DreamTheaterForums.org Dream Theater Fan Site
General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: YtseJamittaja on November 04, 2018, 01:04:32 AM
-
Inspired by the new SW live, I noticed that I immediately listened to all the PT songs from the album. But it's really hard for me to say which one I like better. Not counting other Steven's projects so keep your Blackfield comments away ;)
-
none of his solo albums are as good as In Absentia or Deadwing, so
-
I went with the solo career, but I almost had to flip the coin. Ultimately, I had to figure out which one of the two has less albums I don't care for. As much as I love Porcupine tree, I could kind of do without half of their releases, whereas the only solo album I'm not too much into is Insurgentes.
-
Both have some good albums, went with PT.
-
PT. I know in a recent interview SW said that if PT was still together his solo albums would've been made just under the PT name but there is something special with PT that I don't think has been recaptured since.
-
I love what SW is doing with his recent solo releases, but I can't deny the impact that Up The Downstair, Signify, and In Absentia had on me in my earlier years. There's not a single PT album I dislike whereas I'm very lukewarm about The Raven as a whole.
-
I love PT as one of my favorite bands. Don't like his solo stuff
-
Porcupine Tree has the major advantage having more than twice as much music (might even be more than that if you count the EP's and other non-studio album releases) as SW has released as a solo artist thus far.
SW's last four solo album are all tremendous, but PT has almost twice as many albums I would also call tremendous. They get the edge in quantity (with the quality being pretty similar).
-
Hey WildRanger!
-
Porcupine Tree gets the edge, simply because of Gavin, Richard and Colin.
Don't get me wrong, Steven has worked and is working with some amazing individuals, but I think the other PT members really added something special (Harrison, especially. There's just no replacing that guy). With that said, most of Steven Wilson's output is so great anyway, that I can't say I miss PT all that much.
-
I think Raven and HCE have surpassed even the best of anything PT ever did. But that's 2 out of 5 solo albums, and PT only had 2 meh albums in their entire run. (the first and the last)
For the record, Grace for Drowning is excellent as well, and to me is "as good" as PT's best stuff. But I'm pretty luke warm on both Insurgentes and To the Bone.
I had to vote PT.
-
I think Raven and HCE have surpassed even the best of anything PT ever did.
Bold statement. :coolio
I can certainly see why someone would think that, but I cannot go quite that far.
PT had 10 studio albums and SW has five so far.
The top tier, for me, remains Lightbulb Sun, The Raven and Deadwing.
The bottom tier is On the Sunday of Life, with the 2nd most bottom tier containing Up the Downstair and Insurgentes (both of which I still really like).
Trying put the rest in order from 4-12 would pretty much change from day to day. I love all of them.
-
Solo material, without question. Far more diverse certainly than 00s PT, and it's the music he wants to make right now.
-
none of his solo albums are as good as In Absentia or Deadwing, so
Pretty much this, but I would add Fear of a Blank Planet, Lightbulb Sun, and The Sky Moves Sideways.
-
none of his solo albums are as good as In Absentia or Deadwing, so
none of his solo albums are as good as Signify
-
i think HCE is better than the other PT albums I didn't mention, but sure :tup
HCE is the only SW solo album i think is really good though, anyways
-
I think the first few solo albums stand up to the best of PT (Insurgentes, Grace) but since then the solo albums have been more in the mid-tier PT quality range. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. I'd say his last 3 albums are like 7.5/weak 8 out of 10 and if he keeps putting out albums like this I'm fine with it. Don't expect him to be putting out game changers in his 50s cause most artists put out their best work in their 20s or 30s (some exceptions ofc). He still makes good music so can't complain too much.
-
Definitely his solo stuff. I hope he never brings Porcupine Tree back together.
That'll be all, you may now slaughter me.
-
HCE is SW's best work IMO, but on the whole I prefer PT, because that band had a certain magic and chemistry.
-
Nothing against his solo stuff or soloband for that matter but there's something about PTs music that's special to me.
-
I like them both, kinda sad that there might not be new PT anymore but I love whatever solo stuff is out there so far.
-
Porcupine Tree. SW solo is hit and miss for me. But I really like where PT was at. SW may not see the need for the compromise that came with being a part of a band like PT, but to me, that compromise resulted in the stuff I like best.
-
Fear of a Blank Planet :hefdaddy
I do like The Raven That Refused to Sing but otherwise his solo stuff doesn't do much for me.
-
PT all the way.
Steven's solo stuff has been way too inconsistent for me. Grace For Drowning made me wish for someone to drown me so I wouldn't have to listen anymore. I hated it so much that I completely ignored Raven when it was released. It wasn't until months later that I checked it out and ended up loving it. Next album was okay and haven't heard a note of the latest.
I miss PT.
-
Porcupine Tree
Reason: PT has an atmosphere that’s pretty unique, for a huge part courtesy of Richard Barbieri.
