My thoughts after quite a few spins over recent days...
- Yes I can hear his unique voice in there, and there are tropes that link this to his body of work.
- I’m not really buying the “but he’s always been pop” stance. Just because there’s been the odd shorter song back to PT days (Trains, Lazarus, Piano Lessons etc) does not mean he is always tilting at pop success. It was only Permananting and the nightly ritual of telling his audience to get on board with classic pop, that suggested a switch up to me.
- PT and solo were his vehicles to develop his rock credentials, and soaked up and projected influences back to us, be they Floyd, Radiohead, Opeth... all names with a tangential relationship to prog, or at least claimed as their own by those of us who cast the net wide.
- Other projects, No Man and Blackfield were more pop in their outlook.
- Today he is soaking up electronica and reflecting this back to us. Some of the album I like, other parts I’m “meh” on, and it’s never going to be in my Wislon top ten.
- I think the hype machine is in overdrive, billboards on Sunset Strip and London in recent days, so many limited edition variants. He needs a big success to recoup the investment, and good luck to him.
I don’t care if he’s “prog” or not, but I like it much better when Wilson’s music showcases a more eclectic mixture of influences with a more organic sound.
"It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters
My progressive music site: https://pienemmatpurot.com/ Reviews in English: https://pienemmatpurot.com/in-english/
How many celebs did you recognize in the video? I saw Arnold S., Scarlett Jo., McCartney, Tr***, FB Zuckerboy, Tony Stark, David Bowie at the end. Didn't recognize the bearded one.
I am also one who is not surprised by his current direction, and am glad he is pursuing it. The pop touchstones have been there in his catalog all along, amongst other influences. He namechecks many of the pop artists that I also love, Gabriel, Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, etc. The difference for me is that they've all had distinctive vocalists, who were accomplished singers and/or had very unique voices which allowed them to deliver great performances on top of sometimes repetitive tracks (e.g. "Life's What You Make It" by TT). Steven's most effective vocals IMHO have been more of the understated shoegazer style on Signify thru Lightbulb. I will say that he has been stretching himself since then, but it never reaches the level of his influences for me. I think he can fill the gap at times with his production (which is often stunning), and previously he has surrounded himself with fantastic "musos", but the simpler songs in combination with his vocals haven't gripped me yet.
-noisynoise
www.polarizedguru.com - 5-piece jazz fusion group
www.incandescentsky.com - inventive improvisational instrumental ensemble
Apparently its entered at No. 2 in the UK album chart. Will be interesting to see how long it lasts this time.
These are interesting insights, thanks for sharing. You make a good point about distinctive vocalists, and how Wilson sometimes uses production to fill that gap. Let's face it, he's no Mark Hollis or Peter Gabriel when it comes to singing.
Also, a very good example with that Talk Talk song IMO.
Loving the album so far. Loving his whole promotional way about this record too. I got caught up in purchasing the Deluxe Edition Boxset. But boy I'm glad I did. It's a lot of fun trying to soak all of this extra material. The B-Sides and extra tracks are almost just as good as the main album!
My favorites so far (because you didn't ask):
In Floral Green
Anyone But Me
12 Things I Forgot
Count of Unease
Amazing to think he's been sitting on this finished collection of songs since January 2020! Glad it's finally out...
I have to say I'm not a fan of the new album. And I'm not one of these people that is bent out of shape about it not being "prog" enough. I love pop and I love electronic stuff but I just personally found a lot of the material to be boring. I did find some nice bits here and there and probably felt the last song on the album was the best. I don't have any desire to listen to it again.
I am curious as to how he would have got the rights to use all of the celebrity likenesses in that new video.
Good on him though, it seems like he's enjoying what he's doing and that's the main thing. I think I'll just jump off at this point.
You know...
Most of the great pop music is "fun".
I'm not finding much on this one though. It's all rather serious.
Music is Music, there is good and bad in all so called "Genres". Sonically TFB is Superb, I don't love all of it but it is growing on me.
-noisynoise
www.polarizedguru.com - 5-piece jazz fusion group
www.incandescentsky.com - inventive improvisational instrumental ensemble
It's not unlike other Steven Wilson solo albums in that I like it, but don't love it. I think he's going through some sort of Gotye phase. This album has a calculated feel to me.
That's a great observation Sean. He was tweeting along yesterday to a playback on Twitter, and he described Personal Shopper as "joyous". That's the last thing I'd think of that song, I find it rather oppressive sounding.
I noted recently he did a cover of a Taylor Swift song on his social media. Seems like he's trying too hard to be "hip" or "relevant". (Well hip really isn't a current word but.. ) Who knows, this may turn out to be successful for him, more power to him.
Mu deluxe edition shipped a week ago tomorrow, but the tracing says it's still sitting in Colnbrook, UK and the status says "Clearance in Progress." Do you think that's Customs?
Anyway, since I still haven't listened to it streaming: I thought some of the sessions videos Wislon put on YouTube were interesting; are those included in the Deluxe edition?
I ordered the regular CD edition from Amazon, along with the latest Opeth one. Also just got some new higher-end headphones, and I'm eager to check this music out with them.
I dunno... Wislon's music interests me, on some level, even if it doesn't provoke an emotional response all the time. I can't help but admire him. *shrug*
I found a track listing on discogs, where the box is already selling for a 250% mark up. I’m not sure of the songs from the sessions, I think these are not included. There are only six additional songs, plus remixes, extended mixes and instrumental versions.
https://www.discogs.com/ST3V3NW1L5ON...lease/17174641
"An OK Computer for the Amazon age", says Prog (Magazine?)!!
neil
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