{"id":46480,"date":"2022-11-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/summer-shall-not-fade-2cd-blu-ray\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T11:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T11:20:08","slug":"summer-shall-not-fade-2cd-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/summer-shall-not-fade-2cd-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Shall Not Fade (2CD\/Blu-Ray)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legendary is a word best left for others to employ, unless you\u2019re Bruce Springsteen<\/a>. Still, when it fits, it fits.<\/p>\n

The legend of Big Big Train is still being written today, but in the modern band\u2019s brief history of live performances, their headlining set at the July 2018 Night Of The Prog festival in Loreley, Germany was surely a milestone. After spending 17 years as a studio-only outfit, and just eight gigs into its reincarnation as a live band, the group drew the headlining spot at a major progressive rock festival, playing to a 3,000-strong crowd. The results were, according to the fans in attendance, nothing short of spectacular.<\/p>\n

That it took four years to finish and release the double-CD \/ Blu-Ray set chronicling this memorable performance is testament to two things: the group\u2019s stubborn determination to do things right and not rush the production process, and the chaos that threatened to sink the band in the intervening years. Of the seven core members of the lineup represented here, three left over the course of 2020, and a fourth, frontman David Longdon, died suddenly in November 2021. All things considered, the mere existence of this album is no small miracle.<\/p>\n

With all that as preface, let\u2019s follow BBT\u2019s lead and get on with the show.<\/p>\n

The filmed performance opens in black and white, a nice bit of stagecraft as the house lights dim and the band members make their way onto the broad stage from the wings. As the first quiet notes emerge, the stage and picture bleed into glorious color as the group\u2014Longdon (lead vocals, flute), Nick D\u2019Virgilio (drums, vocals), Dave Gregory (guitars), Danny Manners (keys), Rachel Hall (violin, vocals), Rikard Sj\u00f6blom (guitars, keys, vocals), and founder Gregory Spawton (bass, bass pedals)\u2014launches into the rippling opening guitar chords of \u201cThe First Rebreather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Augmented by guest Robin Armstrong (keys, guitar), the group\u2019s performance is tight but not an exact replica of the studio version; small adaptations are evident and the whole exercise is enlivened by the interplay among band members, and between the band and the audience. As compelling as the studio version is\u2014a gripping tale of underwater heroism\u2014every bit of drama the rangy tune contains is magnified here.<\/p>\n

From there they are joined by the Big Big Train Brass Band\u2014Dave Desmond (trombone), Ben Godfrey (trumpet), Grant Jameson (euphonium), Nick Stones (French horn), Jon Truscott (tuba)\u2014and launch 13 strong into a rousing rendition of \u201cFolklore.\u201d A series of sharp solos leads into the song\u2019s memorable spoken-word bridge, which is staged masterfully, with Longdon\u2019s soliloquy punctuated as he hits \u201cand LIGHT\u201d by the house lights going up full; it\u2019s a breathtaking moment.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s ode to the Enlightenment \u201cA Mead Hall In Winter\u201d is an early highlight, with the rock-solid D\u2019Virgilio drumming and signing harmony like a boss, exuding energy and attitude. \u201cMead Hall\u201d is a lengthy, complex, turning-twisting 15-minute epic, but the entire group is on it every moment of the way, and kudos go to video director John Vis and editor Geert Schoonbeek of videOmega.nl, who engineer cutaways to each player as they are featured, at times split-screening the performance among two or four players or areas of the stage. The song\u2019s principal musical composer Sj\u00f6blom and musical engine D\u2019Virgilio drive the band hard start to finish and Longdon\u2014who you observe coming into his own as a frontman song by song\u2014leads the crowd in a swaying, waving final chorus.<\/p>\n

