PORCUPINE TREE - FULL DISCOGRAPHY DEEP DIVE

 

PORCUPINE TREE - FULL DISCOGRAPHY DEEP DIVE

INTRO:

I have always had a precarious relationship with modern prog. As a teenager, I went through a heavy period of counting classic prog bands (notably Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, ELP, as well as some early Genesis & Kansas) as some of my favorite music. And though I return to these bands often, some of the flourishes and fanciful imagery of the lyrics waned a bit as I dove into punk and more aggressive alternative rock in high school and college.

While I remain a fan of those seminal bands and their classic releases from the ‘70s, I have never fully warmed to some of the more ‘devoted’ modern purveyors of those classic sounds. Bands like The Flower Kings, Spock’s Beard and, especially, metal hybrids like Dream Theater or Symphony X - though emulating faithfully the foundations laid-down by bands I love - just don’t connect with me.

This said, it is probably not surprising that the ‘prog moments’ I tend to gravitate to in modern music is more of a loose-connection basis - bands like Muse, The Decemberists & Gazpacho are all great examples. Not really true prog bands, but certainly capable of employing some prog tendencies.

So I was more than a little hesitant to commit to a Porcupine Tree Full Discography Deep Dive.

I vaguely knew the name, but wasn’t familiar with any particular albums. In fact, my only prior association is the fact that Porcupine Tree’s mastermind (and early sole member), Steven Wilson, had been showing up as he had been tapped to remaster in 5.1 surround-sound classic albums from a range of (mostly) prog bands including Yes, Jethro Tull, Chicago, Marillion & King Crimson. Add to that my buddy telling me that as a big Pink Floyd fan, I would surely appreciate Wilson’s use of their influence in Porcupine Tree’s music.

In I dove - and here are my thoughts album by album.

NOTE: For each album, in addition to including thoughts, I will be offering a Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down rating, as far as whether I would suggest the album - as well as a letter Grade to more specifically share where each album falls on my personal scale. For what it’s worth.

On The Sunday Of Life…

Personnel: Steven Wilson (all vocals & instruments)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: May 12, 1992

First impressions of this album were solid enough and with this particular mix of familiar influences (especially Floyd), I felt like Wilson would have had to really screwed-the-pooch to take things far enough off the tracks to completely lose me.

Hard also not to hand out extra points simply knowing his age (25) and the fact that he pretty much did everything on this recording by himself.

On the other hand, I guess I’d find that fact to probably be the source for my biggest criticism. Whereas The Dark Side of the Moon, for instance, clocks in at a perfect 43 minutes, the excess of OTSOL’s hour & 16 minutes leaves little to be desired in Wilson’s ability to pull in the reins here and there and self-edit when needed. I don’t mind all of the psychedelic freakout instrumental & trippy moments, but definitely didn’t find myself all that enthralled with a majority of these ‘texture for effect’ add-ons.

There is easily 30-40 minutes of ‘music’ that felt gratuitous to me - the 7-track run from “Hymn” to “Begonia” (even if there were a few nice musical moments here & there) felt especially lost in the woods.

Don’t hear me wrong - none of these pieces really completely wore me out - and given the right mood (which was truthfully over half of my listening time) I could easily find a place where even a semi-wank-session like “It Will Rain For A Million Years” actually found a happy-place within my listening. There is just enough of the ambient side of trippy prog/art rock at play here to appeal to my admiration of those niched-out qualities.

And let’s be honest, the dude is an extremely solid drummer and guitarist and, apparently, he knows it - thus the indulgences.

All of this is a bit elemental as the fact is that the album was a compilation of sorts - with included music being created & recorded over, at least, a 3-year period and released individually along the way. Wilson’s a young guy and he had a bunch of material and an outlet to get it all out there. I absolutely can’t find any real fault in that. Shit, the dude is only 2 years older than me. I’d give a left nut to have had material (and musicianship) of this quality when I was in my early 20’s.

“Radioactive Toy” is pure Floyd bliss and works pretty damn well as a ‘modern’ rock track - as does (perhaps my favorite track) “This Long Silence”. There certainly is also a kinship with other modern music of the era - from the most trippy side of Flaming Lips and wanderings of The Jesus & Mary Chain to the slicker production work of retro/mod sounds from acts like Wondermints and Pizzicato Five - followed quickly by British acts like The Verve, Spiritualized, etc.

