Following this year’s Cruise To The Edge, Big Big Train traveled to Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana to take part in a recording and mixing session run by Sweetwater chief engineer Shawn Dealey. This 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. You can listen to the Sweetwater version of Last Eleven, which has been mixed by Shawn, here: https://bigbigtrain.lnk.to/LastEleven-SweetwaterLiveVersion
Watch the video here:
Shawn has previously worked with artists including Steve Hackett, Spock’s Beard, Animals As Leaders, Counting Crows, Jared James Nichols, Bootsy Collins, Beth Hart and many more. You can read more about Shawn here: https://sweetwaterstudios.com/about-us/
Lead vocalist Alberto Bravin comments: “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 adds: “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 says: “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.
21st July – Night of the Prog, Loreley, Germany
9th August – Cropredy Festival, Oxfordshire, UK
17th September – Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, UK
18th September – The Riverfront, Newport, UK
19th September – Playhouse Theatre, Whitley Bay, UK
21st September – Queens Hall, Edinburgh, UK
22nd September – Palace Theatre, Newark, UK
24th September – Stables Theatre, Milton Keynes, UK – SOLD OUT
25th September – The Stoller Hall, Manchester, UK – SOLD OUT
27th September – Stadthalle, Weinheim, Germany
28th September – Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
29th September – Boerderij, Zoetermeer, Netherlands
1st October – Cosmopolite, Oslo, Norway
2nd October – Viften, Copenhagen, Denmark
5th October – Cadogan Hall, London, UK
Ticket links for all shows are at www.bigbigtrain.com/live
