Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Haapy Returns
Plague
Sunday Rain
Plague
Sunday Rain
Steven Wilson n00bvivor Results: The hiss of the train at the railway head
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
Wow, Netflix is making a movie about Steven Wilson:
Will Forte is a good choice for Stevie, wonder who will play Mikael Åkerfeldt
Will Forte is a good choice for Stevie, wonder who will play Mikael Åkerfeldt
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
Home Invasion + Ancestral
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Three Years Older + Routine
Eliminated
Home Invasion
Ancestral
Promoted
Three Years Older
Hand Cannot Erase
Routine
To The Bone
We’ve finally reached the end of the discography! The final album, and Steven Wilson’s fifth solo album, was actually released in August 2017. So there’s at least one benefit to the delays.
While this album was meant to be a continuation of the previous solo albums, things took a bit of a twist when Wilson’s solo band had a large personnel change. The Aristocats, a side project featuring Guthrie Govan and Marco Minnemann, had a scheduling conflict with Wilson’s tour that led to the two musicians involved being replaced. Minnemann also posted a rant on facebook that suggested the musicians had a falling out. Possibly for this reason, To the Bone shows Wilson going back to his older style of using different musicians on a solo album depending on the song. While Nick Beggs and Adam Holzmann are still involved from the previous albums’ lineup, other bassists and keyboard players were also brought in (Beggs only appears on one song, while Wilson plays most of the bass on the album). Wilson uses other guitarists, but most of the guitar is also handled by him instead. It seems that Wilson was consciously moving away from establishing this solo outfit as another band like Porcupine Tree, but more a group of session musicians who are used when needed. Conversely, vocalist Ninet Tayeb’s role has increased on this album. She appears on 6 of the 11 tracks and sings lead on three of them.
The album also features a decisive move away from retro sounding prog rock in favor of a much more commercial sound. The album was heavily inspired by 80s pop such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Tears For Fears. The album has been characterized as “progressive pop.” The songs are, for the most part, shorter and feature lots of keyboards and electronic sounds. It’s not a concept album, but many of the songs are thematically linked with references to modern technology and general commentary on the internet age. It’s not exactly new lyrical territory for Wilson, but it fits the music.
The album so far seems to be a success, although it has once again divided fans. Those who like the more hard prog side of Wilson have voiced disappointment, while those who enjoy the more commercial direction of his recent output are satisfied. Mixed reviews aside, it seems that Wilson is becoming increasingly recognized and successful with each album. He has managed to reach a wide audience that is unheard of for a prog artist, while still having complete creative control over his music. The album has sold very well and, while it didn’t chart as high as Hand Cannot Erase, it still managed to crack the top 100 in the US.
To the Bone is an appropriate place for this survivor to end because it seems to be the end of an era for Steven Wilson. He has mentioned that following the release of the album, he may decide to move on to other things. He has expressed interest in film scoring and possibly even writing a film. He also has several other musical projects that were not explored in this Survivor. Just this year, a video game was made based on Drive Home, called Last Day of June, which also featured new music composed by Wilson. It’s hard to say what’s next for him; he is scheduled to tour through most of 2018 and then at that point your guess is as good as mine. I expect him to take a break from his solo outfit, maybe further pursue soundtracks or a larger collaboration with Ninet.
While the survivor still has some time to go, the discography portion has finished and we’re now up to speed with Wilson’s main discography. Thanks to everyone who stuck with it so far. Hopefully at the very least they provided some context into one of Prog’s most highly regarded musicians today, even if it didn’t necessarily make you a fan. And for those who were already familiar with his work, I hope maybe it helped you rediscover a couple hidden gems. Personally, I went into this only really being familiar with In Absentia and Hand Cannot Erase. I’ll say more about my overall opinion at the end of the game, but I am glad I got to finally go through his entire discography. I can see how he got so popular, but at the same time I’m not sure if I see him as the genius that he is so frequently regarded as.
Home Invasion
Ancestral
Promoted
Three Years Older
Hand Cannot Erase
Routine
To The Bone
We’ve finally reached the end of the discography! The final album, and Steven Wilson’s fifth solo album, was actually released in August 2017. So there’s at least one benefit to the delays.
While this album was meant to be a continuation of the previous solo albums, things took a bit of a twist when Wilson’s solo band had a large personnel change. The Aristocats, a side project featuring Guthrie Govan and Marco Minnemann, had a scheduling conflict with Wilson’s tour that led to the two musicians involved being replaced. Minnemann also posted a rant on facebook that suggested the musicians had a falling out. Possibly for this reason, To the Bone shows Wilson going back to his older style of using different musicians on a solo album depending on the song. While Nick Beggs and Adam Holzmann are still involved from the previous albums’ lineup, other bassists and keyboard players were also brought in (Beggs only appears on one song, while Wilson plays most of the bass on the album). Wilson uses other guitarists, but most of the guitar is also handled by him instead. It seems that Wilson was consciously moving away from establishing this solo outfit as another band like Porcupine Tree, but more a group of session musicians who are used when needed. Conversely, vocalist Ninet Tayeb’s role has increased on this album. She appears on 6 of the 11 tracks and sings lead on three of them.
The album also features a decisive move away from retro sounding prog rock in favor of a much more commercial sound. The album was heavily inspired by 80s pop such as Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, and Tears For Fears. The album has been characterized as “progressive pop.” The songs are, for the most part, shorter and feature lots of keyboards and electronic sounds. It’s not a concept album, but many of the songs are thematically linked with references to modern technology and general commentary on the internet age. It’s not exactly new lyrical territory for Wilson, but it fits the music.