CONCLUSION: This doesn’t earn a strong Thumbs Up, but there just isn’t enough that bothers me to sink it to any less. It receives a Grade of a solid C. There is nothing here that I absolutely love, but plenty that works and, most importantly, a boatload of credit is given because I dig the influences at play and appreciate Wilson’s youth and musical abilities. The album is a bit of a mess and pretty overindulgent (especially for 1991), but there is very definitely promise here and I’m interested to see how that transforms itself given more time & experience.

NOTE: Though not an official studio album, I listened to the entirety of Voyage 34: The Complete Trip - which was originally recorded in 92/93 and looked to be included on the next album, Up The Downstair. It is over an hour of extra Porcupine Tree music and was compiled and finally released in both 2000 and then 2004. I figured it was enough music to be significant. 

Wilson clearly doubles down on his Floyd worship - the opening guitar riff starting about a minute into the first track "Phase I" (pulled straight - and clearly - from The Wall’s “Another Brick in the Wall”) is so obvious in its intention it could almost be seen as a pure sample.

But the end product works much better than the whole of the first PT album  - despite the ‘Brain acid trip’ storyline, which I’m willing to put up with because I find the musical effort so complete and enjoyable. To be fair - this IS NOT a rock album, even as much as OTSOL was. This collection has much more in common with The Orb & Aphex Twin - wandering (with all the best intentions), semi-ambient & artsy experimental all coming together in really workable and interesting ways. Even if you don’t listen to it now, in the order it was recorded, I’d recommend finding some time to go back and check it out.

Up The Downstair

Personnel: Steven Wilson (all vocals & instruments)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: June 7, 1993

Following my Voyage 34 listening, this album seemed the perfect extension - and I can totally see how Wilson would’ve felt, in combination with this material, that it would’ve made a very solid double album collection as they compliment each other quite a bit in approach & feel.

Whereas OTSOL had lots of ‘little’ textural tracks - losing their way in trying to decide if they were song segues or simply bits of artsy experimentation - the long-form tracks at work here feel much more complete. Even more so than the excellent tracks that makeup Voyage 34.

There really isn’t much here that doesn’t work for me. I can admit when I’m wrong and when I’ve discovered something new that has changed my mind. A mere week before listening to this I would have quickly offered Radiohead, Flaming Lips, even Sigur Ros, as the modern heir apparent to the Pink Floyd torch, but assuming Wilson continues the trend he has started here, I would have to say that he and PT get a huge nod on that front. Those influences are still front and center and, so far, Wilson is able to hold my interest without making me feel that he is simply recycling - a beef I have with many prog-inspired modern bands. That is, PT sounds familiar without being detrimentally over-hashed. 

The music works both as a fond reminder and as a modern take on this particular musical tradition. The meandering pace and ebb & flow of the instrumental sections work exceptionally well - those featured in “Burning Sky/Fadeaway” serving as a perfect example. And as with OTSOL, the production and playing is absolutely first-rate.

CONCLUSION: I definitely find UTD to be a more successful complete collection than OTSOL - and though Wilson brought in a (very) few collaborators this time, the whole affair continues to speak to the dude’s undeniable talent and simply impeccable production ear. The album just sounds great and completely pulled me in from the first listen - with subtle, but striking, nuances making themselves known with each additional listen. Which means I enjoyed each additional listen more & more. Solid Thumbs Up and a Grade of B-.

The Sky Moves Sideways

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: January 30, 1995

Perhaps one of the biggest issues I’ve had with some of the modern prog bands I’ve been exposed to is that I always feel pretty put out by their seemingly overzealous need to tread the exact same territory of the original (groundbreaking) prog bands that influenced them. What I consider to be a layer of insult to injury is that they often over-do it in their playing - often crossing into acrobats for the sake of patting their own back is what it sounds/feels like to me. The Flower Kings desire to ‘be’ Yes is an example of one such act that really rubbed me the wrong way.

However, when it comes to Pink Floyd’s wholly unique take on prog/art rock, I very rarely can ever lodge that same complaint at modern bands - be it Gazpacho, Radiohead, (and now) Porcupine Tree. 

There is just something about the particular grouping of those core Floyd ingredients that are just so hard to screw up. I know this statement carries a super heavy personal/nostalgic connection (after all, Floyd was one of the most loved & influential bands in my listening since I discovered rock music), but it might also speak to the more thoughtful way that artists also touched by that iconic band’s output really took care to decide how they would filter that foundation through their own musical vision - in this case, very interesting almost world-music rhythm flairs and electronic beats.

I say all of this because, obviously, TSMS is Pink Floyd city, baby. 

