You should really listen to his podcast with Tim Bowness - The Album Years. Amazing knowledge about such obscure bands from the both of them.
Don't sleep on Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun. Solo - Hand.Cannot.Erase is superb Possibly the best thing he's done but Raven That Refused To Sing, 4 1/4, To The Bone and Future Bites are all very good
Looking at the PT discography, it's shocking to me that even In Absentia failed to chart in the UK. I guess even in 2002, it was out of step with the public. They only started charting with Deadwing, and each album subsequently did better with C/C peaking at No. 2. But if you ignore the questionable tastes of the public, everything from Signify on is golden. Even with 1995's The Sky Moves Sideways is a rewarding listen if you give it a try. Especially on the bonus tracks, Stars Die is amazing. Some of Wilson's most profound lyrics.
Same here. PT is kinda samey sounding. I have one good live CD/DVD set and one studio album which is enough. And I have those SW albums you listed as your favorites. He's not exactly innovative and he's not much of a distinctive vocalist, but he is a prolific songwriter who hires great players to create his albums and go on tour. I guess I'm sick of everything else I've listened to for decades so I'm consuming some of this stuff. I'm not sure how long it will last? His song arrangements are a bit formulaic so I may get tired of this music rather quickly.
I'd highly recommend the first two Blackfield albums. They've been described as like Tears For Fears crossed with Pink Floyd, which is quite a good thing.
Wow. Whatever other criticisms I might make of Porcupine Tree, I would never describe it as "samey sounding".What I admird about them was that, at least for the first ten studio albums, each one was a discovery in itself, not sounding similar to any of the others.
Completely agree. Up the Downstair sounds nothing like Sky Moves Sideways, which sounds nothing like Lightbulb Sun which sounds nothing like Fear of a Blank Planet. At all.
It should be obvious by the content of my post that my opinion is based on what I've listened to so far which is not ten albums. I just got the Anesthesize DVD and while I enjoy it, the music is samey sounding to my ears. Many of his songs have a quiet, sensitive verse and then the wall of guitars come in. But I'm not complaining. I enjoy the energy of the band and I like listening to great players including Gavin Harrison, among others. And the same for his solo stuff. I'm a fan of Adam Holzman, Marco, Guthrie, Nick Beggs, etc.
Ok, you win! That Moonloop piece sounds like Pink Floyd. At least some of it. I didn't listen to the entire 40 minutes.
I discovered him during lockdown, and it's been a real treat! I really enjoy "The Future Bites", and loved the consumerism campaign/marketing that went with it, I hope that won an award, it was genius.
I like the heaviest of the Porcupine Tree material and I LOVE "Insurgentes." After that though I've continued the discovery, nothing has really reached me as those have.
I loved everything SW had done until his last solo album, which I think is awful. Despite my best efforts, I can't find a single track on it that I like. On another note, his podcast The Album Years is a great show. The last episode was on 1983, and he went into great length talking about how much he loved Pink Floyd's The Final Cut. We think alike!
Slightly off topic, but I have the super deluxe box set of Steven Wilson's The Future Bites for sale if anyone is interested. It has a few issues but is still worth having in your collection, I would be selling it reasonably cheap.
Having proper streaming capabilities at last, I’ve decided now is the time for a deep dive into the world of Steven Wilson. I have some of his remixes which I really enjoy, but his own catalogue is so vast, where do you start? I’ve decided it’s with the solo years, so I’m kicking off with Insurgentes, which I am really enjoying: just my kind of music. I can see I have a happy and rewarding period ahead.I’m mainly getting Radiohead off of this one.
Insurgentes is probably as good a place to start as any. Just be aware that his output is rather diverse, so don't go expecting, say, an early Porcupine Tree album to sound similar to even a later PT album let alone a SW solo album. Also, if you're streaming via Spotify, not everrything may be available on that platform. For example, last time I looked, Spotify does not have Fear of a Blank Planet, which is my favourite PT album. I have no idea why that's missing.