Steven Wilson. Voyage of discovery

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by David B, Sep 12, 2021.

  1. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
  2. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Steven Wilson is to neo-prog what Radiohead is to IDM. Bringing it to the masses.
     
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  3. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    You should really listen to his podcast with Tim Bowness - The Album Years. Amazing knowledge about such obscure bands from the both of them.
     
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  4. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    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
     
  5. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    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.
     
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  6. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    On Metacritic, HCE is his highest rating at 89/100. No other album hits that high with critics.
     
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  7. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    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.
     
  8. The Curator

    The Curator Forum Resident

    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.
     
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  9. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    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.
     
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  10. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    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.
     
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  11. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    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.
     
  12. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Give this a listen. It doesn't sound like anything on Anesthetize to me.

     
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  13. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Sounds good but I prefer the song oriented material.
     
  14. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    That's fine, but to say their stuff all sounds samey is just not true.
     
  15. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Ok, you win! That Moonloop piece sounds like Pink Floyd. At least some of it. I didn't listen to the entire 40 minutes.
     
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  16. Digital Ghost

    Digital Ghost My dog won't bite if you sit real still

    Location:
    UK
    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.
     
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  17. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    Who does this one sound like?

     
  18. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    One more. The three songs I posted don't sound alike, or like anything on Anesthetize, to me.

     
  19. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    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.
     
  20. pmckeeaalaska

    pmckeeaalaska Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anchorage, Alaska
    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!
     
  21. StarThrower62

    StarThrower62 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Sounds like Dire Straits on helium.
     
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  22. VinylRichieUK

    VinylRichieUK Forum Resident

    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.
     
  23. The Bishop

    The Bishop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dorset, England.
    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.
     
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  24. uffeolby

    uffeolby Senior Member

    Location:
    Västerås, Sweden
    Have a good journey! I envy you for having so much excellent music to discover for the first time.
     
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  25. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    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.
     
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