The year 2021 had been flourishing for 'Big Big Train' with the studio recording 'Common Ground' in July 2021 and 2020 saw the release of the live 'Empire (Live)' and it is again a new opus from the English that is offered to us at the start of 2022, I named 'Welcome To The Planet'. But unfortunately, this new baby will be the last with 'David Longdon' who died on November 20, 2021, and therefore, it constitutes a tribute to the singer of whom a very beautiful video has been made and viewable on you tube here. So, given the circumstances, it is certain that 'Welcome To The Planet' has a very special dimension but, beyond the tragic circumstances of its release, this new opus of 'Big Big Train' is quite remarkable and is in line with its predecessor 'Common Ground'.
It is the luminous 'Made from Sunshine' which welcomes us with refined vocal and instrumental arrangements, in particular with the use of brass which bring a magnificent symphonic and melodic side, then, 'The Connection Plan' highlights before strings that accompany, in an enthusiastic atmosphere, light and joyful vocal harmonies that put a happy smile on your lips. With 'Lanterna', the rhythm is calmer and the acoustic introduction with the soft singing of 'David Longdon' is delicious, then the title takes off after two short minutes to deploy endearing melodic lines with new harmonies moving vocals. Follows 'Capitoline Venus', short but strong in emotion with a magnificent guitar/voice duet which was used in the David tribute video. 'A Room With No Celling' is the first instrumental title of the album and takes us on a progressive bathed in a jazzy atmosphere with original instrumental accompaniments, the final accordion bringing an adorable touch of melancholy, then 'Proper Jack Froster' (see the video above) which was unveiled at the end of 2021 for Christmas, is typical of this blissful nostalgia deployed in certain compositions of 'Big Big Train' and constitutes, for my part, one of my favorites of the scrapbook. Make way for the second new instrumental 'Bats In The Belfry' which was composed by 'Nick D'Virgilio' and which is particularly inspired by his rhythmic playing and which has fun bouncing around a repetitive comma at the end. The emotional slider goes up a few notches with 'Oak and Stone' which is a pure marvel, and each artist brings his stone to the building to make it the highlight of the album whether at the vocal level but also instrumental. And it is with the title song 'Welcome To The Planet' that the album ends in a final composition demonstrating all the talent of 'Big Big Train' to compose addictive progressive pieces and 'Carly Bryant', as if David gently passed the baton, brings an angelic feminine touch in a melancholic atmosphere whose tempo accelerates in a joyful finale with remarkable vocal harmonies.
In summary, it's still a rich and varied album that the English of 'Big Big Train' offer us and which, hopefully, will be able to continue their journey without their singer 'David Longdon'. In any case, this magnificent album is already a very beautiful tribute to David and should undoubtedly be one of the major progressive albums in 2022... | |