Early BBT song \u201cKingmaker\u201d\u2014revisited and updated by the modern lineup for 2010\u2019s Far Skies Deep Time<\/i> EP\u2014spotlights the inimitable Dave Gregory, whose tasteful, driving guitar work shines. Another revisited tune, \u201cSummer\u2019s Lease\u201d from 2007\u2019s The Difference Machine<\/i>, is a pleasant choice that Longdon sings beautifully over a fuller arrangement than the original recording, dueting with D\u2019Virgilio at times.<\/p>\n

Next Longdon steps forward to introduce his composition \u201cBrave Captain,\u201d which receives a magnificent airing, with more quad cuts provided to cover all of the action during the heavy mid-song jam. The song\u2019s climax, complete with robust crowd singalong, is simply stunning. Then Danny Manners\u2019 rather Wakeman-esque solo spot (\u201cPrelude And Fugue\u201d) gives the rest of the band a short breather leading into the keyboard-driven \u201cJudas Unrepentant,\u201d whose rousing rhythms get the crowd going again. <\/p>\n

The ensuing band intros help demonstrate how much this moment meant to the band, as the superb but rather shy Rachel Hall appears both taken aback and charmed by the warmly appreciative chant of her name from the 3,000-strong audience. Greg Spawton appears similarly abashed by the crowd\u2019s affectionate attention, and then they\u2019re into his \u201cThe Transit Of Venus Across The Sun,\u201d whose brass-and-violin overture sets every last hair on the back of my neck at attention; it\u2019s almost inhumanly beautiful.<\/p>\n

English Electric 2<\/i>\u2019s \u201cThe Permanent Way\u201d makes a smashing concert debut, its gorgeous core melody full of yearning, and then its final sustained chord cross-cuts directly into the evocative piano melody that opens the main set closer, the band\u2019s signature epic \u201cEast Coast Racer.\u201d Longdon rides the swelling emotions through the stirring opening verses, acting out the line \u201cHe walks the high wire\u201d as he sings. The entire performance\u2014visuals, lights, music, vocals\u2014is absolutely thrilling, full of flair and joy and unstoppable energy, and when Longdon steps forward to hit the big note\u2014every Passenger knows the one I mean\u2014it\u2019s chicken skin and damp eyes times a thousand.<\/p>\n

After the interval, D\u2019Virgilio solos briefly before engaging in a lively duet with the brass section, a pulse-quickening set-up for the finale. Closer \u201cWassail\u201d is given a firm and emphatic reading that\u2019s as funky as any British prog band could ever hope to be and inspires another crowd singalong. It\u2019s a poignant moment when Longdon\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Sarah Louise Ewing\u2019s \u201cgreen man\u201d artwork flashes on the big screen behind him as he leads the crowd in a resounding chorus while wearing his \u201cgreen man\u201d mask, a choice that works both on its own and as a nod to one of the band\u2019s key influences, Peter Gabriel-era Genesis.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

There are several additional takeaways from this set. First, Loreley for the first time offered Big Big Train a stage and setting as grand as its music. Second, this was a virtual all-star team of musical talent, featuring members of XTC, Spock\u2019s Beard, Beardfish, Cosmograf and more, plus in the brass section members of the Royal Coldstream Guards Band\u2014and since then Spawton, D\u2019Virgilio and Sj\u00f6blom have gone on to assemble still another one, which speaks to the lasting quality of the music this group has created. Third, the band\u2019s longtime sound guru Rob Aubrey once again proves his mettle with a sparkling mix.<\/p>\n

Finally, as always with Big Big Train, the packaging and presentation of this set is top-notch, leaving the listener with another beautiful object to be savored and admired, not to mention an eminently worthy tribute to \u201cour own brave captain, David Longdon.\u201d <\/p>\n

Loreley was a critical juncture for Big Big Train, the band\u2019s first ever live performance in front of a crowd that reached four figures, and the resounding success they achieved that evening earns every bit of the special treatment it receives here. Summer Shall Not Fade<\/i> captures a moment that deserves to be preserved for the ages, one that some might even call legendary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":34626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8052],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-46480","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-big-big-train","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/46480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=46480"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=46480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}