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

Don't know about no one but it would absolutely stop me.Some of my all time favourites who come through town have played standing venues-Jeff Tweedy and Jason Isbell in recent years-and I have had no problem passing.

 

As an audio engineer, I keep my custom plugs on me at all times. I have never been to a single rock/pop concert where some level of ear protection wasn't necessary to avoid hearing damage. Chances are, you should wear them whether you think you need them or not.

 

This!

 

Okay. Earplugs was the wrong word. They put yellow chewinggum in their ears.
But that wasn't the point.

 

Yes, I realise that your point was that they were in a privileged position and were bored. I just wanted to establish that wearing ear protection is not a marker of someone who can't appreciate the music.

 

Not to mention he writes all the "drum section" parts for the three guys on kit. He's a master technician and wonderful percussion conceptualist, IMO.

 

Gavin Harrison is probably the best drummer on the planet since around 2005. Pineapple Thief literally had to use this guy since whoever they used for drumming was not up to snuff. He's so legendary that he makes Marco Minnemann and Craig Blundell look amateurish. I'd love to see a drum clinic with Harrison & Selway(Radiohead).

I never heard of a drummer talking about 'architecture' of percussion until Harrison. The guy is a genius!

 

I have always liked that one.

 

I like the way in the middle bottom frame he keeps wiping the dust off his cymbal with his hand. Why doesn't he just give it a good wipe with a damp cloth and be done with it?

 

Cymbal song is very cool, even more so if you listen to it in surround!

 

Gavin Harrison the best drummer on the planet?



☺

 

I have nothing to add to this.

 

I like the songs AFTER Permanating. Basically the album is like 2 halves. First half = pop, 2nd half = prog. Prefer the 'prog' side.

 

I don't agree with this.

To me, the two most proggy songs on this are Refuge and Detonation...one in the first half and one in the second half.

Both halves have a rocker that could have fit on an 00's PT album: The Same Asylum As Before and People Who Eat Darkness.

Both halves have a ballad-esque song where SW shares the lead vocal with a female guest singer: Pariah and Song of I.

It's a very well-rounded record.

 

I'd honestly like to figure out how any of To The Bone is considered pop. Obviously, Permanating is a pop-inspired track, but that's as far as the pop goes for me. Sure, it's not hardcore prog or anything, but people speak as if it's a Lady Gaga record or something. It's purely SW through and through. Maybe more upbeat at times than his previous works, and thank goodness for that.

 

I dug it when it came out, but unlike most of the PT catalog and some of his other solo stuff, this one didn't have much staying power with me.

 

Isn't the piano part just total cliche city? It's like Journey.

 

In some ways, is this an album that was hurt by its own press? There are some great tracks on here. "Song of I" is phenomenal, as is "Pariah." "Permanating" is nice, but it feels like a chorus in search of a song rather than a fully fleshed out idea - and yet it was the single and the key focus of the "direction" of the album in its pre-release promo material. The video is cool though - fun and visually appealing - so it's not a total wash.

Maybe it's just me, but the press gave the impression that SW was trying to make a pop album. He's done it before and seemingly effortlessly. This is the first time there were moments that it seemed contrived to be moving into a pop direction, and I say that as a big fan of early No-Man.

 

I wish there was more skeletal funk like "Song of I".

"Permanating" is a skipper for me... not an awful track... but summed up perfectly by Runicen that it doesn't feel complete.

 

If the album was a victim of its own press, then part of the blame has to be laid at the feet of SW himself. No fewer than four of the songs were uploaded to the internet prior to the album’s release. That’s not so much a preview, as a listening party. Many fans found some of those songs not to their liking and pre-judged the album on those; some other people liked those songs but found the rest of the album a let-down. To borrow from a review I read some years ago of a TV special, he “uncorked so many previews of this frothy entertainment that he allowed the mixture to go flat.”
On the other hand the album did get to no. 3 one the UK album charts and has been by far his biggest seller, so if you look from a commercial perspective you would have to say the album was not “hurt” at all by its own press.

 

Agreed. Catchy melodies/songs have been a staple of SW's work since the late 90's.

SW was promoting the most accessible songs from the record; I don't see the issue with that. It's not his fault that some fans (generally speaking, not referring to you or anyone here) want nothing but prog and flip out over anything that slightly resembles *gasp" a pop song.

 

I do not get why people are still critical of this Album, as I love it even more today than I did last August/September(and yes that includes the 'Pop' Song 'Permanating'). I love 'To the Bone' so much that I might plan to see him again in the 2nd Leg of the Tour in Philly or Baltimore, but the Standing Only Venue, has me not sure yet, dealing with Damaged Nerve Pain in my Right Leg, but I had to stand for the entire Radiohead Concert in Philly, despite being in a Seated Section, so can tough it out, but more of an issue for me is not like being crowded for Personal Space that might be the issue at a Standing Only Venue(I am getting an MRI to find out if I have Claustrophobia).

I think 'To The Bone' is SW best Collection of Songs on an Album, since 'Signify'(and maybe 'Stupid Dream'), not including 'Hand Cannot Erase' that I consider a Concept Album, but is also one of his Best Albums(a little Proggy, but not too Proggy like 'The Raven Who Refused to Sing' which is an album I need to be in the mood for to listen to once in awhile, outside of the 'Drive Home' Ballad that is in my Top 3 All Time SW Songs, including from his PT Catalog).

There is such a great diversity of Songs on 'To the Bone', that I prefer the Album over the constant Heavy/Hard/Metal Sound of the 2000-2009 PT Albums, with the exception of 'Fear of a Blank Planet' which I think was his Masterpiece of that Hard Rock Era of his PT Catalog.

I hope for his next Album though, he really does write Songs that sound like are influenced by Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush, as did not pick up that comparison he mentioned for 'To The Bone' with the exception of 'Pariah' that I assume was SW/NT doing their PG/KB Style of Ballad. Also, maybe he can do a FUNK Album, since he mentioned being a Prince Fan(even MUSE made a Great 'Prince Like' FUNK Song with 'Supermassive Black Holes'), but maybe even do his version of P-FUNK(SW-FUNK? PT-FUNK?). Also, he has worked with Andy Partridge(who contributed on at least one Song on 'To The Bone'), so wonder what other 1980s Music Artists, he might like to look to for inspiration, as I do not need any more 1970s Prog-Rock from SW, although, since it has been awhile, would not mind one more Atmospheric/Space-Rock Album from SW(actually would settle for a Blu-Ray Concert from his Delerium Years like the Live Album, 'Coma Devine', but to have a Video for a Tour Stop(after all he already provided 2 Video Concerts from his mid 2000 Catalog of Hard/Heavy Rock).

Then, I hope in future Albums, SW looks at influences from the 1990s that he might have liked(was he a Fan of PULP, Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Spiritualized, Radiohead, Mansun, James, The Chemical Brothers, Mogwai?), while he was making his early Albums based on Atmospheric Pink Floyd in several of his Songs, which were my favorite PT Songs, but just wonder, if SW also has Music ideas that might have some influence?

I am Stoked for what SW will be providing to us Fans in the next 10-20 Years.

 

I’ve found the album to be a grower. It rewards with multiple listens over time. It also benefits greatly from seeing the songs performed live. I think it’s a great, well rounded and very listenable album. I was listening to Porcupine Tree last night. I have most of their catalog and like them, but find them very challenging to listen to. To The Bone is very easy to listen to and remember.