Steven Wilson is back in the studio

[Progatron]

I have no problem accepting that people hate an album I loved, so I'm always amused by these, "I don't understand why this album gets bad reviews by people here".

I was probably unclear. I have no problem accepting it either (Hey, I've been a Rush fan for 35 years, I'm used to it). I just found it surprising in this particular case how many longtime fans seemed to really detest this one when it came out. There were cries of sellout, and to bubblegum pop music and the like, when to me it really didn't seem all that different from the albums that had gone before it (again, apart from one track), which they loved. That's mostly what I'm puzzled by - and hey, perhaps it really is as simple as just not finding the material as strong or interesting as you mention, but that's certainly not how most people presented their opinions when it came out.

I have, on rare occasions, changed my mind about an album after not liking it initially and trying it again months, or years, later.

I have done this too, and it even sometimes goes the other way: I realize I don't really like an album as much as I thought upon further listening. I still like this one though.

[Crawford Glissadevil]

I was (and continue to be) baffled by the negative reception to that album here. Apart from one three minute pop song, the whole thing sounded like Steven Wilson to me. People Who Eat Darkness, The Same Asylum As Before, Nowhere Now... these are great tracks IMO. I never found the album to be so different from his others that it doesn't fit in to his catalogue.

Count me as Baffled too. I liked To the Bone. My wife adores the Bone.

[noisynoise]

I think there were a lot of people pre-disposed to not like it based on the lead up to the album, with his preaching about 80's pop music (a lot which I love, Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, Level 42...). I just felt that much of the material was not strong, and I agree that it also didn't work well live, but it still sounded like SW music.

The only problem I find in SW is that he tries hard to convince the listeners that "he doesn't do the same thing twice," which is not a bad ethos to have, but he has signature elements that still show up in his work all the back from Sunday of Life, and he wears his influences on his sleeve. I happen to like (even love) most of his work across his career, but I don't think it's particularly groundbreaking music.

[Steve983]

I think there were a lot of people pre-disposed to not like it based on the lead up to the album, with his preaching about 80's pop music (a lot which I love, Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, Level 42...). I just felt that much of the material was not strong, and I agree that it also didn't work well live, but it still sounded like SW music.

The only problem I find in SW is that he tries hard to convince the listeners that "he doesn't do the same thing twice," which is not a bad ethos to have, but he has signature elements that still show up in his work all the back from Sunday of Life, and he wears his influences on his sleeve. I happen to like (even love) most of his work across his career, but I don't think it's particularly groundbreaking music.

Indeed, his waffle about trying to compare TTB to an 80's pop album is utter BS. Also the whole Permanating thing was hogwash too, it sticks out like a sore thumb and does not fit on the album. I still maintain it was done due to record company pressure. For me if Permanating and People Who Eat Darkness had been left out and How Big The Space (a quality pop orientated song) and A Door Marked Summer had been added in it would have been a much better album.

[kid_runningfox]

I liked To The Bone quite a lot, but it wasn't, for me, the 'return to smart 80s pop sensibilities' album that Wilson claimed it to be. More many of the same, familiar Wilsonisms with a few less interesting pop tunes tacked on. As such, it wasn't bad, but it was a very long way from the dizzy heights of The Raven That Refused to Sing, an album I still regard as the pinnacle of SW's career. No doubt he will invent some equally press-savvy shtick to shift units of his next album, mostly involving why his audience is wrong not to like it.

[Drake]

It’s mainly stadium rock.

[Sean]

The only problem I find in SW is that he tries hard to convince the listeners that "he doesn't do the same thing twice," which is not a bad ethos to have, but he has signature elements that still show up in his work all the back from Sunday of Life, and he wears his influences on his sleeve. I happen to like (even love) most of his work across his career, but I don't think it's particularly groundbreaking music.

This^^ It's enjoyable though....

[jkelman]

^^ Seems like To The Bone left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths, myself included. I'm also hoping he can recapture his mojo!

OTOH, based on sales and the success of his tour, I'd wager it's left a better taste in far more peoples' mouths than bad...

...I know it's not a popular sentiment (though I'm very happy for him, and loved the show I saw), but just sayin'...

[Steve983]

OTOH, based on sales and the success of his tour, I'd wager it's left a better taste in far more peoples' mouths than bad...

...I know it's not a popular sentiment (though I'm very happy for him, and loved the show I saw), but just sayin'...

Yes that does seem to be the case and if he has attracted more fans to his music who may also listen to his back catalogue then that can only be a good thing. SW has worked long and hard for his success and deserves all of it and more. I hope that having drawn more people in he will produce something a little more adventurous next time along the lines of HCE etc.

[Paulrus]

I hope that having drawn more people in he will produce something a little more adventurous next time along the lines of HCE etc.

It could be said that for some HCE was a first move toward the pop-friendly writing of TtB. For something more adventurous you'd need to go farther back like The Raven or Grace for Drowning.

IMO it's all Steven Wilson music -- shades of gray. I wouldn't say TtB was a complete pop sell-out, but the writing and arranging do seem more streamlined and devoid of complexity by design. It will be interesting to see what comes next. I wouldn't be surprised to see him dabbling deeper into electronic music after having spent time with the TD catalog, but whether it serves as a textural enhancement to more simplified songwriting or whether he decides to return to his proggier stuff remains to be seen. I'd put money on the former vs. the latter, but time will tell.

[Plasmatopia]

I actually like most of the tunes on To The Bone and I like how the newer tunes worked with the older material on the live DVD. My wife likes it too and has been asking when we're going to make it to another SW concert. Yes, I would prefer he minimized the pop output, but I don't have a major issue with it. I never took issue with any of his rants and didn't take them personally, lol.

I had my doubts about Craig Blundell initially, but now that I've had time to get used to him I think he's great. I had previously always preferred Marco.

[3RDegree_Robert]

I was (and continue to be) baffled by the negative reception to that album here. Apart from one three minute pop song, the whole thing sounded like Steven Wilson to me. People Who Eat Darkness, The Same Asylum As Before, Nowhere Now... these are great tracks IMO. I never found the album to be so different from his others that it doesn't fit in to his catalogue.

Yep. I'm no SW fanboy by any stretch and I bet if he left off "Permanating" or just put it out as a single not on the LP, the album would have been much more accepted as SW Business As Usual.