Wilson is a disciple and he carries that fact in really impressive ways. The structure of the songs speak the most to this parallel, but there are not-so-subtle nuances throughout. Hell, Wilson’s voice even eerily emulates that of Roger Waters in the lower register. The classic lazy river build that Floyd did so well is front & center right from the beginning in “TSMS, Phase 1” - until it magically morphs into something more closely resembling Crystal Method - what a fantastic juxtaposition of styles and textures. I also found a really solid listening place in the dreamy haze of the improvisational version of “Moonloop”. The extra good news is that PT still brings plenty of new elements to the table and so things never get stale or redundant to me. 

Despite the fact that it doesn’t mirror the original UK release, the point still is made in very convincing ways. This was another PT tree album that I began enjoying right out of the gate - with the experience only growing stronger the more listens I gave it - something that never became a chore. 

What I listened to was the Apple Music 2004 remastered version of the album, which offers a slightly different track order as well as an almost 35-minute ‘alternate version’ of “The Sky Moves Sideway”, a 17:21 improvisation version of “Moonloop”, & a 4:55 “Moonloop (coda)” track. 

Having the alternate version of “TSMS” in the middle of the running track order makes it a little tricky to fully suss out the absolute vision that Wilson might have had for the listening experience. But you know what, doesn’t much matter - I enjoyed all of it just about equally, and I’d say it’s another step forward for PT in adding clear-cut evidence as to why I will be a permanent fan.

For some reason, the one little ‘middle-eastern’ inspired instrumental break featured in “Dislocated” (first appearing at 1:05) just didn’t work for me. I dug the groove of the song, but that bit felt a little forced. However, it is somewhat like criticizing a great bottle of wine because of a worn label. Definitely not a deal breaker. 

I guess my only other comment - and I say this even though I clearly dig what I’m hearing - is that, though Wilson mixes sounds well and doesn’t sink too far into the same musical temperament - listening to these albums back-to-back is creating a bit of a Porcupine Tree cloud, with songs from one album blurring a bit with those from another. I’m hoping as Wilson continues to develop a full, dedicated band that this will help to keep things from becoming too predictable. As blasphemous as this statement might be, I would probably say the same thing if I listened, back-to-back, to Meddle & Atom Mother Heart or Animals & Wish You Were Here too many times. Variety is, after all, the spice of life. “Stars Die” is an example of this working really well for him and if it’s any indication of what is to come, I’m pumped.

CONCLUSION: In the end, TSMS earns PT another Thumbs Up and a Grade of B-.

Signify

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: September 30, 1996

Porcupine Tree as an actual band - the day has finally come!

While mostly solid, I’m not quite sure that the payoff of Wilson having the ability to make his baby a more collaborative project is quite as fabulous as I was expecting or hoping for. Wilson’s voice and the retention of elements of their trippy Floyd-inspired side keep things from feeling like this is a completely new version of the band, but there is no denying that a switch has been flipped here.

“Waiting (Phase One)” walked the best line in combining the roots of the band’s first three albums with a more ‘rock’ sound (and I appreciated the room they gave themselves to spread out on the musical theme in ‘Phase Two’) . I also really dug how “Every Home Is Wired”, though not a ‘rock’ track, worked in threading the needle of an interesting combo of old & new influences. “The Sleep of No Dreaming” & “Dark Matter” kept with the heavier Floyd influences, but also worked well. 

And while “Signify” is a convincing-enough instrumental, it only barely maintains what apparently were the ingredients that the band previously possessed that made them so attractive to me. My initial reaction was a comparison to late-era Rush. There is definitely a shared lineage in the core of many of the main riffs - a ‘modern’ rock take on the prog legacy. 

The rub with opening with a track like this and then not following up with an album that sounds like it anywhere else is that it ends up feeling a bit off-balance and out of place. It doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of the track itself, but it does feel like a somewhat questionable decision in creating a collection that feels truly connected. It takes them all the way until the end of the album (hallway through “Dark Matter”) before they really return, at all, to that same ‘rock’ ferociousness. 

I also felt their sound at times on this album crossed slightly into territory charted by the French act Enigma - a lush, slightly world-beat influenced hybrid. There are undeniable similarities in places. This isn’t a criticism - I like much of Enigma’s output - but I’m just not sure it feels as fitting here.

For the first time with a PT album, there are a handful of things that don’t work as well for me. Right at the beginning, even for ‘96, the hokey ‘square white guy’ voice clip is weak and not very imaginative. In fact, they used a bunch of those ‘talk/sound bite’ clip/samples throughout and I don’t think I cared for one of them. They especially bugged me during ”Idiot Prayer” & “Intermediate Jesus” - In fact, I really like that latter track immensely, but felt the sound bites ruined it for me. Just feels overall that the samples were used too much throughout and that the ‘bites’ never once improved the tracks.

