It's probably his most overtly prog album, which doesn't seem to be the place he is now.Originally Posted by Sordel
Remember also that it was recorded mostly live in the studio with a lot of freedom given to the musicians so maybe he had less creative control over this one than he's used to having.
I wouldn't go quite that far (the best of the PT stuff - Sky Moves Sideways - Deadwing - for me remains the pinnacle of SW's career), but The Raven That Refused to Sing is by far and away the best of his solo albums, imho.
That said, I've quite warmed to To the Bone after initially being utterly indifferent. I'd put it above Insurgentes and the last two PT albums, but below the golden era of PT and SW's middle two solo albums. I'd certainly go and see the tour if I had the opportunity, but sadly that's not going to happen.
Damn! I guess he likes using that video. I find it a bit cloying and morose. Somehow the puppet-like animation in that and the Drive Home video, paired with the extreme pathos doesn't really work for me.
I still find most of To The Bone to be pretty damned prog. Watched the video for Refuge again the other day - that song kills, IMO. But it does seem to be sort of influenced by Anathema, so it IS prog in a different way than Raven was. There are a couple of songs that I don't love, but I do love the overall sound palette on the album, and that's what's most important to me, really.
April 19th for me. I'd see this band even without Steve Wilson. Not familiar with the new guitarist (just adequate?), but SW always seems to pick good ones. Would be nice to see more from The Raven on the setlist, but I'm a fan of Hand Cannot Erase and Porcupine Tree and look forward to hearing the To the Bone tracks done by a full band, since SW played a lot of the instruments himself on the album.
I chose the word adequate carefully: technically, he's capable of playing the music but I didn't feel that he added anything to the band. I'd be interested to hear other opinions.
Did you feel the prior guitarists did offer something? And if so, what?
I never heard Dave Kilminster. Niko I only know from Get All You Deserve, and he made a positive contribution as a textural performer, although I suspect SW didn't feel that this was what he needed a guitarist for. Guthrie understood harmony in a way that meant that he always had something to say when he soloed.
The first of the three Royal Albert Hall nights happened Tuesday and it was magnificent, sound and visuals were stunning. The setlist (https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steve...-63ef02af.html) was changed due to Ninet appearing. And there was a live debut for a new song. We even got Bollywood dancers when Permanating was played.
Tonight's show is billed as being considerably different, with a huge piece of HCE to be played and other back catalog songs. Thursday night show is being filmed and at least 1 former PT member will be making a guest appearance.
If anyone has been on the fence about going to these shows, just go, you won't be disappointed.
I enjoyed last nights SW show too although the sound wasn't that good where I was. I really enjoyed the debut of Song of Unborn, hoping for Routine tonight!
That’s Steven Wilson almost completed the UK leg of his current tour, and the night I saw him in Glasgow turned out to be one of these “so glad I was there to experience it” moments.
It’s easy to get a little jaded when you go to gigs regularly, but this one really immersed me from the opening film all the way through to the band taking their bow.
I realise that there are some who are feeling a bit jaded themselves at the seemingly endless praise for Wilson, and even though I am a fan, I totally understand why some folk might feel this way.
So my latest blog review is a very personal take on what I saw and felt at that show, and how it took me back to that initial excitement of hearing live music when I started going to gigs a lifetime ago.
I’ve tried to avoid a track by track breakdown (although the setlist is published at the very end of the blog post), so as not to spoil things for those of you still to see the show.
Hope my piece touches a chord with some of you, and enjoy the show if you’re going!
You can find the blog post here: https://momentstransition.wordpress....24-march-2018/
Months ago, I purchased a ticket to Wilson's 3rd night at the Royal Albert Hall when that show was added. Last week, I saw on the RAH website that there were a lot of second tier box seats available for the 2nd night show. I went ahead and bought one since Wilson had noted on his Facebook page that he'd be doing different sets each night.
Tonight's show is right up there with the best concerts that I've ever seen. The rapport that Wilson had with the audience was amazing. He started out with a mini unplugged set, 2 songs solo and 4 with Adam, including Trains and Postcard. He joked that he never imagined getting through 4 songs in the first 10 minutes of a concert. After a short break, the main event started. Mark Feltham did harmonica on To The Bone. Ninet came out and did Pariah. He then did a lot of HCE material, with Ninet accompanying him on a lot of the songs. David Kilminster guested on Home Invasion and Regret #9. The band was in amazing form this evening and the venue is rather magical. Because of curfew issues, he ended with Song of Unborn, which he apparently debuted on Tuesday evening. It was nice to hear it.
