30. Nine Cats from On the Sunday of Life
The only appearance of a song from the debut album on this list, I'm sure at least one person will be unhappy with it being here. Keep in mind I'm referring to the version strictly from the debut album, not the acoustic version from Insignificance. The song sounds like the long-lost cousin of the majority of the tracks from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd - it's immensely catchy and whimsical in a way that most Porcupine Tree songs aren't, and I love it for that.
29. The Sky Moves Sideways from The Sky Moves Sideways
A thirty four minute or so song with about four minutes of lyrics, the rest incredible instrumentation and ambiance. Easily the best thing during their Floydish days that isn't Dark Matter, the song takes a lot from Shine On You Crazy Diamond. From the structure to a couple of the sequences (the beginning of Phase Two, for instance), the influence is everywhere. The best bit however, is the 8 minute or so stretch right after the lyrics stop entitled "Wire the Drum." Psychedelia never felt so melodic.
28. Time Flies from The Incident
Let's step from Wish You Were Here to Animals. Steven Wilson's first album he owned, and this track about his childhood sure makes its tribute. Time Flies is a catchy song, containing lyrics that can and should be applied to everyone. Life is all you make it, just reach out and take it, says Wilson. When it's not sounding like Sheep and Dogs in a blender, the middle section of Time Flies makes me question why they chose this song as the album's single. The middle section's screeching guitars and strange ambiance add so much to the song that listening to the single version anymore has simply become impossible.
27. I Drive the Hearse from The Incident
Another track from their latest record, this time the closer to the 55-minute cycle. In traditional PT fashion (at least, as of lately), the last song is a soft one to wrap things up. For its subject matter, the song itself is quite delicate, but it builds up. Right before he says the final "When I'm down I drive the hearse", there is about 10 seconds of pure instrumental bliss where SW includes some strangely fitting "la"s. So beautiful. If only more music was like this. What a stellar way to end the cycle. It just occurred to me that there are no songs from disc 2 on this list. I guess they lack cohesiveness, or just spirit.
26. Collapse the Light Into Earth from In Absentia
In the same vein, the quiet closer to In Absentia. Oddly enough, I like this song for much the same reason I like I Drive the Hearse. A slow, simple song that builds up. And again, near the end, there's that moment of lyricless bliss. I don't know how he does it. This song is significantly simpler in structure compared to I Drive the Hearse, simply 4 piano notes or so over and over overlayed with ambiance as the song progresses. The lyrics themselves are something else though. Trying to fit it into In Absentia's story, I consider it to be the man, having been caught with the phone call at the end of Strip the Soul, is looking inwardly as he's being driven away. He doesn't blame the people whom he hurt if they hate him for what he did, he just doesn't know why he ever did it. He's sorry, but there's nothing he can do about it now.