Speaking of “Idiots Prayer”, I felt the electronic section sounded too much like the same sort of section on the track “The Sky Moves Sideway”. A little too early on in their career to be recycling from themselves that heavily.

I liked most of “Sever”, but found sections of it to fall flat and it ended up feeling ‘skip’ worthy after a few listens.

And while I’m a huge ambient fan, the complete immersion of that genre that happens during “Light Mass Prayers” felt a little out-of-place and unnecessary in this collection. I gave “Pagan” a pass as it is more of a segue than track. Again, I’m all for texture, but count on artists to make sure that texture fits in or serves the overall musical statement. I just don’t feel they succeeded on that front here.

CONCLUSION: I’ll give Signify an on-faith Thumbs Up and a low-leaning Grade of C, but what’s the saying about being careful what you wish for? I’m afraid my wishing for different elements in the band’s sound might have backfired a bit here as I’m just not sure I love this side of PT as much as I do their more earlier approaches. I’ll stay open, but in this album I felt they didn’t define themselves more, but the opposite - they took a step towards losing themselves in the crowd a bit - and I must say, this album didn’t gel as completely as I would have hoped with a dedicated full band in place. Add to that, the dipping of the big toe into harder rock, but not following through felt clumsy and not thoroughly thought out.

What ultimately keeps Wilson & crew on the right side of my Thumb is that I like the majority of what I’m hearing and the album absolutely grew on me (cool little discoveries here & there) with each listen.

NOTE: I should add, though it is listed as a compilation album in Apple Music and not a studio album, I also listened to Metanoia. The numbers are improvisation workings the band produced as they prepared to record Signify - with some of the ideas becoming tracks for that album. 

As I did with the off-shoot that was Voyage 34, I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. I am NOT a jam band guy, but I really dig the approaches Wilson (and in this case, the full band) take in this sort of free-wheeling setting. I’ll go one further and say that though it obviously wasn’t originally envisioned as a proper studio album, I ended up enjoying this listening experience more than Signify. Some really fantastic fretless bass playing as well.

This is an all-instrumental affair, so it obviously has NONE of the songwriting focus that Signify presents, but I found it extremely listenable and compelling. Mood music for sure, but a mood I totally got into.

Stupid Dream

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: March 22, 1999

I have to say - I’m torn on this one. At one moment I don’t mind the songs, think the production sounds great, & appreciate the tighter song-focus. On a different moment, I feel like the album really just doesn’t offer all that much. It passes by without leaving much of an impression, & I don’t see myself returning to listen to this one as I might with the first 4 albums (plus non-studio album releases).

It is ‘99 and it feels a little like PT is suddenly a step behind the host of modern British bands that borrowed equally from Beatles-esque and 70s classic rock/power-pop. I’d pick The Bends by Radiohead, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis, Urban Hymns by The Verve, Parklife by Blur or I Should Coco by Supergrass over Stupid Dream - and all of those albums were released prior.

There continues to be some very fine playing at work (special shoutout to some exceptional work by Edwin on bass) and the collection sounds great, but the material feels a bit more dialed in. They are clearly going for a more commercial approach, but I just don’t think they deliver this as well as their contemporaries and in trying to, they end up competing on that particular playing field. In other words, they seem to lose themselves - or at least lose many of the elements that made them more unique & interesting up to this point. 

The album starts convincingly enough, but it is hard not to notice the holes. “Even Less” can’t quite decide what kind of track it wants to be, the nice bounce of “Piano Lessons” ends up wearing out its welcome well before it hits its economical four minutes, “Pure Narcotic” (sort of a poor man’s “Wonderwall”) & “Slave Called Shiver” (with its bass/drum groove reminiscent of Dave Matthews Band) ended up being two of my favorites, but they simply lack the sort of undeniable musical mission statement that the band is clearly capable of making. All they really end up representing to me is PT’s trade-in from forging their own unique identity out of past influences for a step-behind, follow-the-leader grab to compete with far more convincing modern rock acts.

Though not completely devoid of any likable moments (and even though this probably sounds counter to my accusations of PT dropping their Floyd connections as there is much in this section of the album that more fully emulate that sound then the ‘rock’ tracks that start things off), the second half of the album - from “Don’t Hate Me” on - felt like it especially was lacking in much to make me want to return. That is, though the songs present themselves in a fairly admirable workmanlike way, they just didn’t have that particular magic to connect me to them.

