{"id":402,"date":"2016-11-15T00:45:15","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T00:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.societyforritualarts.org\/coreopsis\/fall-2016-issue\/?p=402"},"modified":"2024-12-01T17:15:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-02T01:15:13","slug":"new-and-notable-in-progressive-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.societyforritualarts.org\/coreopsis\/fall-2016-issue\/new-and-notable-in-progressive-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"New and Notable in Progressive Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Steve Blomerth D.C.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Big Train: Folklore,\u00a0\u2018STONE AND STEEL\u2019 DVD and video<\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

Audio and Visuals from <\/span><\/span><\/span>Big Big Train<\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The English Progressive Rock band Big Big Train has two projects worthy of attention.\"new-and-notable-in-progressive-rock\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Their new album, Folklore<\/em>, reveals some subtle changes in their approach brought about by the addition of two new members of the group: Rachel Hall and Rikard Sj\u00f6blom. Hall’s violin, viola and cello playing expands Big Big Train’s instrumental palette and is most evident on quiet passages and on the Celtic- and Folk-flavored sections that can be heard on \u201cFolklore\u201d (the title track) and \u201cWassail\u201d. Her vocal timbre is subtly mixed in throughout and also used on its own in sections where it lends an ethereal uplift. Sj\u00f6blom\u2019s guitar playing can be distinguished from Dave Gregory’s tone because he tends to use Fender guitars with single-coil pickups which have a different tone than the Gibson guitars with humbucker pickups favored by Gregory. The sound of Gregory panned left and Sj\u00f6blom panned right adds a nice dimension to the guitar orchestration on the album. Sj\u00f6blom is also credited with keyboards, accordion and backing vocals, although his contribution to the vocal harmonies is not quite as apparent as Hall\u2019s. Sj\u00f6blom and Nick D\u2019Virgilio are both lead vocalists and vocal harmony arrangers in other bands and it is likely that their input has led to the increased sophistication of the harmonies on Folklore<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The songs on Folklore<\/em> show the influence of Genesis and Peter Gabriel on Big Big Train’s music. David Longdon as lead vocalist has the capacity to slip into some of the dramatic qualities of Peter Gabriel’s voice when needed, but his voice has a greater range and an emotional and soulful quality that he brings to both quiet and loud passages. On this album, Big Big Train compositions surpass their influences with greater musical sophistication and variety, by turns more powerful, melodic, and uplifting. They incorporate programmatic musical passages that serve to musically parallel the lyrics. The most dramatic example of this can be found in the seven-part true story of \u201cWinkie\u201d the messenger pigeon that saved the lives of a WWII British bomber crew, forced to crash land in the ocean, by flying crucial information to Air and Sea Rescue. Big Big Train underscores this story in a marvelous fashion, musically imitating the rotating sound of the engines, the impact of the crash landing, the quiet lift-off as Winkie takes to the skies and then gains strength for her long flight home to rescue the crew. Each musical section heightens the drama and takes you on a journey that concludes with a moving release when her rare feat triumphs against all odds.<\/p>\n

What does Big Big Train’s Folklore<\/em> album sound like? It is a very well-recorded album that allows each song some quiet moments as well as some grand rocking at full tilt. The horn and string ensembles are used on several songs, sometimes for quiet sections and sometimes in a massive orchestral swell with all instruments filling the air. The arrangement of \u201cLondon Plane\u201d shows the entire range of Big Big Train’s dynamics and playing, starting quietly with acoustic guitar and violin, gradually introducing the lush vocal arrangements, then shifting quite cinematically to depict the flow of time and the river passing the long-lived London Plane tree. There are moments where the pace and tone rocks frantically, only to resolve back to the original pace and theme before the grand finale. The sound of Folklore<\/em> is varied and wide-ranging; Progressive Rock both intimate and symphonic. I found this album sounded best on my home stereo because the subtle sections lost a great deal of their musical detail when played in my car and competing against road noise.<\/p>\n

Folklore<\/em> explores the concept of tales, thought, myth, and archetype passed down through time without the necessity of being anchored exclusively in the strictures of Folk music. Some of the music on this album does have a Celtic or Folk music tonality that has been associated with traditional music, while other songs have elements of Jazz mixed with Progressive Rock. The tracks \u201cFolklore\u201d and \u201cWassail\u201d share the touch of Celtic music with a musical passage in common, while their lyrics touch on the passing-down of traditions and rituals. \u2018Wassail\u2019 celebrates the cycles of planting and re-birth depicted in apple tree wassailing. \u2018Winkie\u2019 widens the scope of what we consider the sound and subject of Folk music, while its story of redemption through use of an outmoded technology like messenger pigeons in the days of radio is similar to the folk story of John Henry and the steam-hammer. This is a common thread for the songs on Folklore<\/em>: Some songs have the sound and subject matter of traditional Folk music while other songs use different musical tonalities to convey their narrative and drama, yet they all fit under the same thematic arch. They transmit stories, archetypes, and characters that may not be well known but appeal to our sense of valuing the underdog, the old-fashioned, and the small heroes of everyday life. This is both the essence of folklore and the key to Big Big Train’s very ambitious and artistically successful album Folklore<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here is Big Big Train\u2019s music video for the title track from Folklore<\/em><\/p>\n