Big Big Train
Folklore

Big Big Train is possibly the most interesting progrock-group since Genesis. All of their albums are outstanding musical achievements, with Folklore as perhaps their best ever.

The recording, as before, was attended by a large string-wind ensemble (all natural, no substitutes!). Here, too, there is a lot of splin, and grace, and arrangement subtleties, and delicate melodies, although the album is nevertheless tailored more “in combat”, as if according to some hit patterns. It is understandable - folklore is by definition a simpler, more root thing, close to everyone and everyone. Despite the fact that there is no folk in its purest form - Big Big Train did not engage in processing or stylization. But, inspired by the melodies of their native land, the group, in a slightly more obvious form than before, weaves their echoes into its musical fabric. The most obvious example is the title thing, actually “Folklore”, which was decided as a peasant march with vocalist’s decisive tunes, choir “answers” ​​and perky instrumental rituals (in the video for this song both old and young are walking along the country road behind the Longdon flute player - an allusion to the Hameln Pied Piper is obvious, even if this legend is German). The second composition from the same series is the spirit of Jethro Tull “Wassail” (released on EP in 2015), based on a warlike quasi-folk melody, and, again, calls with the “choir” and hammond. The rest is a neo-prog reflection characteristic of the Big Big Train, beautiful lyrics richly flavored with English place names (“London Plane”, “Along The Ridgeway”, “Salisbury Giant”), the noble wind choir in “The Transit Of Venus Across The Sun” and long cinematic "epics" - the influence of folklore in them is no more than usual. The album ends with the ballad “Telling The Bees”, in which a fragment from “Flight of the Bumblebee” suddenly flashes - a trifle, but nice! In general, it’s a strong album, although English Electric, especially the first part of it, perhaps, will not overturn on a bend.

Big Big train continue their prog rock journey with a great album that creates images of the English rural area!