The one obvious exception is “A Smart Kid” - not only the finest song on the album, but perhaps the band’s most perfect ‘song’ yet. It's a real stunner. And it seems, for a second, to jumpstart the band finding their identity in the instrumental “Tinto Brass”, but even that loses its footing here and there. “Stop Swimming” is a fine closer, but also seems to be missing some sort of element that might have lifted it to more excitable heights.

I’m willing to make a wager, after listening to this album several times, that PT are never going to make a record that I will flat say sucks (fingers crossed, as I am thoroughly enjoying exploring a band so completely unknown to me), but if this album marks their commitment to focusing on (mostly) tighter songs in a effort to commercialize their sound, I am afraid they aren’t going to be able to hold my attention nearly as firmly as they did early on. 

Perhaps not fair to say, but in making the move to include a more collaborative process by adding a proper band, Wilson may have been overly tempted to re-create PT as a formidable modern rock act. I absolutely don’t fault him/them for this, but their new focus ends up landing a bit off-center in this particular regard. Apple Music recognizes their next release, Lightbulb Sun, as their one ‘essential album’, so I am hopeful they make the sort of adjustments that I am sure they are capable of in better marrying Wilson’s obvious connection with past musical traditions in a structure more convincingly designed to house true modern rock.

CONCLUSION: Despite not being a complete mess, this one gets the very slightest of Thumbs Down and another low Grade of C simply for the fact that I won’t save it to my library and don’t see myself returning other than to enjoy “A Smart Kid”.

Lightbulb Sun

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: No Man’s Land / England

Released: May 22, 2000

I find this to be a more solid album than Stupid Dream, but as Wilson and crew tighten their grip on a more succinct & poppier sound, I find my attention & interest continue to wane. 

This is far from saying that this album doesn’t work at all. These PT albums all sound fantastic and Wilson continues to manage some very tasteful and efficient arrangements. Colin Edwin certainly kills it on the bass and, throughout, his parts really provide some solid glue in keeping things grounded and held together. However, solid playing and exceptional production can only carry a band/artist so far.

I won’t belabor this point, but the screamingly obvious lifts & borrowing/following of British alt pop/rock acts of the 90s remain. There are also the range of usual suspects at play - old Floyd, Beach Boy harmonies, Beatle-esque pop sensibilities (and the many English bands that followed suit - Moody Blues, Zombies, ELO, etc) - even some hard rock and prog elements peppered in throughout. 

More and more, I’m finding that Wilson is an expert at working a mosaic of existing material/pieces. Hell, the dude is as known for his work re-mixing classic albums as much (if not more) than his making music gig. No shame in that - obviously - but for me, personally, it is only doing so much for me at this point - even though I don’t truly dislike the end product.

There is nothing wrong with what I’m hearing, it just isn’t making much of a connection. I listened to this album quite a bit and the songs, though certainly not offensive or off-putting, just never seemed to really grab my attention and linger in meaningful ways. Yes, this obviously comes down to a strictly personal preference - but there it is, not much I can do about that after all these years of ‘studying’ & enjoying all aspects of recorded music. 

CONCLUSION: I’ll give this one the very slightest of a Thumbs Up and a Grade of a C, only because it definitely is on a marginal upswing after Stupid Dream (and that one only received a slight Thumbs Down). But I’m afraid that the next 6 albums are going to be a bit of an overall snore-fest for me if this is the new standard that PT sticks to. However, observing their trajectory thus far, I wouldn’t bet on it.

In Absentia

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Gavin Harrison (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson

Recorded at: Avatar Studios / New York

Released: September 24, 2002

If you were wondering what PT would sound like mixed with Alice In Chains muscle, I guess “Blackest Eyes” tries to answer that question! Right up front I will admit that I see the irony in me taking points away from this collection for delivering, in a way, the very thing I said PT needed most - a new musical element.

But just as I adored, for instance, Talk Talk’s dramatic (and completely about-face) identity change following their synth-laden debut, there are some infusions & hybrids that just don’t work as well to my ear.

The injection of the hard rock/metal riffs found sprinkled throughout this collection are a big misplaced distraction and rarely work for me. And I truly would say this even if this was the very first PT album I ever heard - with no preconceptions of the sound landscapes they had explored previously.

Take a song like opener “Blackest Eyes”. The majority of this track is pretty much a next-step continuation of what they have been developing over the past few albums (those same echoes bounce all over this collection), but the monstrous riffs that serve as intros/bridges feels, well, a bit schizophrenic.