Gavin Harrisson is amazing, but if you ask me so is Chris Maitland. It’s really the synthy, textular work that Richard provides.
I at least like every SW solo release, I’d rank them like this:
Love
Insurgentes
The Raven that Refused to Sing
Hand. Cannot. Erase.
Like
Grace for Drowning
To the Bone
My criticism would be that SW’s solo output, while of high quality, often feels like it’s emulating a certain type of music. That doesn’t really hinder my enjoyment, but still Porcupine Tree feel like they have a more unique sonic/stylistic footprint. On the other hand, SW’s solo career has enabled him to experiment with some other styles he couldn’t have forced upon his bandmates in PT.
That all said though, I feel To The Bone is playing it a bit too safe for its own good, as much as I understand the need for something more light-footed after the meticulous concept-driven album that came before. Still, I think Nowhere Now is one of his weakest tracks yet, and Permanating, well, SW is not only good at melancholy and can handle some ‘happy’ psychedelic pop, but those falset choruses really are pretty weak, especially in a live setting it shows.
I’m very curious what his next step will be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he would revive Porcupine Tree at this point. He’s playing lots of PT in his live sets and that track The Same Asylum as before basically quotes PT’s song Prodigal.
This is all IMHO, Steven Wilson is probably my favorite musician and I wished I had a tenth of his songwriting talent.
-
I’m very curious what his next step will be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he would revive Porcupine Tree at this point. He’s playing lots of PT in his live sets and that track The Same Asylum as before basically quotes PT’s song Prodigal.
He is playing those songs because they are part of his repertoire and he is proud of them. I doubt it has anything to do with wanting to revive PT (which he has said repeatedly is never going to happen).
While I did give PT the slight edge, if SW can keep us this momentum with his solo albums for another 3-4 albums, I might then give that the edge.
For one, I enjoy watching SW and his various solo live lineups a lot more than I like watching the old PT live stuff from the 00's (probably because John Wesley's soloing gets on my nerves, as does Gavin's tendency to overplay everything live). The only PT live stuff I ever listen to/watch anymore is the Coma Divine live album.
-
probably because John Wesley's soloing gets on my nerves, as does Gavin's tendency to overplay everything live). The only PT live stuff I ever listen to/watch anymore is the Coma Divine live album.
Hmm I never felt that about Gavin, always thought his playing was tasteful. Now I haven't heard every live album but Anesthetize is one of my favourite live albums.
-
Nothing against his solo stuff or soloband for that matter but there's something about PTs music that's special to me.
This.
-
I prefer The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories) and Hand. Cannot. Erase. to any PT album, so solo for me.
-
I'd been a long-time PT fan and loved their music - each album was either better than the last or at least built on the last. A fantastic body of work! Although I do have to say, I wasn't that keen on The Incident.
But I just haven't been able to get into SW's solo stuff at all. Hand.Cannot.Erase is the best of the bunch by a mile, but even that sounds a bit too clinical for me. There's definitely something missing, but I've no idea what it is. I've gone from being a mega-fan to just not caring. Ho hum.
-
I don't want to derail the thread but why is the consensus for The Incident that it's not a good album? I thought it was a great album with a little too much fluff. I prefer it over say Deadwing
-
I don't want to derail the thread but why is the consensus for The Incident that it's not a good album? I thought it was a great album with a little too much fluff. I prefer it over say Deadwing
I think for most people the issue is The Incident was the first time it felt like PT had ran out of ideas and the album was more a collection of old ideas than doing something new and exciting (other than the song cycle idea). I don't think it's bad but it definitely felt a bit lacking compared to the albums leading up to it.
-
I don't want to derail the thread but why is the consensus for The Incident that it's not a good album? I thought it was a great album with a little too much fluff. I prefer it over say Deadwing
I am a big fan of The Incident. It has a few missteps, but it is loaded with really good/great stuff.
I think it is similar to Insurgentes in this regards: both albums are damn good, but the albums that came before/after are so much better that it kind of gets dinged a bit.
-
This is tough, but I'll give the slight edge to PT for now. Hand Cannot Erase is probably my favorite album from anything SW has worked on (and currently my album of the decade), and I quite like the To the Bone as well. But I don't care for any of his other solo albums (and actively dislike them at times). Meanwhile PT has one of my favorite three album runs from any artist in the In Absentia -> Fear of a Blank Planet period, and Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are quite strong as well. If I like his next solo album or two I'll probably switch my answer.
-
I mean my tops such as In Absentia and Deadwing go right up against solo tops such as Raven and HCE. Although Insurgentes is certainly his worst solo album it is still certainly better than the shitastic OtSoL, but really I find both to be stepping stones towards later work. In the end I have to currently give things to PT overall just for a longer run of amazing material, but SW solo could easily topple them in time.