Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" first impressions

You could say that they are a recent prog rock band. Their two last albums "In Abstentia" and "Deadwing" have been mixed to 5.1 by the 'godfather of surround music', Elliot Scheiner.

 

Pink Floyd on steroids

 

The Moody Blues with Angus Young from AC/DC on lead guitar after they've listened to Pink Floyd for a month straight.


I bought "In Absentia" last year on a complete flyer without hearing a note based only on recommendations from strangers on the boards and the fact that Elliot Scheiner did the 5.1 mix. I got hooked. I bought "Deadwing" when it was released this spring and it has not left my changer since.

 

Man, are you in for a treat. I've been completely obsessed with their music since March.

Their major label debut was 2002's "In Absentia". It's a good place to start, but their newest album "Deadwing" is even better. So far it's my favorite album of 2005.

The rest of their catalog is stellar, especially "Signify" and the (currently) out of print albums "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun".

Porcupine Tree gets unfairly lumped into the "Prog" or "Neo-Prog" genres, but I don't think either apply. There is some progressive influence, but I can't describe the tunes as anything except as "Porcupine Tree Music".

Steven Wilson's project "Blackfield" is also worth checking out. It's as good as his work with Porcupine Tree. Check out http://www.porcupinetree.com/ for more information. Be sure to download the Deadwing album trailer here: http://www.deadwing.com/

 

I have to agree. They are no more prog than current day Rush. Not prog at all. It's dreamy....it's scary....it's heavy....it's melodic.....it's...it's.... PORCUPINE TREE!!

I'd start with Deadwing. I think it's a bit more balanced and mature than In Absentia. But you can't go wrong with either.

 

they have a good vinyl availability in the band's store
but where can I go to get the oop stuff?

 

Most of the band's catalog (On the Sunday of Life through Coma Divine, plus Voyage 34) has been remastered and reissued over the past couple of years, and is easily available on line. The only "major" releases that are currently OOP are "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun", which are due for reissue in 2006, I believe. Both are excellent albums (LS is my favorite PT album).

They also put out a couple of limited issue titles - "Recordings" and "Metanoia", that I don't believe will be reissued, and are OOP. Recordings is a compilation of b-sides and outtakes from the SD/LS era, and Metanoia is some improvised instrumental music from the Signify sessions. These are probably hard to come by at the present.

 

Right now I'm partial to "Stupid Dream" over "Lightbulb Sun", but that's subject to change every day. Steven Wilson has supposedly been working on a 5.1 mix of "Lightbulb Sun" while Porcupine Tree is gearing up for the second half of the "Deadwing" tour. Hopefully it will be reissued, along with Stupid Dream, in early 2006.

Recordings may be reissued, but perhaps in different packaging without being re-numbered. Metanoia is probably OOP for good.

Speaking of Porcupine Tree going out of print, this month the two disc "Boxed" edition of "Stars Die, The Delerium Years" will be out of print and replaced with a digipak. The new version will omit the wonderful booklet from the current set, and replace some of the "Up The Downstair" tracks with the new versions from the recent "Up The Downstair" reissue (real drums instead of drum machines).

 

an important pick for any fan of wilson and crew should do their self a favor and pick up the limited 300 copy dvdr or centrozoon live (sort of) in germany, its a well done yet sort of strange performance in front of a few fans in an intimate setting. it is truly a well put together and great sounding disc, i would highly recommend it for any fan of steven wilson, he is closely tied with bowness who is the "leader" of sorts of centrozoon. check it out, there are still copies remaining. i guarantee youll like it, great video quality and sound from a very small and intimate performance. and if you dont like it you can blame me for it and hate away but i doubt it if youll not like these guys, afterall, they are somewhat interchangeable. hopefully someone willl order it and echo my sentiments....

 

The Deadwing trailer, and the making of mini-documentary, can be found
here: http://www.porcupinetree.com/multimedia.music.cfm along with video interviews with Steven Wilson.

 

One of my favorite "new" groups (they've actually been around since the early '90's). Their sound is very hard to categorize. They can go from beautiful Beatlesque pop (complete with shimmering harmonies) to crunching metal, to extended, spacy, Floydian workouts. They get lumped into the neo-prog category, but to me they really don't belong in that camp at all. Whereas most of the neo-prog bands (Spock's Beard, Flower Knigs, etc.) emulate '70's prog bands, PT really sounds new and fresh. They clearly have influences, but they are not imitators. Aslo, they're really eclectic.

I agree with the other posters: start with either Deadwing or In Absentia and work your way back in time.

 

I think they're great . I have 4 of their titles and I think they are a solid group.
I think they are overrated though... some of their stuff is a bit patchy.

 

So they went from great to patchy in one post!

 

I'm not sure I agree with patchy as a description for Porcupine Tree. Pretty much all of their albums from "Up the Downstair" on seem to flow wonderfully, IMO. They are very cohesive releases.

Maybe "On the Sunday of Life" could be considered patchy, as it's a compilation of some of the earlier cassette only releases. But that's just one out of 12 full length albums (i'm including Metanoia & Recordings in that count). Recordings is a compilation also, but is a superb album in its own right.

 

Couldn't agree more. Maybe because they are so eclectic someone could consider them patchy if he didn't like the wide swing in styles. I personally like the eclecticism of their albums a lot.

 

Which four do you have? I'd say that everything on their last four albums (Deadwing, In Absentia, Lightbulb Sun, and Stupid Dream) is pretty solid.

 

There's a new tour promotional film at the official Porcupine Tree website. The music played at the end of the clip is "Mother And Child Divided". It's only available on the DVD-A version of "Deadwing".

http://www.porcupinetree.com/

 

i seem to be the only one here, not a bad thing, but i really prefer the older porcupine tree stuff to the last four or five albums. and i really dig the solo and side project stuff like iem, some of no man, and bass communion. anyone looking for the best probable selection of the harder to find pt and side project stuff should really check out burningshed.com

 

I'm thrilled with what I've heard so far
but I want to know where I can get the LP without spending an arm and a leg!

 

I'm looking forward to seeing Porcupine Tree on October 1st at Town Hall in NYC. Deadwing is even better heard live on stage!

I saw them a few months ago at The Irving Plaza and I thought the new material translates very well in the live setting.

 

I have Deadwing, Absentia, Signify, Coma Divine, Stupid Dream, The Sky...
The one 'I don't get' is Stupid Dream. Never could get into that , as it is so highly rated by most Porcupine fans.

 

I'd give "Stupid Dream" another shot. It's only flaw is the truncated version of "Even Less". The full length version on "Recordings" is the definitive version.

According to the official Porcupine Tree site (http://www.porcupinetree.com/) there will be
a concert DVD filmed October 11th during the Chicago show.

 

Thanks, Tyler, for the DVD info. I'm looking forward to it.

I've been going nuts with Porcupine Tree the last few months. I've played little else. I've even bought a fretless bass to better emulate Colin's basslines while I'm playing along. The DVD is going to be a blast to watch.

 

By the looks of the video included in "Deadwing" if you want to emulate Colin's basslines you would need to use a sampler and just copy and paste. I've never seen these guys live, so I donpt really know how they really play, but I saw how they record and it is clear they do not play straight thrpugh the song nor anything similar. Cool bass riffs though.

 

I've never seen 'em live either, but I'd love to.

They're my favorite (recorded) live band. Listening to Coma Divine, Warszawa and XM2, it's cool to hear how they change up things...never the same twice. That's probably what's kept them so fresh for me these last few months.