I brought up late-era ‘rock’ records that Rush made before. After their heavy foray into synth & electronic drum adds, Rush was able to step back into this more organic rock landscape because that was really where their roots belonged. Geddy is a rock singer - even though he developed a pretty convincing new wave/modern (for lack of better description) vocalizing style for a time there. Steven just doesn’t (or hasn’t yet exhibited it yet) that sort of vocal prowess - and he wisely sticks to what he does best throughout. 

Hard to fault a band for wanting to add some muscle - and these guys have the chops to do it, obviously, but the placement doesn't always feel natural to me. It is like the band’s overall sound just sinks further into undefined quicksand. 

Of course, this ‘heavy’ side of the band resurfaces, truly, only a fourth of the album - so it is easy enough to let it slide. Tracks like “Gravity" or “Strip The Soul”, especially taken on it’s own, have plenty to offer, but I’m left more than a little ambivalent in regard to how I feel they slice into the bigger picture of this album - and just not fully convinced that this works for me or feels like something, in regard to even just general ‘heavy’ listening, to be anything I would return to after these listens. The instrumental “Wedding Nails” feels like a wank session - the kind of ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’ argument I’ve leveled at most modern prog bands. 

I am a big fan of hard rock & metal, but weird hybrids incorporating those elements with just about any other sort of musical groundwork has always been a hard (pun intended) pill to swallow. Unfortunately, a glass of my favorite bourbon wouldn’t help to get this one to go down smoothly.

I also noticed what I felt were a few pretty obvious missteps. A clear example of this is that the smooth acoustic-driven flow of the second track, “Trains” as it feels EXACTLY like what was going on in “Blackest Eyes” (they mirror sound/texture similarities a few other times, like refrains of “Prodigal” in “.3” - it’s a total deja vu). “Trains” works better, overall, as a complete track. It holds off on even a trace of a distorted guitar until the instrumental outro - and levels a textured effect (much like P Floyd were so masterful at doing). As with any criticism I’ve leveled at the last few albums, this isn’t a matter of materials or design, but an issue with the reasoning/method behind the actual construction. 

Thoughtfully placed (and revisited) musical themes within an album is one thing - Floyd were experts at this - but I’m missing the connection (if one was meant). What it feels like to me are re-hashed ideas with hopes that the hard rock/metal (or slight prog flourishes) will conceal things from feeling too recycled.

Like every PT release thus far, I have no trouble finding things that do work. Once again, the album sounds fantastic and all the musicians bring the heat - new drummer Harrison seems to especially compliment Edwin’s point-perfect bottom end. 

And I will add that when all the pieces lock in just the right way, the outcome is pretty damn special. “Prodigal” is a high mark in this collection as it fuses the richness of P Floyd texturing with more modern sensibilities. “Lips…”, “Heartattack…”, & “Collapse…” all also bring some great textures to the proceedings. This is clearly the side of the PT sound that I appreciate the most. These guys, even when they aren’t blowing the doors off, are a tough band not to like. Too much in the mix that I appreciate (on all fronts) to completely object. 

CONCLUSION: In the end, this album just doesn’t get me all that excited. I’d say it kind of splits the goalposts between my mild Thumbs Up & Thumbs down of the last two. But if I must make a choice - again, only because I am left with no real desire to return after these listens, I feel compelled to offer another Thumbs Down and another very low Grade of C-.

Deadwing

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Gavin Harrison (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson, Richard Basrbieri, Gavin Harrison

Recorded at: Various UK studios

Released: March 24, 2005

I’m going to keep this review brief as I can tell, with these past few albums, that an obvious trend is building in regard to my opinion about PT’s output.

The big “a-ha!” moment for me in giving this latest collection consideration is that these last few PT albums, to my gut/ear, just aren’t very cool. 

This is NOT the same as bad, unlistenable, or boring (though maybe a little).

I’ve mentioned a few times in the past (especially with ‘rock’ records), that I do have a completely personal and absolutely subjective litmus test that goes something like this - “Would I be proud to have this album/song on high volume in my Jeep w/ the windows down at a red light?” Answering this question, Deadwing comes up short.

The simple truth is that by 2005, the ‘rock’ records that matter don’t quite sound like pure rock records (NIN, My Morning Jacket, White Stripes). And I hope we’re on the same page regarding using the word ‘rock’. All the heavy riffs in the world won’t hide the fact that PT are NOT a heavy band (at least yet). Wilson just can’t let go of his musical roots and, unfortunately, this (with this new heavy influx) makes for some whiplash moments throughout this collection.