The album so far seems to be a success, although it has once again divided fans. Those who like the more hard prog side of Wilson have voiced disappointment, while those who enjoy the more commercial direction of his recent output are satisfied. Mixed reviews aside, it seems that Wilson is becoming increasingly recognized and successful with each album. He has managed to reach a wide audience that is unheard of for a prog artist, while still having complete creative control over his music. The album has sold very well and, while it didn’t chart as high as Hand Cannot Erase, it still managed to crack the top 100 in the US.
To the Bone is an appropriate place for this survivor to end because it seems to be the end of an era for Steven Wilson. He has mentioned that following the release of the album, he may decide to move on to other things. He has expressed interest in film scoring and possibly even writing a film. He also has several other musical projects that were not explored in this Survivor. Just this year, a video game was made based on Drive Home, called Last Day of June, which also featured new music composed by Wilson. It’s hard to say what’s next for him; he is scheduled to tour through most of 2018 and then at that point your guess is as good as mine. I expect him to take a break from his solo outfit, maybe further pursue soundtracks or a larger collaboration with Ninet.
While the survivor still has some time to go, the discography portion has finished and we’re now up to speed with Wilson’s main discography. Thanks to everyone who stuck with it so far. Hopefully at the very least they provided some context into one of Prog’s most highly regarded musicians today, even if it didn’t necessarily make you a fan. And for those who were already familiar with his work, I hope maybe it helped you rediscover a couple hidden gems. Personally, I went into this only really being familiar with In Absentia and Hand Cannot Erase. I’ll say more about my overall opinion at the end of the game, but I am glad I got to finally go through his entire discography. I can see how he got so popular, but at the same time I’m not sure if I see him as the genius that he is so frequently regarded as.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Ive heard it and nothing has stuck with me. Maybe Ill give it a Relisten and focus on Ninet which should be easy enough
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Man, I've listened to this three times already and the entire second half of the album is unmemorable. Definite downturn in the discography.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Can’t wait to get onto round 2.
I liked Detonation a lot, other than that I agree this didn't really hold my interest. Some nice ideas here and there but a bit generic and slightly contrived. I feel like Steven Wilson almost tries too hard to elevate himself above the "prog" tag. It's certainly admirable on some level, but after listening to all of his albums I'm not sure if he's really all that versatile.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I completely agree. I think he's a great producer, but he's not versatile as a songwriter.
I definitely like him as a producer, love what he’s done with all the classic prog albums he’s worked on. That said, I still don’t understand why some people think he’d be a good choice to produce bands like Maiden or Dream Theater.
I would say an artist who’s actually as versatile as SW is given credit for but with a much smaller audience is Devin Townsend (although even he has been overrated by a portion of his fan base). I’m not sure who is more prolific, but I’ve heard a much larger musical range from Devin. You really don’t know what you’re going to hear from him, whereas Steven Wilson has yet to truly surprise me.
I would say an artist who’s actually as versatile as SW is given credit for but with a much smaller audience is Devin Townsend (although even he has been overrated by a portion of his fan base). I’m not sure who is more prolific, but I’ve heard a much larger musical range from Devin. You really don’t know what you’re going to hear from him, whereas Steven Wilson has yet to truly surprise me.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I think Steven Wilson would be a terrible producer for Maiden or Dream Theater. He does not contain the bombast that either band needs to be full successful within their songwriting approach. I think he could produce the hell out of a Dream Theater ballad or potentially make a really interesting Bruce Dickinson record. Come to think of it, I'd love to hear what Steven Wilson would have done with something like The Astonishing, but only because that album is full of ballads and could have used SW's ear for sonic texture.
I've barely heard any Devin Townsend and I would still say he is both more prolific and more experimental than SW. I prefer SW's music, but he definitely has one thing that he does and does not stray too far from it.
I've barely heard any Devin Townsend and I would still say he is both more prolific and more experimental than SW. I prefer SW's music, but he definitely has one thing that he does and does not stray too far from it.
On top of that, both bands prefer a hands off producer and with SW you’re also getting another creative voice in the band. Maiden’s raw production style is also totally at odds with what SW does and I don’t think DT’s dense arrangements really lend themselves to a more spacious SW sound.
SW and Bruce would’ve been interesting actually, although I think the best mix would be In Absentia era Wilson and Skunkworks era Dickinson. Don’t think the two would bring much to each other at this point.
SW and Bruce would’ve been interesting actually, although I think the best mix would be In Absentia era Wilson and Skunkworks era Dickinson. Don’t think the two would bring much to each other at this point.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Skunkworks was actually the one I was thinking of when I said that!
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
This album is decent overall, but not nearly on the same level as Raven or Hand. Probably the biggest reason for that has to be what the latter two have and this one doesn't: Marco Minnemann. The drumming/drum sound here, especially on the second half of the album, really stands out in a negative way. It's more akin to something you'd hear in 80s pop music, although I'm sure SW was going that way on purpose.
Voting for tracks 6-10.
Voting for tracks 6-10.
Lampwick 43
Barstool Warrior
In non-survivor news, Is it worth it to see Steven Wilson live? I see he will be playing two nights in Chicago in May. I'm thinking about possibly going to one of them. Is anyone seeing him on this upcoming tour? If he were to play most/all of the new album live, and only his solo stuff, I'm not sure how interested I'd be; However if he were to play material spanning his entire career, including a decent selection of PT songs, I'd definitely be willing to see that. Does he even keep a static setlist, or is he one that constantly mixes it up from night to night? I honestly have no idea.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
He keeps a static setlist hedged towards his newest release.
I’m thinking about it myself. From what I’ve heard a couple PT albums are being remastered this year (including In Absentia, can’t remember the others) and the rumor is that there will be special focus on those in addition to the new stuff. Or he might’ve explicitly said so, again can’t remember.