I look forward to tomorrow evening's show, which will be filmed for a bluray/DVD release.
Looks like a great setlist!
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/steve...-6bef7af6.html
"Henry Cow always wanted to push itself, so sometimes we would write music that we couldn't actually play – I found that very encouraging." - Lindsay Cooper, 1998
"I have nothing to do with Endless River. Phew! This is not rocket science people, get a grip." - Roger Waters, 2014
"I'm a collector. And I've always just seemed to collect personalities." - David Bowie, 1973
I had a ticket for last nights show but was sadly unable to go due to illness, sounds like a great set list though.
I do have to say however that I didn't enjoy Tuesday's show as much as the shows on his previous tours. It was partly due to the poor sound but also I felt that the vibe has changed somewhat, the show has a more 'lets rock tonite' mainstream feel. I have mixed feelings, rather than the emotional high that SW's shows at the RAH on the HCE tour gave me, I feel rather indifferent this time. The long lecture/justification speech for Permanating doesn't help, in fact it pisses me off, I suppose its all part of gaining greater commercial success. Therefore I'm not too broken up about missing the gig last night, I kind of feel like I've seen it all before anyway. Looking forward to the Blu ray and I hope everyone enjoys tonight's show.
Yes, I REALLY wish Wilson would get off his high horse about this - reminds me of Fripp's whining a few years back about the fact that whatever musical setting he worked in was always largely patronized by old King Crimson fans. Don't like it? Don't do it! Do NOT give regular, voluminous interviews to PROG magazine. Do NOT attend their awards night and accept their gongs. Do NOT spend a large part of your time re-mixing the back-catalogues of iconic prog bands from previous epochs. Do NOT spend your time relying on prog fans to buy your music. Above all, do NOT make music that, despite minor variations over the years, still sounds an awful lot like Pink bloody Floyd with a bit of Rush, hardcore metal, and 90s dance music mixed in for occasional variety. It's really not that difficult, is it??
I wasn't at his first night's show at RAH and I did have some trepidation after reading reviews of his earlier UK shows where he did manage to piss off people in the audience with his tone during discussions. Last night struck me as very different. There was a sense that he was winging it, partly due to the different set list and debuting a number of songs that he hadn't played live in a long time. Early in the show, he talked about his many melancholy, depressing songs, and some of his childhood experiences that led to this tone. He picked up on that theme again before Permanating, but his discussion didn't come across as condescending or annoying. He did request that we all stand for the song, but I wasn't pissed off by the pre-song discussion at all. I suspect that his discussion was rather different between the two nights. I really enjoyed his inter-song banter and discussions.
Completely agree.. Cracking show. Excellent rapport with the crowd. It really looked like he was having a ball up there.. The show went by in a flash.. felt like he could have easily played another hour. Great mix of songs. I personally welcomed the variety in mood across the setlist.
The speech before Permanating was the same in Paris and I read reports of a similar speech at other shows. I think he mostly says the same thing each night but it's people's perception of it that differs. I didn't find it patronizing.
I am looking forward to seeing this show.
I went in cold to the Raven show, not knowing what to expect.
Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
HCE was different. Not in a bad way.
This time I expect to be entertained.
It will probably be different than the last two times.
I doubt that I will be disappointed.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
Or is it?
In all seriousness, I think Wilson's feeling a need to justify "Permanating" is, er, justified. There are plenty of "prog fans" who scoff at songs like that, simply because it's "not prog". The same kind of people who look down their nose at bands like Abba because they made pop music -- never mind the fact that they were brilliant at it, and made some of the best of that kind IMO.
It may seem obvious to those of us who have a degree of variety to our musical taste, but some people do not share that view. So I don't begrudge Wilson for this.
It's it!
What is it?
Last edited by aith01; 03-29-2018 at 02:18 PM.
Does he just want people to stand for Permanating? That is a bit weird. Hopefully for the show in NYC he'll leave us alone since the I THINK the whole floor is standing. Maybe I'm wrong about that but that's sometimes the way it is at the venue. Then there's seating further back.
The big question. Is the pre-Permanating speech before he "gets on with it" long enough to go out and get a beer?
PERFECT! Can't wait for the 24th in Boston!
"That gum you like is going to come back in style."
What prog fans dancing would look like.
For the life of me, I do not recall the fourth person in that gif. Why is that man in Raph's apartment?
What prog fans dancing would look like.
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