As promised,
Part II
The book delves into the mid-point of the band’s career, with Stupid Dreams and Lightbulb Sun, and the marketing in Europe and North American to achieve commercial success. Despite more accessible music with shorter songs, widespread commercial success alluded the band. The book also explains the meaning of the lyrics with interesting backstories throughout the text.
The book highlights the growing professionalism of the band during SD and LS with Steven’s stage presence evolving. It’s noteworthy for PE readers that Nearfest gets a brief nod. There is a theme of the band increasing their profile among their core fan base and the importance of record labels, media and management to facilitate this shift.
Chris Maitland’s dismissal from the band was cited a “personal” in a press release but it did coincide with Porcupine Tree signing with a major label. The book diplomatically discusses the conflict between the drummer and Stephen with source material cited to back up the statements.
The book highlights, throughout the text, how Chris and Steven have differing personalities – one an extrovert (Chris) and the other an introvert (Steven, of course). It is worth noting that Maitland continued to record with Steven with Blackfield after the split. I’d recommend buying the book to learn more details on the split.
There is a mini-biography on Gavin Harrison, from his earliest beginnings with drumming during his teen years and his family’s appreciation for jazz music, to his countless work with diverse acts, including Iggy Pope and Renaissance. It sounded like Gavin’s style was better suited to the progressive side of Porcupine Tree and his role evolved from session musician to a full time member of the band.
The book covers the final era of the band, with a harder-edged metallic influence, including citing several metal acts the band admired and listened to while touring. This came into fruition when the band recorded in NYC with In Absentia. This shift was no doubt aided by Gavin’s diverse musical talents and his technical prowess. Cleary, In Absentia was Porcupine Tree’s breakthrough album, with increased sales and positive mainstream press attention but again without widespread commercial success.
The book, as noted earlier, covers all the band’s studio albums and Deadwing is part of the storytelling. The book discusses the guest musicians on Deadwing, including Adrian Belew. The background story behind Deadwing is also covered. There is a theme in the book about an upward trajectory in terms of the popularity of Porcupine Tree, with increasing concert attendance, positive media reports and starting to chart in Europe and America.
Just an interesting aside, Steve Rothery from Marillion is good friends with Steven Wilson. Marillion’s name pops up on occasion throughout the book. I also didn’t know Porcupine Tree backed-up Yes on a tour.
Fear of a Blank Planet was road tested so the recording process was must swifter. The inclusion of Lifeson and Fripp reflects the growing profile of the band. Alex was contacted after complimenting Steven in the press and Robert Fripp had an existing relationship. The themes of youth alienation and ubiquitous technology permeate the theme of FoaBP. This theme also mirrors a growing fan base among youth and was the best-selling album to date, thereby increasing the band’s profile. Both lyrics and album artwork were seamlessly intertwined with the subject of youth alienation. The author continues to write on recurring themes, record promotion, positive press coverage, more extensive world touring, the use of film and imagery, and the resulting growing fan base
The Incident coincided with the band’s new and substantial concert attendance into the thousands and an appearance of Royal Albert Hall in London and sold out shows at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. Another theme of the book in a recurring manner is the picture of Steven as the architect who allows for ensemble input into the final version of the music in fair open manner. The author continues to highlight the themes of the lyrics to the music, including critiques of organized religion and alienation. The lyrics reflect Wilson’s life experiences from childhood to adulthood. Wilson continues to present the music with video and artistic imagery. The theme of the ever expanding fan base is presented by the author who noted The Incident charted in a significant ways in both the UK and the USA.
I have ten pages left to finish the book but I’ll leave the review here and encourage everyone to buy the book. It’s an excellent and in-depth summary of the band’s achievements with an impressive array of source materials and quotes to back up the author’s central themes.
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Originally Posted by mozo-pg
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