)

  1. Doug
    Oct 29, 2015 @ 09:02:36

    A fellow XTC fan! Lovely.

  2. universalhead
    Oct 29, 2015 @ 09:28:23

    Yes indeed; truly one of the most underrated bands of all time, at least in terms of commercial success. It’s great to see Dave Gregory still doing amazing work. Also be sure to check out his other band, Tin Spirits, which is excellent.

  3. Steve A
    Aug 08, 2016 @ 20:15:58

    Oooh,

    first visit to your site, more for some gameboard info sheets than anything else, and what’s the first thing I see? This video for ‘Victorian Brickwork’, so a double-plus-good internet coincidence…

    And just to drop it in… I was at those gigs! My pal, Rob Aubrey, is the band’s live sound engineer, and the guy who records their albums with them, at his studio near Southampton, and he very kindly got me a couple of tickets…so I’m sure you might see my shining baldy heed somewhere in the official DVD, at some point, up on the balcony…

    And it was a brilliant venue for brilliant gigs by a brilliant band!

    Steve

  4. universalhead
    Aug 08, 2016 @ 21:10:21

    Hi Steve! I’m extremely jealous, I would have loved to have been there. Next time you see your friend Rob please compliment him from me on his exceptional work, both live and in the studio. This band and their music are really something special, and thankfully the recordings are too.

    I’m curious, how come you came here for the boardgame sheets? Everything’s been over at the Esoteric Order of Gamers for years now, so I’m wondering what’s still pointing to this not-very-often-updated site.

    I’ll look out for your head on the DVD when I get a copy. I too am blessed with a smooth crown! 🙂

  5. Steve A
    Aug 08, 2016 @ 22:23:21

    Hi,

    Yes, Rob is the go-to guy in the Prog field of the industry, and he is brilliant – he also does all of IQ’s live and studio stuff too…

    I arrived at this site whilst looking at an ‘Arkham Horror’ vid on YouTube, which contained a link to the site – obviously the vid was made some time ago so the EOG, I assume, didn’t exist at the time…

    Steve

  6. universalhead
    Aug 08, 2016 @ 23:42:39

    He is doing amazing work, yes, and it amazes me that the very complex results appear, from what I can tell, to constructed from band members not working together in the studio, but doing all their parts separately in their different home studios. And yet it still manages to have such a good feel.

    I like Gregory’s other band Tin Spirits too, but their production is nowhere near as good, they should get Rob to work on that band’s next output too.

    Haven’t heard of IQ, I’ll check them out.