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

I've seen Blundell live three times, and I think he can play the Harrison material quiet well. He's not the human metronome Harrison is, but his live rendition of The Creator Has a Mastertape is very impressive, as is his take of Stacey's drumming on Refuge, from TTB.

That said, each show Blundell made a noticeable flub or two -- which I guess makes him human, right?

I'll also mention that Alex Hutchings, the guitarist on this tour, is equally impressive, if not more. He matched all the past players' styles, and gave it his own spin. He knew (or was instructed by SW) when to step forward and shine, and when to hold back and compliment the others in the band. I would say his playing is perfect for a SW show, and pretty much flawless.

 

Gavin Harrison is not just a timekeeper, that's for sure. I don't hear his drumming as overplaying though. I can see how someone might think that from hearing just "Blackest Eyes" and some of the songs from Deadwing, but on the later albums he seems to mesh in much better with the rest of the band.

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I bought To the Bone not long after release but I have not yet listened to it. That is, I have heard the entire album a couple of times, but not via my CD. I've just been absorbed with listening to other stuff. I think that speaks to how underwhelming I found this release, compared with most of his others.

 

Gavin apparently recorded drum parts for a few songs on To the Bone but they weren't used in the end because Steven wanted a "looser" feel to the songs.

 

Horses for courses, but saw Harrison with PT some years ago and thought he was Jaw droppingly good. Then again, I am from the Neil Peart fan club, so I love the complexity that both these guys bring to the table. For sure they have a busy style, but groove still shines through.
Saw Blundell on recent SW tour and he is a class act for sure, but give me Harrison any time.
To be clear, I much prefer PT's material over SW solo work.

 

Well, Neil Peart is my favorite, so I cannot agree with that part , but, generally speaking, I get what you mean.

Speaking only for myself, my contention that Harrison overplays was in reference to his live performances. To wit:



The studio version of Hatesong is one of my favorite PT songs ever, largely because of the groove Maitland lays down. In that live version above, Harrison butchers the hell out of it to the point where it is darn near unlistenable. Sure, he throws in some fills that are crazy hard, but big deal. That song is about groove and feel, not showing off. Like I said before, Harrison is a beast on the drums, but sometimes it's like he gets too infatuated with showing off instead of just playing for the song.

 

Funny, all my friends and I love that version of Hatesong primarily because of the drum solos at the end.

 

Where did you read this? Very interesting.

How do you guys feel about Gavin's playing with King Crimson? I thought his playing was phenomenal, he complimented the other players perfectly and has a very musical approach to the songs. He took the small cymbals and textural playing style that he often used on Porcupine Tree songs and augmented this version of King Crimson in an interesting way (not to take anything away from the other drummers).

 

I've listened to this record a lot-it's a real grower and has a few hidden gems but it doesn't hang together as a whole experience....he very nearly pulled it off but not quite......

 

From a recent interview...worth reading the whole thing, but here's the bit:

 

I think Maitland would been a good fit for the drumming on Hand. Cannot. Erase.. That's my only criticism of that album - Marco Minneman's drumming at certain points sounds like "Hey, look at me, I can play the sticks!" Unfortunately there appears to have been some kind of a falling out between Wilson and Maitland, so such collaboration is looking unlikely at least in the near future.

 

I read rumors of a physical altercation, but never any true account of how the relationship ended, other than an old interview with Steven Wilson where he said that Maitland's style didn't fit the direction he wanted to take Porcupine Tree. Chris Maitland played on Blackfield's first album, but seems to be more involved in musicals these days to play rock music.

 

Agree, very good interview...thanks for sharing!

One point I found interesting as it speaks to future 5.1 releases is that SW no longer really has the time for these with the exception of the (annual?) XTC series which is underway.

This suggests...

• No more Yes, no surprise as I believe the vinyl SW remixes box was the exclamation point on those.
• No more Tull, haven't really heard if this was to carry on or not. Perhaps not. Is there one final album in the can? Someone else to carry the torch to continue the excellent reissue series format?
• No more King Crimson. No surprise as the remaining titles weren't likely to be tackled by SW given that he chose not to remix Thrak, leaving that one to Jakko. I will assume Jakko will take on the upcoming KC box material.
• More XTC, yea!
• TFF (The Seeds of Love) was discussed but SW didn't spill the beans on when his 5.1 remix might see the light of day.
• Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure wasn't discussed. This one should also be in the can.
• Kate Bush, please contact SW as he stands ready to make your long-awaited reissue campaign that much more special.
• Those making decisions for the estates of David Bowie & Prince, make that call as well!

A subject that I wish was discussed would be the plans for no-man. Blackfield was addressed and I truly wish that a new no-man album could be worked into SW's schedule in a similar manner. Yet I also understand that SW's role in no-man is much more significant, that it isn't a matter of swooping in to do a few things on Tim's songs and departing quickly. Still, there is nothing that I would anticipate more than an announcement of a new no-man album.

 

Remind me: which year did Frank Sinatra first retire?

 

I wonder, too, if there was a falling out between Wilson and Colin Edwin. Since he disbanded PT, Wilson has worked with both Barbieri and Harrison, but I haven't heard a peep out of him working with Edwin. Maybe the stars just haven't aligned, but it's kind of interesting. Harrison gets the most chatter of the other three (non-Wilson) PT members, but Edwin's bass playing and Barbieri's melodic and less-is-more style is what really set PT apart from every other project Wilson has done.

 

I don't think he has touched this one yet.

 

I had heard early on in the Roxy Music 5.1 announcements that SW was either going to do the first two albums or had done the first two albums. But you are right, I haven't heard anything definitive regarding For Your Pleasure.

 

You're not the first person to come up with that speculation. I also miss what the other Porcupines brought to the table, including Colin, but I have come to accept the fact that Porcupine Tree were basically a vehicle for Steven Wilson's music; it was never a democracy. That is something that might be difficult for other members of the band to deal with, and it would be a miracle if there were not some sort of friction from time to time. Coliin has always seemed like "the quiet Porcupine", but you and I are not privy to the internal machinations of the band.

 

Are you trying to drain my Bank Account?
Not sure SW would have the time to work on Music from Prince's Vault though, unless just on a few projects of the better unreleased music found. We do need more Live Shows from Bowie and Prince though.

 

Also a falling-out with Minnemann, who I suspect wanted to be a financial partner in the project.

 

For sure. I have accepted that PT is over, and I love most of what he has done in his solo career, so I am a happy SW fan. Doesn't mean I can't miss certain aspects of what the other PT members brought to the table, though, ya know?

 

He said he’s not playing seated shows any more after this tour. I love SW but I’m 57 with flat feet and standing for 3 hours is not something I really want to do so I’d have to think about it.

 

What an odd thing for Wilson to say. Who cares if your audience are seated or on their feet? He should be thankful that they’re there paying money to see him.

 

Can you please link an interview where he said this about his future tours?

 

I, too, would like to see where he said this, because it’s a bizarre thing to say.

 

He said it live at both shows I attended this year.

He's also always said that he prefers standing room shows. I feel like he's mentioned something about it every time I've seen him, dating back to the PT days.