“Where words fail, music speaks”: Hans Christian Andersen’s statement perfectly expresses the way music can evoke images, re-ignite memories and speak directly to our emotions with a directness that words alone cannot achieve. The burning question is, just how does it do this? Why does a song about catching butterflies reduce me to tears, or the return of the opening brass theme in The Transit of Venus Across The Sun invariably bring me out in goose bumps? These are some of the questions Time & Tide sets out to answer.
Main author Andrew Wild’s track record includes publications about Queen, Dire Straits and Pink Floyd, in addition to his wonderfully immersive accounts of the British progressive rock revival in the 1980’s, A Mirror of Dreams and A Playground of Broken Hearts. Doug Helvering hails from an academic background, holding a Doctorate in Music Composition and Theory, and is familiar from his popular YouTube musical analysis show, The Daily Doug. Although both writers only discovered BBT within the last five years their passion and enthusiasm resonates throughout the book.
Two excellent publications about Big Big Train already exist – Grant Moon’s definitive Between the Lines provides a fascinating account of the band’s history up till 2022, while Andy Stuart has conducted an in depth exploration of the music and concept of the band’s latest album in Woodcut – The Making and the Meaning. Does the world really need another book about Big Big Train? Let’s open up the pages of Time & Tide and find out.
The first section consists of detailed descriptions by past and present band members of their widely varying approaches to writing, arranging and recording songs. This multi-personal viewpoint is especially appropriate for a band whose approach is so strongly collaborative, providing illuminating insights into the music and lyrics, as well as revealing the personalities and dynamics within the band and their approach to musical creation. The rest of the book is devoted to a lovingly detailed exploration of every song BBT have released, from 1992’s From The River To The Sea right up to Woodcut, and much of the story behind each track’s evolution is told in the eloquent words of the musicians themselves.
BBT’s lyrics are poetic, evocative and remarkably eclectic, drawing inspiration from topics ranging from steam trains and lighthouses to Roman mosaics and carrier pigeons. Andrew’s extensive and meticulous research has left no stone unturned (London or otherwise), exploring the most labyrinthine of rabbit holes in order to satisfy the curiosity of the most nerdy of BBT fans – your humble reviewer included. Many songs inspire multiple pages of intriguing background information, presented in a lively and conversational tone and always clearly linked to the music itself. Perhaps this comprehensive level of detail is of more interest to existing fans of the band than to the casual reader, but there is nothing to prevent new fans from dipping in and out to find out more about their favourite songs or enhance their enjoyment of new ones. Andrew wears his erudition lightly, writing in a clear, straightforward and conversational tone, remaining in the background wherever possible and letting the music – or the musicians – do the talking.
Perhaps the most revelatory moments in this book for me are those which unlock the hidden meanings behind the more complex and multi-layered lyrics; an excellent example being Gregory Spawton’s moving account of the origin of the title Victorian Brickwork. Many of Gregory’s lyrics in particular have metaphorical or personal subtexts that are not immediately clear, and this extra depth of understanding significantly enhances the listener’s enjoyment and appreciation of the songs. I also enjoyed reading about some of the musical influences either acknowledged by the musicians or suggested by the author; his description of The Sharpest Blade as “Black Sabbath meets Hounds of Love” has certainly made me see the song in a whole new light!
For those who enjoy statistics, each track comes with a full listing of demos, studio recordings and live performances up to the present day, including changes in line-up and musical reworkings. While this song-centred approach means the book’s overall time sequence is not always strictly chronological, it is invaluable in placing each track in its own individual time frame, demonstrating that a BBT song is very much a living entity, evolving and changing as the band itself moves through its various incarnations.
Integral to the book are Doug Helvering’s informative and stimulating analyses of over 40 songs, including every track of Woodcut. These deep dives explore technical aspects of the music and include the detailed analysis of chords and harmonic progressions familiar from his YouTube show, together with observations on features such as tonality, rhythmic and metrical patterns, structure, instrumentation and melodic shape. The descriptions are time stamped and are perfect for reading while listening to the track in question. Pitching technical explanations at an appropriate level is always a challenge, and the bias here probably favours readers with some technical knowledge – I suspect that not everyone will immediately recognise an A#m♭5 chord or a Phrygian half-cadence! However, Doug’s avowed intention is not to blind us with science but “to get to the heart of how and why this music moves us”. Certainly for me, listening to the tracks with this guide to hand significantly enhances my enjoyment, and helps to explain the mystery of just what makes BBT’s music so powerfully emotional and deeply satisfying.
Special mention should also be made of the excellent photographs and artwork liberally sprinkled throughout the book. Action shots of the band in rehearsal or at leisure, together with musical manuscripts and other memorabilia, vividly help to bring the songs and their stories to life. An extra dimension is added by the inclusion of original paintings by various artists inspired directly by the songs, some of them commissioned specifically for this book. These evocative interpretations offer a deeply personal and thought-provoking response to the music and lyrics, providing an additional dimension of experience.
Time And Tide is a fascinating and highly readable treasure house of information and insight and is highly recommended reading for anyone curious about the music of Big Big Train, be they new to the journey or seasoned passengers. Discovering the stories behind the songs unlocks a beguiling gateway to enhanced understanding and enjoyment of this wonderfully varied, many-layered and emotionally resonant music that tells us so much about what it is like to be human. As Andrew Wild writes in the book’s coda, “the story of the band, as told through their albums, is not merely a sequence of songs but a carefully constructed landscape of memory, history and human emotion”.
If music speaks where words fail, then well-chosen words can also serve to enhance our knowledge, understanding and appreciation of music. Time And Tide leaves the reader entertained, enlightened and eager to dive back into every single Big Big Train track, armed with all the new insights they have so enjoyably acquired.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Publisher: Kingmaker
Length: 540 pages
Authors: Andrew Wild and R. Douglas Helvering
Date of Publication: 11th September 2026
LINKS
Big Big Train – Website | Facebook | YouTube | X | Instagram
Authors – Facebook (Andrew Wild) || Website (Doug Helvering) | Facebook (Doug Helvering) | YouTube
