Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
It's gonna be a few more days, but I promise I will get to this. 
Steven Wilson n00bvivor Results: The hiss of the train at the railway head
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
This is definitely a big departure from peak Porcupine Tree. Most of the songs blend together to me and nothing really stands out or seems to be all that memorable.
3 votes just isn't enough here, but I ended up voting for Abandoner, Veneno, and Get All You Deserve.
3 votes just isn't enough here, but I ended up voting for Abandoner, Veneno, and Get All You Deserve.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Abandoner + Twilight x2
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
The first song is pretty decent, but everything else is just bleh.
I'm also voting for Abandoner and the Twilights.
I'm also voting for Abandoner and the Twilights.
JudasMyGuide
Ancient Mariner
Oh man, this is torture. Abandoner and the Twilights are probably the worst, but this whole album is just Alice down the Arsehole. I just now put on the bonus disc and the very first song is even worse, if you could believe that.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Significant Other + Only Child
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
Salvaging & Only Child
Promoted
Harmony Korine
Significant Other
Insurgentes
The Incident
The final Porcupine Tree album. Steven Wilson came up with the idea for The Incident while in a traffic jam and seeing a sign reading “POLICE - INCIDENT”. Wilson decided to write about various incidents reported on the news, but with an emphasis on the human element that he found was often missing in media coverage. When Wilson presented the piece to the band, it was a 35 minute “song cycle” that featured short interconnected sections. However, as the band began developing the sections, the piece suddenly grew to nearly an hour in length. There were also other songs the band were working on. It became apparent that Porcupine Tree would be producing their first double album.
The first disc is entirely occupied by the title suite: The Incident. Weighing in at a whopping 55 minutes and 14 individual parts, it is a textbook Prog Rock epic. Starting out as a song cycle, there are parts that stand as their own songs mixed with pieces that are clearly meant to tie the entire thing together. Within the song is a mini epic: the 11 minute Time Flies.
The second disc is lighter on the Prog Rock pomp. At only 4 songs and 20 minutes, it showcases the band’s more song oriented side. Flicker and Black Dahlia take the mellower route, while things get heavy with Remember Me Lover and Bonnie the Cat. These songs serve as a nice “cool down” after the dense first disc.
Previously, the bulk of the material on a Porcupine Tree album was credited to Steven Wilson. On The Incident, several songs are credited to the entire band. The Incident itself is credited to the band, although the individual parts have more specific credits. The majority of the parts are entirely credited to Wilson, but Octane Twisted and Circle of Manias is credited to Porcupine Tree. On the second disc, only the closing track, Remember Me Lover, is credited to Wilson. It says a lot about how far along the band had developed since its inception as an “imaginary band”. Not only had Porcupine Tree become a real band, but it was becoming a more collaborative effort with each album.
Which brings us to the end of the band. It’s no secret that Steven Wilson is something of a control freak. He tends to have a heavy amount of influence on whatever project he appears on and even his side projects seem to mostly represent his vision more than anything else. As Porcupine Tree became increasingly collaborative, Wilson was forced to compromise more often. Meanwhile, with Insurgentes, he was given a taste of what it was like to be in complete control of his projects. Porcupine Tree was also beginning to establish a signature sound that Wilson would have a hard time altering. After The Incident, Wilson began to enjoy more success with solo projects and his solo career quickly turned into his main focus. Wilson went from stating that the band were on hiatus to demoting them to the status of “side project” to finally claiming that the band no longer exists.
If I include The Incident as separate parts, it will drag out this game even more. Also in the past we’ve included suites like Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence in survivors as single songs, so it makes sense to follow that tradition.
Harmony Korine
Significant Other
Insurgentes
The Incident
The final Porcupine Tree album. Steven Wilson came up with the idea for The Incident while in a traffic jam and seeing a sign reading “POLICE - INCIDENT”. Wilson decided to write about various incidents reported on the news, but with an emphasis on the human element that he found was often missing in media coverage. When Wilson presented the piece to the band, it was a 35 minute “song cycle” that featured short interconnected sections. However, as the band began developing the sections, the piece suddenly grew to nearly an hour in length. There were also other songs the band were working on. It became apparent that Porcupine Tree would be producing their first double album.
The first disc is entirely occupied by the title suite: The Incident. Weighing in at a whopping 55 minutes and 14 individual parts, it is a textbook Prog Rock epic. Starting out as a song cycle, there are parts that stand as their own songs mixed with pieces that are clearly meant to tie the entire thing together. Within the song is a mini epic: the 11 minute Time Flies.
The second disc is lighter on the Prog Rock pomp. At only 4 songs and 20 minutes, it showcases the band’s more song oriented side. Flicker and Black Dahlia take the mellower route, while things get heavy with Remember Me Lover and Bonnie the Cat. These songs serve as a nice “cool down” after the dense first disc.