It’s not an automatic bad thing that this album doesn’t rock as thoroughly as contemporaries like Foo Fighters, Audioslave or Green Day - but there is a sheen to the tracks that keeps the whole affair from feeling far from organic (especially the mid-tempo tracks) like the output of contemporaries more in that vein - The National, Sigur Ros, Death Cab For Cutie, etc. 

PT just feels out of step - and not in a pronounced ‘we stand alone & unique’ kind of way. 

Perhaps (and I get that you two might see this as a stretch), the closest contemporary is perhaps Muse - but I see Muse as being significantly more interesting and true to their personal musical mission - on every level.

To my ear, the heavy stuff on this album plays like paint-by-numbs rock and despite how happy I am to have knowledge now of PT’s early output, I ABSOLUTELY understand why these ‘rock’ records didn’t even make a dent in my listening at the time - a time, I should say, that I was especially in-tune with modern releases that fell anywhere even close to the ‘rock’ target. In total, they simply don’t make much of an announcement or lasting impression.

Further objections:

• In (apparently) trying to find a musical balance by incorporating everything they can squeeze in - they achieve no balance at all. Soundgarden-lite rock riffs, pseudo-prog structures, lingering Floyd trippiness, lush harmonies & layering, & baroque pop tendencies all compete and distract instead of creating any sense of cohesion. 
• All of the walkie-talkie effects on Wilson’s vocals are weak as shit. Dude has a good voice, but this seems to be his answer to the fact that his vocals don’t suit ‘rock’ formats quite as well. Seriously, they are used on about 80% of vocal parts on this album.
• 15 years behind the curve, “Lazarus” reaches for the ‘Silent Lucidity” Floyd-inspired song lift. 
• Glad this ‘ghost story’/ horror movie concept that these tracks were born from didn’t materialize - I can’t imagine a worse ‘scary’ movie soundtrack.

That said - no points taken away for the playing, arrangements, production or over-all sonics. These maintain a level of excellence that I have come to expect from Wilson & crew. It’s just what they ultimately do with this pot of ingredients that doesn’t quite gel.

Also, hats off to any act that has built the cred to pull in a player of Adrian Belew’s stature to join in - even though his contributions breeze by without much pronounced impact.

No secret that I’m much more aligned to the tracks that keep firm connections to their earlier work - often the more mellon collie, mid-tempo numbers - like “Mellotron Scratch” & “Glass Arm Shattering”.

CONCLUSION: If a friend had recommended this album I’d have given it a polite listen and moved on, quickly. I pushed through with 3 focused listens of this collection in wanting to be thorough - but I was essentially convinced with the first listen that this is a pretty package with not much internally to hold my attention or excite me in any sort of pronounced way. This one is a clear Thumbs Down for me and earns a Grade of a D.

Fear Of A Blank Planet

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Gavin Harrison (drums) / Alex Lifeson appears on “Anethisize” and Robert Fripp adds 'soundscapes' to "Way Out Of Here"

Produced by: Porcupine Tree

Recorded at: No Man’s Land

Released: April 16, 2007

This collection definitely cleans up some of the sprawling mess that distracted from the last few albums. Even the heavier parts (mostly) don’t feel as jarring and out-of-sorts. 

Though the album doesn’t come close to matching the heights of the band’s earliest period, I’ll take it as a victory. As usual, the playing and sound of the album are extremely solid. He lost me a bit with the ‘concept’ - and I felt the lyrical bits that came through were a little Middle School, but I haven’t come to know Wilson as a lyrical master, so no real points taken away on that front.

You bring in heavy-hitters (and obviously huge influencers) like Lifeson & Fripp, I think I’d bend over backwards to give them room to seriously present, and so that feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

An example of where things REALLY go wrong is at the 4:49 mark in “Way Out Of Here”. Just ridiculous to insert a section like that - even in the name of trying to create a proggy-atmosphere. It fails spectacularly and ruins an otherwise pretty decent track.

This album sounds like what it is - a solid and very talented rock band mixing enough older influences to show solid roots with enough modern influences to remain somewhat relevant. This album doesn’t re-invent, but it also doesn’t sink reputation any further - at least in my mind.

As with the past few albums, I end up liking (and being drawn to) the mellower mid-tempo sections & tracks (“Sentimental”, though not groundbreaking, hits a really nice place for me) - while disliking the heaviest sections (as they still seem a tad forced to me).

