Big Big Train
Summer Shall Not Fade (Blu-Ray double CD set)
Review by Gary Hill
I have to admit that I'm not all that familiar with Big Big Train. They have so many hardcore fans in the progressive rock community. I absolutely appreciate them, and completely get why they are so respected. I just haven't listened to them that much.
This new blu-ray with two audio CDs of the music would be a great introduction to the band. Their brand of modern prog with plenty of classic sound in it is captured so well here. I think the closest comparison would be the Gabriel era Genesis, but a lot of that comes from the vocals of David Longdon, who has since passed away.
The band put in an amazing performance. Their brand of melodic prog just shines with so much style and charm here. This stands with any number of classic prog live albums, really.
The video is captured so well, too. It's not what I would call flashy, but there are some modern effects here and there that really show you it's a product of the computer driven era of video production. Pretty much everything about this is all class, down to the cool book-like packaging that earned it one of our MSJ bonus videos. You can find that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESE8mrXHHgI
This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 2. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.
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