Hackney Empire, London Saturday 2nd November 2019 The last leg of the Grand Tour For the third consecutive time I could count myself among the small group of fortunate people who were about to experience a live performance by British…
View More Big Big Train / Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Big Big Train have recently added a new chapter to their ever increasing arsenal of video releases. The title of the new live album is Empire. Surely no coincidence: of course the title refers to the location of the recording,…
View More Big Big Train – Empire
Reflectors of Light is a phrase from the lyrics of A Mead Hall in Winter, the same goes for Merchants of Light. Both phrases suggest the world of Big Big Train (BBT) and are therefore extremely suitable as a title…
View More Big Big Train – Reflectors of Light
Happy New Year! It’s that time again where we look ahead to the audible delights that might give us a quick peck on the cheek, a full-blown snog or have us running screaming from the singles bar in 2010. It’s…
View More TPA Best Albums of 2019
Firstly let me say this has been a much harder than expected exercise, partly because so much good music has passed through these hands in ten years. My final selections focus on more mainstream progressive acts, as that is my…
View More The Decade in Review – John Wenlock-Smith
It seems to be traditional to start these things by saying just how difficult it was to choose 10 of the best albums, and that if you asked me to tomorrow the list would be totally different. However, to be…
View More The Decade in Review – Leo Trimming
Sometimes, size is everything… By sheer coincidence, I came into contact with founder/bassist/composer Greg Spawton of Big Big Train. I was seeking permission to use some of the pictures from the website to accompany my report on their live performance…
View More Greg Spawton – Big Big Train
Big Big Train English Electric Full Power – 2013 Originally issued as two separate albums and an EP, but clearly intended as one cohesive work, English Electric is simply my favourite album of the last ten years. Quintessentially English both…
View More The Decade in Review – Graham Thomas
As we approach the half way point of 2019 and enjoy the delights of many fabulous releases, members of The Progressive Aspect team, in collaboration with Anthony Rowsick’s radio programme Prog-Watch, have collected together their “Best Albums of 2019 (so…
View More Best of 2019 (So Far)….
I am a proud ‘Passenger’, a fan-boy, offering hero worship to the degree that I wish to give it. But there are no untouchable icons here, and in my view there never should be. So, initial thoughts are that anyone…
View More Big Big Train – Grand Tour