A quarter of a century into a career that really seems to have gathered momentum only over the past half-decade, Big Big Train leave English fields behind on The Grand Tour, venturing to Italy to celebrate science, art and literature in the manner of - one presumes - 18th-century explorers rather than Jeremy Clarkson and co.
Musically their course hasn't deviated much, although The Florentine kicks off with some delightfully jaunty acoustic guitar before reverting to type, but everything is so beautifully constructed that the lack of real deviation is its own reward.
Perhaps ironically for a band that does “traditional” prog rock better than almost anyone since its 70s heyday, the one thing Big Big Train lack is the one thing Genesis were eventually pilloried for: succinct, singalong choruses. But this is music written with ambition and spirit, and in Voyager they might just have written their most effective, beguiling piece yet.
(Fraser Lewry)
Musically their course hasn't deviated much, although The Florentine kicks off with some delightfully jaunty acoustic guitar before reverting to type, but everything is so beautifully constructed that the lack of real deviation is its own reward.
Perhaps ironically for a band that does “traditional” prog rock better than almost anyone since its 70s heyday, the one thing Big Big Train lack is the one thing Genesis were eventually pilloried for: succinct, singalong choruses. But this is music written with ambition and spirit, and in Voyager they might just have written their most effective, beguiling piece yet.
(Fraser Lewry)
