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@anduan | 1 January 10 | |
Happy Prog Year guys
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
happy new year Anduan, Dean, Lusephur, Malenw, cuddly12 and everybody reading or writing here ... theres a tonne of great prog stuff lined up in the next 12 months, happy listening and keep on progging !
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
and in that spirit, here's a band that may be new to some people but are getting impressive reviews everywhere...
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
Big Big Train - 'The Underfall Yard' ....2009
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
The core trio of the band are Andy Poole (Bass and Keys), Greg Spawton (Guitars, bass and Keys) and newcomer to the band, David Longdon (Vocals, Flute, Mandolin, Dulcimer, Organ, Glockenspiel and Psaltry!).
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
Now, Longdon has a very interesting pedigree in that he worked with Genesis in the post Phil Collins era (1996) and was for a few brief months their vocalist before Ray Wilson assumed the mantle on a more permanent basis.
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
His Peter Gabrielesque inflections are entirely appropriate to Big Big Train's sound and he adds an extraordinarily sensitive dimension to this recording that colours every moment vocals are used. His moments as flautist are wonderful too.
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
To say that the lineup of guest artists is stellar is to understate the case. Nick D'Virgillo (Spock's Beard, Genesis, Tears For Fears) drums, Dave Gregory (XTC ? one of my favourite bands of all time) plays guitars, Jem Godfrey (Frost*) contributes synth solos, and Francis Dunnery (It Bites) lays down some stunning guitar solos on the title track.
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
And the title track is 22 minutes of modern. prog. perfection and without a doubt the best progressive rock epic to come out this year. It's certainly leagues more interesting than Porcupine Tree's 'The Incident' and more dynamic than the ever-praised Transatlantic's 'The Whirlwind'.
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@gabriel9 | 1 January 10 | |
Production quality is particularly sharp here, but honestly this is one of the few albums to come out this year that hits everything and still manages to go above and beyond to deliver a cohesive, full-fledged sonic experience without pointless meandering or sounding like freakin' Spock's Beard.
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