Porcupine Tree Classic Or Dud? Search & Destroy.

yeah I can't believe you wouldn't love this, LJ. although there is a fair amount of their stuff that doesn't work for me. Also, still, to this day, most No Man albums leave me completely cold, they just sound so, so dated. The last one was good though.

still, to this day, most No Man albums leave me completely cold, they just sound so, so dated

Out. (I have the new DVD on order.)

The new one is great and I think it works well because of the profusion of shorter tracks among the more fleshed-out songs. Ideas don't live on anywhere beyond their sell-by date.

So I should give this one a chance then? The last one was my first try with these guys and as I mentioned before the lyrics just killed it for me.

I never really listen to the lyrics of PT. They sort of slide subconsciously by. Give this a listen, yeah. It is ** ****** so you don't have to go far.

lol er *******, I meant

other than "disembodied luminous hand", the lyrics on this one are great. even that line is kind of great.

I do like the last No Man record, Ned. And individual tracks here and there.

I dunno, that lyric about being weaned on Zeppelin is sorta precious...

missed that line, unless you mean the 'i was born in 67, the year of sgt pepper and are you experienced" line, which I like

'glass arm shattering' is like musical morphine to me

I might be in the minority, but I thought 'The Incident' wasn't very good. To me, it seemed to be a bunch of fragments that didn't really come together and some of the music seems to be rehashed from previous songs, which they have done a bit before but in a more clever way. Maybe it is the lack of 'marshall riffs' but really even on the pre-crunchy Porcupine Tree the tunes while epic are still catchy and memorable. This one is just an sonic blob that never really gets defined. I've gone back to the well a few more times to see if it is a grower record, but it hasn't caught up with me at all.

I don't listen to it very much any more. Aside from 'Drawing The Line' and 'Time Flies' it isn't exactly memorable.

I'm mostly a fair-weather fan of PT (prefer I.E.M. and Bass Communion much more), but the recent Tape Op interview with Wilson was pretty inspiring. Rather shocked (but not surprised) to learn that his recording studio these days is just a laptop, a really good microphone, and wherever he happens to find inspiration.

His remixes of those King Crimson records sound pretty sharp!

saw them this week in SF (they are touring with coheed and cambria for some awful reason; luckily we were spared that in SF and they played a two hour set), it was great although all the little things about steven wilson's stage manner that bugged me before still bug me. But, I am mainly reviving this to note that he has apparently finished the Cover Version series of singles and they are coming out compiled; I've heard all of these and they're really good, particularly his cover of Kate Bush's "Lord of the Reedy River".

New SW solo album on the way:

http://www.gracefordrowning.com/

anyone heard steven wilson's new solo album? dying to know if it's as awesome as his last one

. . .and so far, it is! second time in a row i'm preferring this moodier, less bombastic side of him to porcupine tree. recording under his own name seems to provoke more tastefulness, perhaps

song that closes out the first disc is killing me

"raider ii" sounds like he's been to lizard lately

wide-ranging SW interview here:

http://www.innerviews.org/inner/wilson.html

yes the latest solo album is excellent.

also that's a pretty good interview. wilson comes across much better these days than he used to when his press releases and stuff were just filled with ego boasting and self-aggrandizement (or so they seemed to me at the time; I avoided his music for a few years because of it). really anticipating the storm corrision album. seeing wilson in april (and opeth in april as well! not together though).

wilson comes across much better these days than he used to when his press releases and stuff were just filled with ego boasting and self-aggrandizement (or so they seemed to me at the time; I avoided his music for a few years because of it)

I've always gotten this same vibe, like his every waking moment as a musician was literally *killing him* because he wasn't as successful and lauded as someone like Radiohead.

