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Last year saw the release of an amazing album by a band that
has been around the block: Big Big Train. The album, “English Electric, Part 1”,
inferred another album to follow, and this year Big Big Train have delivered.
“English Electric, Part 2” is the second part of an opus that pines and
reminisces about the good ol’ English working man. These songs are not always
happy, for these working men have and always will be taken advantage of by those
in power. I do believe that Part 1 was a little more impactful and emotive in
the presentation of the sorrow ("A Boy in Darkness" blew me away last year) and
the nostalgia, however. Still, it’s a nice atmosphere. Part 1 saw Big Big Train at its finest: Last year’s album
floored me in terms of melody, composition, and overall quality. It was on my
Top 10 list for 2012, and I can see myself listening to it for many years to
come. Part 2, on the other hand, does not quite reach the same greatness.
Honestly, however, I do not think anyone can fairly expect the same level of
excellence, for Part 1 was an album for the ages: an instant classic. What makes Part 2 inferior, you ask? I’m not sure I would use
the word “inferior”. It certainly does not jive with me as perfectly as Part 1,
but the overall composition, melody, theme, and quality are all there. In fact,
without Part 1, this album may have blown me away completely. This band has the
chops that many metal bands do not even have, and they can play an eclectic
range of instruments, from the flute to the mellotron and many others. They have
the compositional skills that many in the prog world covet as they can craft
perfect songs from epics (such as the track "East Coast Racer") to ballads
("Leopards"). If anything, I feel that the songs are not quite as catchy or
instantly classic as on Part 1, but only by a small margin. Their music is
always interesting, and the gorgeous flute and violin accompaniments set them apart from
many other bands. This album has all of this and more. The band even made sure that Part 1 and Part 2 feel like parts
of a whole as the overture from the track “Hedgerow” on Part 1 makes an
appearance at the end of this album. I feel that it tied up the opus quite
nicely. So, this album has everything that made Part 1 great, yet I feel that it
is slightly lacking. The only reason I can think up is that Big Big Train outdid
themselves---just in reverse. They built up hype for this album simply by
releasing such an amazing album last year, but they couldn’t top it this year.
It is a little bit disappointing, but not so much when you realize the heights
that they would have to scale in order to top Part 1. All in all, Big Big Train beat themselves at their own game.
They released an instant classic in 2012, but still managed to release another
excellent album in 2013. All the elements are here for great prog rock, but this
release is less impactful and emotive than Part 1. No matter what, however, this is a must-own album for fans of prog rock. | ||||||||||||||||||
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