"To The Bone" - 5th Steven Wilson Album, 8/18

My wife loves this album and she's not liked anything SW's done since FoaBP!

She fancied Wes something rotten though, which may have put her off his solo outings

 

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Agreed. I thought it was pretty bad. Parts of it were cringeworthy....(Pariah).

 

I cancelled my Amazon also. Guess Pro Studio gets the $ instead.

 

It is all so personal, one of the reasons I love music, for the personal response. As far as Ninet goes on Pariah I kind of find that she is there just to be there. For me she adds nothing to the track. But again, it is all subjective.

 

And I end up buying vinyl and bluray....

 

Steven and Ninet performed "People who eat Darkness" live on German radio yesterday:

 

...and made an unexpected appearence on one of the most conservative German television channels today:

 

I was also "Boned" by Amazon. Canceled the vinyl and bought the 24/96 version from HDtracks.

Still waiting on the CD box set (book version) to arrive, hopefully tomorrow. One pays $15 for direct shipping, one kinda expects getting product on release day like everyone else.

 

Back from the HMV Records, London, in-store appearance this evening.

SW did Refuge, Permanating, Pariah and People Who Eat Darkness with a sequencer and acoustic guitar (the latter two songs only).

Ninet joined for Pariah and People Who Eat Darkness (she did the vocals for the versus' and SW joined on the chorus).

These new tracks sounded really good in the "semi-acoustic" format, including SW's falsetto (!) on Permanating which he particularly commented on prior to singing the song as something he'd never done before and would be challenged doing on the forthcoming tour.

 

Do what I did by complaining to Universal about the shipping price and they will reimburse you the shipping money back.

 

We got an email from them a few weeks ago explaining that they had made a mistake with the shipping and would be processing a refund and we would get a link at the same time to re-order. Went from something silly like €34 to €4.99 so was not displeased with the effort they went to. Glad that they also refunded others.

 

I didnt have to re-order. Just says they are refunding my money back which is really nice if them I have to admit. They say I will get the money back in 3-5 days.

 

Seems to be a growing issue with Amazon in the UK too. Very frustrating to order early, be given a delivery date then find out on the day it isn't coming. However, looking forward to buying this locally tomorrow.

 

I did the same earlier as mine hasn't arrived yet either - it's a long way to Scotland!

 

I got screwed by Amazon on the Blackfield V CD/Bluray pre-order and waited months before they told me that they could not get it for me and cancelled my order.

 

My Amazon US order now shows delivery on 8/28. I just checked Best Buy - bluray is not in stores and they are also showing delivery on 8/29 for web orders. Bull Moose shows bluray as "out of stock rare." CCmusic is showing backorder on CD, LP, and bluray. SW official store now says "expected to ship in 1-2 weeks." There must be something wrong with supplies in the US.

Does anyone in the US have a bluray in-hand or shipped from a retailer?

 

Finished my first listen through - love it all. Wished Blank Tapes was 9 minutes longer!

 

I've listened to the album right the way through on my HiFi, and am listening again on headphones as I type. Overall, this is a strong effort from SW. A radical departure from the last few albums - while there are a number of recurring themes present in many of the tracks, there is no overall conceptual narrative. This is very much a song orientated album. While promoting the album, SW has frequently name dropped Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, Kate Bush, and Peter Gabriel as his primary influences on this album. While I do hear elements of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush (largely in the production, and also the two duets which pay homage to Don't Give Up and Games Without Frontiers), and Talk Talk (Mark Feltham's harmonica), these artists/groups don't seem to have a massive influence on the songs, structure, or music. Instead, I am hearing a big Marillion influence in this album - particularly some of their more accessible, song orientated albums such as Seasons End, Holidays in Eden, and Sounds That Can't Be Made. These three albums all combine accessible tracks (Cover My Eyes, Hooks In You, Sounds That Can't Be Made, Power, Holloway Girl), with more ambitious and 'progressive' material (The Space..., The Party, Gaza, Berlin). To The Bone is structured in a similar manner, tracks such as Permanating, and The Same Asylum As Before, contrast with the more ambitious material like the title track, and Detonating. Some of the material also seems to borrow from Blackfield, the collaboration between Steven Wilson and Aviv Geffen. Lyrically, the album also seems to borrow from h era Marillion - especially Steve Hogarth's recent focus on humanitarian issues and politics on the last couple of albums. My only negative comment regarding the content at the moment relates to the running order. Refuge, Permanating, and Blank Tapes are three really strong tracks. In succession, however, they are rather jarring changes in style and mood.

In terms of production, To The Bone has a more stripped back sound than previous efforts. The focus on performance, over studio trickery and perfection, has paid off insofar as the album feels more concise. I do miss the production 'sheen' which was present on the last couple of albums (I am a big Steely Dan fan, especially Aja and Gaucho, so I have VERY high standards!), however the production seems to suit the material well. My only comment would be that when listening to the album through my main system, I found the sound a touch congested in the louder sections. In particular, I found the vocals were burried a little too deep in the mix. I'm currently listening to the album through headphones, which is an improvement, but the louder passages still lack a touch of definition. Perhaps should have eased off a touch on the compression during mastering, maybe?

 

Loved the album. I think it's probably his third best (after Raven and Hand), and doesn't really sound like a pop album as much as a natural progression from the style of HCE. My favorite tracks after my first listen were "To The Bone", "Refuge", "Song Of I", and "Detonation".

 

In my opinion Ninet is everything on Pariah... without her it would be a boring nothing of a track.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my first spin of To The Bone. While it has some poppier tunes I just can't imagine anyone that has enjoyed his previous works not enjoying this.

 

Interesting. I absolutely loved both this album and the new Deep Purple album. Different strokes, I guess...

 

Go over to the PT message board. Plenty of complaints there.

 

I'm just finishing my first listen, and I think this album is outstanding. It is more varied than his other solo stuff, and the tracks flow very well. Amazing all the way through, for me.

Also, the CD sounds great. The production on People Who Eat Darkness is really a standout -- I bet the surround version of that track is very cool.