English Boy Wonders | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1997 | |||
Recorded | Parklands Studios | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 71:39 | |||
Label | Giant Electric Pea | |||
Producer | Andy Poole, Gregory Spawton | |||
Big Big Train chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Classic Rock | (re-release) |
English Boy Wonders is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band, Big Big Train. It was released in 1997 by Giant Electric Pea.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Big Empty Skies" | Spawton | 4:21 |
2. | "Brushed Aside" | Spawton | 5:37 |
3. | "A Giddy Thing" | Spawton | 5:16 |
4. | "28 Years" | Read, Spawton | 2:24 |
5. | "Pretty Mom" | Spawton, Poole | 3:26 |
6. | "Out of It" | Spawton | 5:57 |
7. | "Cloudless and Starry and Still" | Spawton, Poole | 3:33 |
8. | "Albion Perfide" | Spawton, Poole, Muller | 10:23 |
9. | "Right to the End of the World Tra-La" | Spawton | 1:56 |
10. | "The Shipping Forecast" | Spawton | 10:46 |
11. | "Mr Boxgroveman" | Spawton, Poole | 6:12 |
12. | "Reaching for John Dowland" | Spawton, Poole, Hughes | 8:13 |
13. | "Fell Asleep" | Spawton | 3:35 |
In February 2008, it was announced on Big Big Train's BlogSpot that English Boy Wonders was going to be re-recorded and partially re-mixed. [1] It was re-released on the band's new record label, English Electric, on 1 December 2008.
The re-release adds one track and changes the running order.
[†] Tracks 3-7 are grouped as For Autumn (Parts 1-5) and tracks 12-14 as For Autumn (Parts 6-8).
Big Big Train are an English progressive rock band formed in Bournemouth in 1990. The current line-up includes band founder Gregory Spawton, along with Nick D'Virgilio, Rikard Sjöblom, Clare Lindley, Alberto Bravin and Oskar Holldorff. Until 2009, the band were active as a predominantly studio project led by Spawton and co-founder Andy Poole, who departed the band in 2018, with changing line-ups and guest musicians. They have released fifteen studio albums and six EPs.
The Difference Machine is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It was released on 30 August 2007, by English Electric Recordings. TDM is a concept album exploring chaos theory, communication, failure, death, loss, and bereavement. The story is of the death of an individual, which was linked to an exploding star in a distant galaxy. There are more influences of Van der Graaf Generator, Genesis, Mew, Sigur Rós and King Crimson throughout the album.
Goodbye To The Age of Steam is the debut studio album by the English progressive rock band, Big Big Train. It was released in 1994, by Giant Electric Pea. On the official BBT website, Spawton has revealed that "much of the album was about how people lose their way in their lives; about the tightrope we all walk every day. The album title wasn't linked to this, but it conveyed a feeling of pathos which fitted the mood of the songs."
Bard is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band, Big Big Train. It was released in 2002 by Treefrog Records. It is the only one of their early albums that the band decided not to re-release, and as such it is currently out-of-print.
Gathering Speed is the fourth studio album of the English progressive rock band, Big Big Train. It was released in 2004 by Treefrog Records. It is dedicated to the airmen and women who lost their lives in the Battle of Britain. The song The Road Much Further On was originally titled You Can't Draw Love. It was inspired by Spawton's then seven-year-old daughter. The album as a whole was a return to progressive rock for the band. It is the first album in which Sean Filkins recorded vocals, replacing Martin Read. It is also the only album in which Laura Murch recorded vocals, and the only Big Big Train album not to feature any songs solely written by Greg Spawton.
The Underfall Yard is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train, and their first to feature vocalist and multi-instrumentalist David Longdon. It was released on 15 December 2009, by English Electric Recordings.
English Electric Part One is the seventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It was released on 3 September 2012, by English Electric Recordings and GEP.
English Electric Part Two is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It was released on 4 March 2013, by English Electric Recordings and GEP.
Wassail is the third official studio EP by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It was released on 1 June 2015 by English Electric Recordings and Burning Shed. It contains three new songs and a live bonus track that originally appeared on The Underfall Yard. The title track also appears on the band's next full-length studio album, Folklore, released the following year, while the other two new songs are included only on the double-LP vinyl release of that album.
Make Some Noise is the second official studio EP by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It was released on 23 September 2013 by English Electric Recordings and Burning Shed. It contains four new tracks from the compilation album English Electric: Full Power, plus a selection of tracks from English Electric Part One and English Electric Part Two, two of which are edited versions.
Folklore is the ninth studio album by English progressive rock band Big Big Train. Released on 27 May 2016, it was recorded at English Electric Studios, produced by Big Big Train, and mixed and mastered at Aubitt Studios by Rob Aubrey. It is the first studio album to feature Rachel Hall and then-Beardfish lead vocalist Rikard Sjöblom as official members.
English Electric: Full Power is a compilation album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It presents tracks from their seventh and eighth studio albums, English Electric Part One and English Electric Part Two, along with four new pieces as a self-contained double CD album. The album was issued in a book-style digipack, including a 96-page booklet.
Grimspound is the tenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. Released on 28 April 2017, it was recorded at English Electric Studios, produced by Big Big Train, and mixed and mastered at Aubitt Studios by Rob Aubrey.
The Second Brightest Star is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It contains a mix of new songs along with re-worked material from the band's previous two albums, Folklore and Grimspound. It is the band's last album to feature co-founder Andy Poole who departed the band in January 2018.
Merchants of Light is the second live offering by Big Big Train and is based on the autumn 2017 Concerts at Cadogan Hall, London. It was recorded across three dates 29, 30 September and 1 October 2017, then first released on 27 July 2018.
Grand Tour is the twelfth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train. It contains all new songs unlike the previous, The Second Brightest Star. Thematically it broadens the lyrical landscape for the group into the European world, previously having a largely domestic British focus. It moves from English folklore and landscape, to the 17th and 18th century habit of well-to-do Europeans going on the 'Grand Tour' to experience a wider circle of art and science. It is the last studio album to feature band members Dave Gregory, Rachel Hall, and Danny Manners who left in 2020, and first without co-founder Andy Poole, who had departed in January 2018.
Common Ground is the thirteenth studio album by the English progressive rock band Big Big Train, released on 30 July 2021. With the departure of Dave Gregory, Rachel Hall, and Danny Manners in 2020, Common Ground is the first album release with the core four-piece lineup of Greg Spawton, David Longdon, Nick D'Virgilio, and Rikard Sjöblom. Joining the core line-up on the album are session musicians Carly Bryant, Dave Foster, and Aidan O'Rourke. Upon release it entered the UK music charts at number 31.
Ingenious Devices is a compilation album by English progressive rock band Big Big Train, released on 30 June 2023. It includes four studio tracks that were recorded in 2019 and one live track that was recorded in September 2022. Three tracks are re-recordings, except for the vocals of the late David Longdon.
Gregory Spawton is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and founder of English progressive rock band Big Big Train.