Door One

Product Information

This album was completed carefully by four musicians: Jeremy Stacey (King Crimson, Eric Clapton, Noel Gallagher, Sheryl Crow, The Finn Brothers), Theo Travis (Steven Wilson, Soft Machine, Gong), Steve Vantsis (Fish) and Gary Bromham (Bjork, Sheryl Crow, George Michael). There are some inspirational musical passages in this mix of songs that were 90% complete as a solo work before he passed. One thing I must note, and it pains me to say this, is that David not only seems to change genre, he also changes his vocal style somewhat.

Catchier still is There’s No Ghost Like An Old Ghost, a consideration of past regrets, secrets and lies (‘ The loose ends you’d left unaddressed’) and their nasty habit of resurfacing later in life, ‘ with bones to pick and an axe to grind’. While this might not be his greatest work, it is a beautiful and meaningful one, and I have a feeling that it will grow on my immensely. Birdsong, echoing piano and a building cinematic atmosphere characterise instrumental prelude Into The Icehouse, an Eno-esque mood-setter that, in a kinder world, might have served well as intro music to a live show. The Singer And The Song continues the autobiographical tone as this track is about how singing his songs enlivens and satisfies him. BBT released a stunning record in Welcome to the Planet earlier this year, and he and the band seemed poised for a new era altogether.David, sadly, died - depriving BBT of an incredible voice and the wider rock world of a genuine genre-straddling vocalist. David released his first solo album, Wild River, back in 2004 but on joining Big Big Train, the band became his primary focus. The brooding, piano-driven waltz Forgive (But Not Forget) looks back at one (‘ Our fate perhaps, or were we just ill-matched’), with a grand, expressive guitar solo and overwrought rhythmic variations adding to the drama.

It doesn’t ruin this album, as I think it does add a layer of emotion that isn’t always present with BBT, but it can be distracting and certain moments do not sound very good at all. It opens with Into The Icehouse, an instrumental, ambient piece of birdsong and minimal piano tones playing almost a lament. Completed by a working party of musicians closest to the multi-instrumentalist, spear-headed by co-producer/engineer, Patrick Phillips (Kate Bush, Van Morrison, Goldfrapp, Ludovico Einaudi). Finishing the album was a balancing act of me trying to honour what we had been talking about but without his ears to say ‘Yes, I like that’ or not.

In The Times, Dominic Maxwell said of David “ Having taken a long time to get where he wanted to be, Longdon tried not to waste his precious time. I think that is reflected in Door One, as well, since it is something of a departure from David’s normal style. This album is different because of his passing but it is still a good listen, even if it is painful, for what has gone and for what could have been in his future. A reflection on his craft, The Singer And The Song must be at the very least partially autobiographical. Nicely crafted tracks but a couple do seem to be that they are missing the final touches to the album.