But it's not the volume of his accomplishments that is remarkable; if anything, Wilson has simplified his life in recent years by focusing on just these two things (as if that's not enough). What's most extraordinary has been the continued, increasing success of his solo career. That The Raven has become not just the biggest selling album since he's gone solo but the biggest selling album of his entire career is almost paradoxical to its old school, hardcore progressive rock nature.
"I was as surprised as anyone that The Raven did as well as it did. That was a willfully uncommercial move. It had absolutely nothing on it that was even remotely acceptable to the mainstream, and yet it's become the most successful album of my whole career; it's the best-selling record I've ever done. It's extraordinary. And what that tells me is: the more self-indulgent and willful I am, the more likely the album is to appeal," says Wilson, chuckling. "It almost gives me license to keep doing my thing. Not that I'm capable of anything else, but it's still nice that it can have some appeal beyond just the hardcore fans.
"I could never have contrived or predicted that this would be the case," Wilson continues. "And remarkably, it's still selling. It's the only album I've ever done in my whole career that has not tailed off. Usually, you make record, you sell well in the first couple of weeks and then sales nosedive. This is the one exception, so far, in my career. This record has kept on selling. I know there's the word-of-mouth thing which, of course, helps keep it going...and the live shows."
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