CONCLUSION: This album gets a very mild Thumbs Up and a Grade of a strong C. It clings by fingernails, but with just enough working for it to slightly maintain positive.

The Incident

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Colin Edwin (bass), Gavin Harrison (drums)

Produced by: Porcupine Tree

Recorded at: No Man’s Land

Released: September 14, 2009

I couldn’t be happier than to receive this album as a reminder of how much I’ve come to appreciate this band. While I’ll maintain that there are still a few individual musical moments earlier in the band's career that remain my favorite, I do believe this album will stand as my favorite overall collection.

Any way you approach it, this feels like a thoughtful and precisely crafted/performed musical adventure - a complete statement from start to finish. If you were to call them out for the length you’d almost be missing the point.

Gone are the feelings of possible ‘radio play’ pandering or ill-fitting modern rock borrowing - replaced instead with a true commitment to craft above all. Most importantly, they seem to have harnessed the wildly flailing attempts at including the kitchen sink, while simultaneously finding a very workable (and much more natural) balance in melding their need/desire to layer in the more muscular/hard rock moments they have been flirting with on the past few albums. Perhaps it is better put to say that the management of their various musical textures are expertly handled and managed. 

What also works is the fact that, in addition to the truly spectacular flow and connection the songs possess, they also have some really great individual and stand-alone moments. 

I won’t break this thing down by track, because I really do believe it makes such a monster declaration as a whole.

However, I will comment on “Time Flies”. I don’t know that I’d call it a Pink Floyd/"Dogs” Easter Egg as it’s just about as subtle as getting hit by a Mack Truck, but it is clear that Wilson and crew went all in with showing their love for all things Floyd with this epic tribute/homage. 

It’s not just the musical moments that mirror, but even the lyrics have Waters’ imagery running all through them - down to specific lifted phrases. Had this song been on one of the band’s earlier albums I might have chided them for it, but at this point - I’ll enjoy it and let it ride.

I thoroughly dug this album from the first listen on. As a diehard & dedicated Floyd fan, I simply call this collection one of the best post-Floyd-inspired efforts any modern rock band has delivered. Impossible to deny where their roots are firmly planted, but so well executed that the familiarity gives way to admiration for a hybrid that at once pays respect and shines a new light.

CONCLUSION: I have added this one to my library and can definitely see myself returning. I’m happy to award a confident Thumbs Up and a Grade of a strong B+.

CLOSURE/CONTINUATION

Personnel: Steven Wilson (vocals, guitar & keyboards), Richard Barbieri (keyboards), Gavin Harrison (drums)

Produced by: Steven Wilson, Richard Basrbieri, Gavin Harrison

Recorded at: Individual Home Studios

Released: June 24, 2022

Coming thirteen years after such a particularly high-point release, I was hopeful, but a little cautious in allowing expectations to rise too high. In fact, my original Full Discography Deep Dive of Porcupine Tree had passed before this album was released - allowing me to (somewhat) duplicate the time that had passed between it and The Incident.

Though I’m not exactly sure why (maybe that cautious apprehension), I felt like this collection took me a little time to wade in. I found myself - through the initial listening experiences - to second guess some of the band’s musical choices. I also got caught-up in heavy comparisons.

But as had been the case with much of the PT discography, return visits paid-off in substantial ways. In fact, many times over. I grew to really appreciate the musical tapestry at work. That PT has always been a band happy (proud even) to incorporate their influences in winning ways. They so effortlessly have a way to meld elements that a fan of rock (with a particular 70s prog lean) can easily recognize without feeling as if they would be better served by simply going to the source.

And what is there really to complain about when most prominent in that line-up is a healthy dose of classic Pink Floyd craftsmanship and late-era Rush musicality?

“Dignity” &  “Chimera’s Wreck” - the two tracks to most successfully coexist prog tendencies with rock fortitude - were both real milestones in that compelling mixture. But they aren’t alone in winning the listener over. The entire collection - even as I was sorting out how I exactly felt about it - instantly felt very comfortable and familiar. This obviously goes hand-in-hand with the known influences at work, but also speaks to the band’s ability to hit a targeted mark with deft accuracy. 

CONCLUSION: Appreciating the talents of Porcupine Tree is definitely aided by a knowledge/respect of particular prog elements and an openness to how they can be manipulated to serve a modern take on rock music. Wrapping this Full Discography Deep Dive (for now) gives me a firm peg to confidently hang a hat on stating that modern prog rock is in very capable hands with bands like Porcupine Tree out there doing their thing. This album earns an easy Thumbs Up and a Grade of B-.