Gripping new video for the title track of SW's new solo album. The song's no slouch either. This guy just gets better and better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8sLcvWG1M4

i feel like i shouldn't like this guy but he seems to dedicate himself so much to getting better and pushing forward that I can't help it. his methods feel too calculated at times but I can't deny the results.

the new album is spectacularly good. live recording has done wonders for his music.

highlights, probably in this order: title track (just gorgeous and so very melancholy); the holy drinker; tempus fugit luminol

borrows a trick or two from Oceansize at the tail-end of that. decent, but for all his impeccable taste and musicianship, there's always something a bit...clinical about his music

that is ultimately why I figured I would dislike the guy but I do listen to PT albums a lot more than I really want to. back when he was opening aping the Orb and Pink Floyd there was something so mechanical about it. like if PT is your first obsession you're probably going to really love them, but once you've heard it all, it just makes you feel old and cynical. and then you realize that they (he) stayed better for longer than the Orb or even Floyd, precisely because he always puts his best foot forward, and yeah ultimately I do like this guy. plus his remastering job on Lizard may be the greatest remaster I've ever heard (in comparison to the original, that is). he definitely knows his shit.

i haven't really listened to this guy seriously in years but i always enjoy 'trains' when it comes up on shuffle

what's his best record from the past 10 years?

what's his best record from the past 10 years?

If collaborations are in scope, I'd go with No-Man's Together We're Stranger and Schoolyard Ghosts. The Raven That Refused to Sing is, as mentioned, outstanding and easily the best of Wilson's solo work.

I haven't heard it yet but a lot of prog dudes whose opinion I really trust are going nuts over Raven so I would say that one, even though, like I said, I have not heard it.

I could well believe he's just released his best work. That track really was quite pleasant

Looking forward to hearing this and hoping it restores some of the goodwill that was sucked away by that terrible Storm Corrosion record from last year. Seriously, that thing had the potential to be so wonderful, but it was deathly boring.

Insurgentes is a great record as well, not so keen on Grace for Drowning.

I'm not too well versed in PT but the last one The Incident was ace

He's coming to my shop for an in-store on Saturday. He visited us the year before last as well and is a lovely bloke. Looking forward to it.

Okay, holy fuck this thing is good. Now that I've had some time to spend with it, I can safely say this is the best thing he's ever released and I don't think its too far of a stretch to say that this would stand up well amongst even the best of the 70s Genesis and Yes catalogs. For all the neo-prog bands out there right now, this is the first one that I actually feel captures 100% the spirit of the original, classic run of prog. Fucking stunning.

it really is that good, and it also sounds thoroughly modern. the fact that it was recorded live (not steven wilson's usual way of doing things) only adds to the energy of the album.

i'm guessing his remix work on crimson's lizard album got under his skin, because he's sprinkled that exact jazz sound throughout this album, and it adds just the right colour.

That's a good point, I actually forgot he was involved in working on that, but it makes total sense. This thing is just so fucking good.

it is a great album. Insurgentes is also great; Grace almost as good. All three are excellent and if P Tree is done (which it kind of feels like) I'm not really going to miss them that much if he keeps putting out work of this quality.

Given the highly positive reception for this new record, I'd imagine it's increasingly less likely in SW's mind that PT will return. I'm also not that sentimental about such a scenario, although I would've preferred if it they had finished with Nil Recurring instead of The Incident.

I liked the Incident. It was a little overlong but there were a lot of great songs on there (most of them on the second ancillary disc)

True, with the exception of "Bonnie The Cat", the second disc is pretty solid. My problem was with the weaker material of "The Incident" itself and the frequent lack of flow between the songs. The whole thing just felt rushed.

I preferred The Incident to Fear of a Blank Planet. It seemed to take a step away from prog-metal that mirrored the increasingly diverse sound of his solo records. "I Drive the Hearse" is top 5 SW.

Another thing I admire about him is the effort he puts into the packaging of his albums. The hardback illustrated books and whatnot are very special. I'm kicking myself for not picking up the limited edition of the new one, which is now going for €200.

Saw PT live once in Boston just so I could be in the same room as mega-genius, Richard Barbieri.

RICHARD BARBIERI !!!

all of you going bonkers over that raven song, have a listen to this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAc5JCKfgZ0

Listened. It's ok but nothing like as good as "The Raven..." Plus, who's to say whether Wilson ever heard it or not.

bought The Raven on impulse a while back and misplaced it and forgot about it and found it this morning and opened it and played it and wow....this is fantastic

it really is. also, he's playing melbourne in october.

Holy shit, this "Raven" album is awesome.

wilson has a huge following in Mexico. It's still the only place I've randomly run into people on the street wearing his or PTree tour shirts.

I'd recommend Deadwing after In Absentia, it's a very similar album with the same proportion of heavy stuff to ballads. Last few tracks on Deadwing are exceptional.