#22 - Top of 2017

Big big train - Grimspound (English Electric Records)

2017 was quite a product year for progressive rock giants Big Big Train. They released not one but two full length albums! And while "the Second Brightest Star" contains mainly re-interpretations and leftovers from the latest very entertaining period of the band, Grimspound is a force to be reckoned! The album, as all the albums of the band since 2009, speaks about the English countryside and the past of the country, recounted through the lens of nostalgia. "Brave Captain" tells the tale of captain Albert Ball, fallen hero of the first world war. "Experimental Gentlemen", pays tribute to those that left Britain to explore the new worlds and "Mead Hall in Winter" speaks about pioneers who created the steam engine, dreamed about going to the moon and became archaeologists to unearth the forgotten past. As always with Big Big Train, the music acts as a folk/prog companion to the stories, blending the storytelling with seemingly immaculate 'oldprog' forms, drawing inspiration from Genesis, Marillion and even Jethro Tull, when Longdon uses his flute.  The songwriting standards of the album remain on the same high level as the latest releases of the band ("English Electric Part II", "Folklore"), and despite not getting there on being exactly the timeless masterpiece that "English Electric Part I" was, it nevertheless is an excellent prog release worth the time of any and all progressive rock fans!

93.5/100

Below are the music videos for "As the Crow Flies" and "Experimental Gentlemen"