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 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 The Likes Of Us studio album.

You can listen to the Sweetwater version of "Last Eleven", which has been mixed by Shawn, here. Watch the video below.

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.

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 released their 15th studio album, The Likes Of Us, back in March. The album is available on several different formats, including for the first time as Dolby Atmos mixed by The Pineapple Thief’s Bruce Soord, while the stereo mixes were undertaken by the band’s regular engineer Rob Aubrey together with Alberto Bravin. The Dolby Atmos mix comes as part of the Limited CD & Blu-ray Mediabook edition that also contains the album as 5.1 Surround Sound & 24-bit high-resolution stereo.

The album is also available as a Gatefold 180g 2LP (available in black, sky blue, olive green and orange formats), Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album. The stunning artwork was created by the band’s longstanding collaborator Sarah Louise Ewing, with layouts by Steve Vantsis.

Order here.

Tracklisting:

“Light Left In The Day”
“Oblivion”
“Beneath The Masts”
“Skates On”
“Miramare”
“Love Is The Light”
“Bookmarks”
“Last Eleven”

"Love Is The Light" video:

"Miramare" video:

“Oblivion” video:

Big Big Train headline the final Night Of The Prog festival in Germany on July 21 before making their debut at the renowned Cropredy Festival in the UK on August 9. 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.

July
21 - Loreley, Germany - Night Of The Prog

August
9 - Oxfordshire, UK - Cropredy Festival

September
17 - Swindon, UK - Wyvern Theatre
18 - Newport, UK - The Riverfront
19 - Whitley Bay, UK - Playhouse Theatre
21 - Edinburgh, UK - Queens Hall
22 - Newark, UK - Palace Theatre
24 - Milton Keynes, UK - Stables Theatre
25 - Manchester, UK - The Stoller Hall
27 - Weinheim, Germany - Stadthalle
28 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands - Boerderij
29 - Zoetermeer, Netherlands - Boerderij

October
1 - Oslo, Norway - Cosmopolite
2 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Viften
5 - London, UK - Cadogan Hall

Lineup:

Alberto Bravin - Lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Nick D’Virgilio - Drums, percussion, vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, vocals
Dave Foster - Guitars
Oskar Holldorff - Keyboards, vocals
Clare Lindley - Violin, vocals
Rikard Sjöblom - Guitars, keyboards, vocals
Gregory Spawton - Bass guitar, bass pedals, 12-string acoustic guitar, Mellotron

(Photo - Michael Heller)