Big Big Train’s Summer Shall Not Fade - Live At Loreley is a blu-ray and double CD set of the band’s legendary performance at the Night Of The Prog festival on 13th July 2018 at Loreley in Germany.
The thirteen song set runs to over two hours. It includes classic material from English Electric, Folklore and Grimspound studio albums, and fan favourite deep cuts Kingmaker and Summer’s Lease. The performance features the full Big Big Train live band, including the late David Longdon, plus a five-piece brass section and is made even more remarkable by the fact that it was only the band’s eighth live show in this incarnation.
The Likes of Us is the fifteenth studio album by English progressive rock band Big Big Train, released on 1 March 2024. It is the band's first album of new material with singer Alberto Bravin and keyboardist Oskar Holldorff who joined in 2022 and 2023 respectively, as well as the first album since The Difference Machine without singer David Longdon, who died in 2021. It is their first album to be released on progressive label InsideOut Music, which the band signed to in July 2023, having self released several of their albums before.
Formed in Lancashire in 1969, Gravy Train was fronted by guitarist and vocalist Norman Barratt, along with J.D. Hughes on keyboards, flute and saxophones, Les Williams on bass and Barry Davenport on drums. The band first came to public attention when they signed to Vertigo Records in 1970. Gravy Train recorded two classic progressive rock albums for the label before signing with Pye Records' progressive label, Dawn in 1973. "Staircase to the Day" was the band’s second album for Dawn Records. Issued in 1974, the album was a fine collection of Progressive Rock music that took in influences from bands such as Jethro Tull, Roland Kirk et al.
The Likes of Us is the fifteenth studio album by English progressive rock band Big Big Train, released on 1 March 2024. It is the band's first album of new material with singer Alberto Bravin and keyboardist Oskar Holldorff who joined in 2022 and 2023 respectively, as well as the first album since The Difference Machine without singer David Longdon, who died in 2021. It is their first album to be released on progressive label InsideOut Music, which the band signed to in July 2023, having self released several of their albums before.
Stone and Steel documents Big Big Train's return to live performance after many years as a writing and recording band. Released on Blu-Ray and high-definition download, Stone and Steel features performances of nine songs recorded live at Real World studios in August 2014 and four songs recorded live at the band's London gigs in August 2015 alongside interview and documentary footag…
Goodbye to the Age of Steam is Big Big Train's first album, originally released in 1994. The album has been unavailable for many years and is reissued on 18th April 2011. To ensure the best possible audio quality, "Goodbye…" has been re-mixed by Rob Aubrey from the original master-tapes. The reissue includes new artwork and a 12-page booklet with lyrics and sleeve-notes. The reissue also features three bonus tracks; an extended version of 'Losing Your Way', a previously unreleased track called 'Far Distant Thing' (taken from a 1993 radio session), and 'Expecting Dragons', a recording by the current BBT line-up which re-works some of the musical themes from Goodbye to the Age of Steam.
With the band currently in the early stages of working on a new studio album for release in 2024, Ingenious Devices features new versions of a trilogy of revered Big Big Train epic tracks - 'East Coast Racer', 'Brooklands' and 'Voyager' - about how mankind has used it's ingenuity to extend it's reach by the development and deployment of technology. The new versions feature an elite 17 piece string section recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Apart from the late David Longdon's lead vocals, which have been compiled from the original album sessions, East Coast Racer is a completely new studio version recorded by the line-up of the band as it was in 2019. 'Brooklands' features newly recorded drums, bass and bass pedals, while 'Voyager' includes additional guitar and violin. All three songs have been re-mixed for this release. Ingenious Devices also includes a previously unreleased orchestral piece called The Book of Ingenious Devices, which links East Coast Racer and Brooklands.
Gravy Train were a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Also featuring J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Les Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums), the band would record four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, the latter two by Dawn Records. In 1973, Gravy Train moved from Vertigo to Dawn Records, the progressive offshoot of Don Kirshner’s PYE Records label. This produced Second Birth — eight tracks, two of which ("Strength of a Dream" and "Tolpuddle Episode") were released as a single. Again it failed to set the charts alight.