Following this year’s Cruise To The Edge, Big Big Train travelled to Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana to take part in a recording and mixing session run by its chief engineer Shawn Dealey. The session gave the band an opportunity to record an alternative version of ‘Last Eleven’, the closing song on this year’s acclaimed The Likes Of Us studio album.
The new version of ‘Last Eleven’ can be heard by clicking here and you can also watch the video here at RAMzine.
Dealey has previously worked with artists including the likes of Steve Hackett, Spock’s Beard, Animals As Leaders, Counting Crows, Jared James Nichols, Bootsy Collins, with more information available head.
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin commented “Having rehearsed at Sweetwater before our USA shows and Cruise To The Edge in March, it was wonderful to return there for a recording session. It was interesting to take an alternative approach to ‘Last Eleven’, which differs significantly from the version released on The Likes Of Us album. We really enjoyed working with Shawn in Sweetwater’s amazing studios and hope to return there again in the future.”
Drummer Nick D’Virgilio added: “I really get into how songs make me feel and this version of ‘Last Eleven’, with its mellow beginning, has such a great vibe to it. Not that the original has anything wrong with it at all! I just like how the story in the song now comes across. It starts mellow, revs up and gets powerful, then ends mellow again. It also showcases some wonderful vocals.”
Guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom also commented, noting: “We had this idea to take it down in the first verse, which I think turned out really sweet! I ended up doing the intro on acoustic guitar, with Oskar (Holldorff, keyboards) on Fender Rhodes and Clare (Lindley) adding some nice violin lines, which turned ‘Last Eleven’ into a different song for me. I also played some electric baritone guitar later in the song too, which added some further flavour to the overall sound. I think I like this new version even better than the original!”
Big Big Train headline the final Night Of The Prog festival in Germany on 21st July before making their debut at the renowned Cropredy Festival in the UK on 9th August. The band then undertake their own headline tour in September and October, playing 13 shows across the UK and Europe, before returning to co-headline Cruise To The Edge in April next year.