Previously, the bulk of the material on a Porcupine Tree album was credited to Steven Wilson. On The Incident, several songs are credited to the entire band. The Incident itself is credited to the band, although the individual parts have more specific credits. The majority of the parts are entirely credited to Wilson, but Octane Twisted and Circle of Manias is credited to Porcupine Tree. On the second disc, only the closing track, Remember Me Lover, is credited to Wilson. It says a lot about how far along the band had developed since its inception as an “imaginary band”. Not only had Porcupine Tree become a real band, but it was becoming a more collaborative effort with each album.
Which brings us to the end of the band. It’s no secret that Steven Wilson is something of a control freak. He tends to have a heavy amount of influence on whatever project he appears on and even his side projects seem to mostly represent his vision more than anything else. As Porcupine Tree became increasingly collaborative, Wilson was forced to compromise more often. Meanwhile, with Insurgentes, he was given a taste of what it was like to be in complete control of his projects. Porcupine Tree was also beginning to establish a signature sound that Wilson would have a hard time altering. After The Incident, Wilson began to enjoy more success with solo projects and his solo career quickly turned into his main focus. Wilson went from stating that the band were on hiatus to demoting them to the status of “side project” to finally claiming that the band no longer exists.
If I include The Incident as separate parts, it will drag out this game even more. Also in the past we’ve included suites like Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence in survivors as single songs, so it makes sense to follow that tradition.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Alright, so just to be clear: tracks 1-14 are all "The Incident"?
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Alright, honestly: this is just silly.
The first disc of this album is ABSOLUTELY KILLER. Can't we just pass it along to the next round?
Nothing on Disc 2 is great, or even very good. It's not bad, but it's not worthy comparing it to the first disc in any way.
The first disc of this album is ABSOLUTELY KILLER. Can't we just pass it along to the next round?
Nothing on Disc 2 is great, or even very good. It's not bad, but it's not worthy comparing it to the first disc in any way.
It does seem to be the least popular of their "Golden Era" albums. I also hear more similarities to Stevie's solo work than the last few PT albums. It's much less heavy.
And yea the 2nd disc is mostly filler. Should've just been the first disc.
And yea the 2nd disc is mostly filler. Should've just been the first disc.
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
It can be kind of hard to judge a super long, multi-track piece of music such as The Incident as a single song. Much like 6DOIT, there are some great parts, and some parts that aren't so great and really wouldn't hold up on their own and out of context.
That said, as a whole the good far outweighs the bad. Time Flies is outstanding, and is enough by itself to make it worth listening to the entire 55 minutes. The Blind House is also really good.
Flicker is pretty solid from the second disc, but nothing there is all that memorable.
That said, as a whole the good far outweighs the bad. Time Flies is outstanding, and is enough by itself to make it worth listening to the entire 55 minutes. The Blind House is also really good.
Flicker is pretty solid from the second disc, but nothing there is all that memorable.
Promoted
The Incident
Flicker
Remember Me Lover
Grace For Drowning
Just months after the release of The Incident, Steven Wilson got started on his second solo album. Wilson was keeping busy during this time, working on various side projects outside of Porcupine Tree and he was also being hired to remix classic prog albums from bands such as King Crimson. As mentioned earlier, Porcupine Tree were eventually put on hiatus and Steven Wilson was now free to explore all of these side projects.
Grace For Drowning is a double album, although it’s only a few minutes over the typical length of a CD. The two discs are split into two parts: Deform To Form a Star and Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye. It’s unclear to me how the songs on their respective disc are connected, but, like most of what Steven Wilson does, there’s a clear thought to the sequencing of the tracks. It's also reminiscent of the way On the Sunday Of Life is divided.
Insurgentes was mostly a true Steven Wilson solo album in that it mostly featured himself with just a few guest musicians. Grace For Drowning still heavily features Wilson, but with a lot more musical support. Wilson took influence from Lizard by King Crimson. When Robert Fripp made Lizard, King Crimson’s original lineup had disintegrated. Instead of replacing the former members with clones, Fripp took an unconventional route and hired Jazz musicians. Steven Wilson decided to do the same for his album to really play up the Jazz influence. In addition to the Jazz musicians, Wilson brought in some high profile faces from the Prog Rock world. Jordan Rudess returns for a few tracks as well as Trey Gunn from King Crimson, Steve Hackett from Genesis, and Tony Levin who has worked with a slew of artists from Peter Gabriel to Alice Cooper to Lou Reed. The lineup varies with each track.
Wilson wanted the album to be an homage to the sound of the 60’s and 70s, what he considers the “golden age” of music. It’s a very eclectic set of music that furthers the experimental style of Insurgentes, but with a slightly more accessible style. There’s the prog rock Wilson is known for, but there’s also choral music and jazz tinged material. There’s also a 20 minute epic A lot of the album is made up of material that you wouldn’t find on a Porcupine Tree album, but the prog metal influences found in later PT are present here. It’s an experimental album for sure, but feels like a progression from what SW was doing with his former main project.
Steven Wilson made a remark once about Grace For Drowning being part of a trilogy that also included Storm Corrosion (a collaboration with Mikael from Opeth) and Heritage by Opeth. The albums aren’t all that similar, other than being inspired by 60s and 70s music. I think it’s more that both artists’ experimentation on their separate albums led to Storm Corrosion.
Grace For Drowning marks the beginning of a new era for Steven Wilson. While Porcupine Tree never officially ended, it’s clear that this is a new direction for him that he remains on to this day. It hasn’t yet become a focused direction, but it leads to what many consider to be yet another golden age for the musician. We’re now in the home stretch of the Steven Wilson n00bvivor!
The Incident
Flicker
Remember Me Lover
Grace For Drowning
Just months after the release of The Incident, Steven Wilson got started on his second solo album. Wilson was keeping busy during this time, working on various side projects outside of Porcupine Tree and he was also being hired to remix classic prog albums from bands such as King Crimson. As mentioned earlier, Porcupine Tree were eventually put on hiatus and Steven Wilson was now free to explore all of these side projects.
Grace For Drowning is a double album, although it’s only a few minutes over the typical length of a CD. The two discs are split into two parts: Deform To Form a Star and Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eye. It’s unclear to me how the songs on their respective disc are connected, but, like most of what Steven Wilson does, there’s a clear thought to the sequencing of the tracks. It's also reminiscent of the way On the Sunday Of Life is divided.
Insurgentes was mostly a true Steven Wilson solo album in that it mostly featured himself with just a few guest musicians. Grace For Drowning still heavily features Wilson, but with a lot more musical support. Wilson took influence from Lizard by King Crimson. When Robert Fripp made Lizard, King Crimson’s original lineup had disintegrated. Instead of replacing the former members with clones, Fripp took an unconventional route and hired Jazz musicians. Steven Wilson decided to do the same for his album to really play up the Jazz influence. In addition to the Jazz musicians, Wilson brought in some high profile faces from the Prog Rock world. Jordan Rudess returns for a few tracks as well as Trey Gunn from King Crimson, Steve Hackett from Genesis, and Tony Levin who has worked with a slew of artists from Peter Gabriel to Alice Cooper to Lou Reed. The lineup varies with each track.
Wilson wanted the album to be an homage to the sound of the 60’s and 70s, what he considers the “golden age” of music. It’s a very eclectic set of music that furthers the experimental style of Insurgentes, but with a slightly more accessible style. There’s the prog rock Wilson is known for, but there’s also choral music and jazz tinged material. There’s also a 20 minute epic A lot of the album is made up of material that you wouldn’t find on a Porcupine Tree album, but the prog metal influences found in later PT are present here. It’s an experimental album for sure, but feels like a progression from what SW was doing with his former main project.
Steven Wilson made a remark once about Grace For Drowning being part of a trilogy that also included Storm Corrosion (a collaboration with Mikael from Opeth) and Heritage by Opeth. The albums aren’t all that similar, other than being inspired by 60s and 70s music. I think it’s more that both artists’ experimentation on their separate albums led to Storm Corrosion.
Grace For Drowning marks the beginning of a new era for Steven Wilson. While Porcupine Tree never officially ended, it’s clear that this is a new direction for him that he remains on to this day. It hasn’t yet become a focused direction, but it leads to what many consider to be yet another golden age for the musician. We’re now in the home stretch of the Steven Wilson n00bvivor!
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
I will say that this album is better than Insurgentes, but I'm not loving it. I'm not sure why it had to be a double album, as it would absolute benefit from having at least 2-3 songs cut to bring the album to a reasonable length.
Deform to Form a Star is the biggest highlight, and genuinely really good. I can't say that I was overly impressed with any of the other songs, though.
Voting for the songs < 3 minutes in length.
Deform to Form a Star is the biggest highlight, and genuinely really good. I can't say that I was overly impressed with any of the other songs, though.
Voting for the songs < 3 minutes in length.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Still haven't heard it all aside from those released live bits on Drive Home, etc
Are we doing all the solo stuff or are we stopping here? Storm Corrosion is great and I hope we do it next.
Are we doing all the solo stuff or are we stopping here? Storm Corrosion is great and I hope we do it next.