Porcupine Tree Lists-thread - Currently rocking you: mikemangioy

[Zantera]

Nobody has done their top50 PT in a while but I think it's up for grabs if you wanna do it.

[mikemangioy]

Well, I'm not planning to do exactly a top 50... should I do it in this thread or should I open another one?

[ReaperKK]

I vote do it in this thread, even if you're not doing a top 50.

[Zantera]

Yeah you can do it in this thread for sure.

[mikemangioy]

Ok, thanks a lot.
As soon as I'm done with the OTSOL songs ranking, I'll post.

[Zantera]

I can update the thread name as well, just let me know how many songs you'll be going for in your list, like a top25-30-50 or whatever.

[mikemangioy]

I think you misunderstood me - I'm not actually doing a list, I'm just ranking songs and giving them votes, with a write up of course.

[Zantera]

Oh alright, that's cool too. 

[mikemangioy]

Okay, first one coming soon!

[mikemangioy]

Ok, so, if you didn't understat what I'll be doing this is it: just simple straight reviews, no lists, just write ups and rankings of every PT song that I know or at least have listened to.

Let's start from the beginning.

ON THE SUNDAY OF LIFE...

1992

The first PT album (or first SW solo record if you will) came out in 1992. We all know On The Sunday Of Life as a rather… I don’t know how to define it.. strange, trippy, dafuq-ish album. It has 18 tracks on it, 10 of which are crazy instrumental ambient psychedelic and kinda horrific songs too. Without ‘em OTSOL would have the following tracklist:
1.   Jupiter Island
2.   The Nostalgia Factory
3.   Radioactive Toy
4.   Nine Cats
5.   Footprints
6.   Linton Samuel Dawson
7.     And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun
8.   This Long Silence
9.   It Will Rain For A Million Years
Isn’t that.. better? Leaving the crazy stuff behind makes you enjoy the record a lot more in my opinion, but this is an album that  has not to be taken seriously, so, bring in the fun!

JUPITER ISLAND
Music by Steven Wilson, Lyrics by Alan Duffy - 6:12

Jupiter Island is a dancy and dreamy tune. I don’t hate, neither I like the drum machine on this record, it’s unique but it sounds kinda bad.. You’ll get why as soon as you start the song. You hear sounds of like an elf during the drum intro. After a while the actual song beat starts and you still hear creepy elf Wilson. The lyrics start and they’re of course very trippy, but they actually kinda make sense in this one. They describe this holy place, Jupiter Island, an island full of pleasures, hidden treasures and glittering petals. That’s pretty much it. The music is very uplifting, except for the end when it turns from happy to chemical chaos. Even if it’s from one of the strangest album that I ever listened to, Jupiter Island is still an highlight of early PT career.

VOTE: 7
Note: the votes are out of 10

THE NOSTALGIA FACTORY
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 7:28

The actual second track on OTSOL is a more normal sounding song, even though the lyrics and the way that they are delivered are totally trippy and absurd. The music consists in two chords and a basic drum beat, with some keyboard and synthetizers thrown here and there. This is one of the two songs on this album that features Evil Elf Wilson, which is Steven’s elf. He keeps it in his basement. The lyrics make no sense at all. I always see lyrics of this song  online as two verses and a giant reference of Nine Cat’s lyrics between ‘em, although they never get mentioned within the song. Or, at least, I think so. Anyways, I think this is one of my least favorites PT songs, sorry.

VOTE: 5

RADIOACTIVE TOY
Music and lyrics by Wilson - 10:00

And after that relatively shitty song (and I say relatively because I saw someone putting it in their list.. sorry LieLow), we have an absolute classic. This song reminds me of Pink Floyd. Especially of Comfortably Numb. There’s the same kind of vibe, the same kind of beat, the same kind of solos.. just awesome. The lyrics talk about atomic bombs and they have a pretty dramatic delivery. And, damn, the chorus riff is really epic sounding. This is the best song from this album, and I think the only serious song in it. And now that I think about it, it’s the only song with Steven’s lyrics on the album, because the others are from Alan Duffy. That makes sense. Excellent work, Wilson. Every moment in this song sounds epic and dramatic, the solos are amazing, and the ambient outro is a gem. Great, great stuff.

VOTE: 9 -

NINE CATS
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 3:53

This song is pretty. The difference from The Nostalgia Factory and this one is that the lyrics makes no sense, but they make sense in the contest of the music. And oh god, this song is pretty freaking happy and sunny sounding. It sounds like something out of a children music cd mix, but it’s ten times superior. I’m going to play my children this song, because it’s beauty.. who would’ve thought that a list of animals doing stuff could make such an awesome piece of music? And once the electric guitar enters, the song gets even better. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but this song just clicks with me. Props to Wilson and Duffy, amazing work with Nine Cats.

VOTE: 8.5

FOOTPRINTS
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy (and John Lennon, too) - 5:56

From a happy sounding song to a creepy sounding song! Yay! Steven knows how to write creepy music. Just listen to Raider II off of his solo album Grace For Drowning, or Storm Corrosion, or hell even In Absentia has its horror moments (Wedding Nails comes to mind). This song is based off a Seasons In The Abyss-ish guitar arpeggio and not-so creepy surrealistic soft verses (I saw her footprints on the sea), to a happy and anthemic chorus that references Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds lyrics. And, as strange as it sounds, it works great. One of the best from this album, nice song.

VOTE: 7.5

LINTON SAMUEL DAWSON
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 3:04

AAAH CREEPY ELF WILSON



Jokes aside, this is a pretty fun song. You all know what Linton Samuel Dawson stands for, right? Yeah, this song is about that but it focuses more on the reasons why people use him, which are “the boredom of mankind” and “escaping from tranquility”. The music is pretty dancy and funny, and again, great song, but a bit strange still. And the final section makes me lol everytime.

VOTE: 7.5

AND THE SWALLOWS DANCE ABOVE THE SUN
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 4:06
Ooook, I’m extremely sorry. I forgot about this song. Crap. Well let’s make up for that.
This song overall flow and nice groove make it one of the better ones in the album. The lyrics are catchy, but of course, they do not make any sense. Strange! They’re just random imagery of sitting in the concrete, listening to the wind blowing, etc etc. So, pretty cool song. Once again, I’m so sorry guys. It’ll never happen anymore, I promise.

VOTE: 7 +

THIS LONG SILENCE
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 5:05

This song is very reminiscent of The Nostalgia Factory, but it has more of a Linton Samuel Dawson rhythm and no Creepy Elf Wilson. And yeah, it’s still a bit underwhelming but I prefer it to The Nostalgia Factory. Like Nine Cats talks about animals, This Long Silence talks about some characters, fictional and not (Mussolini, Sergeant Pepper, Mozart and so on). This time the vocal line isn’t so boring, another reason why I think it’s better than TNF. I also like the trippy guitar (or keyboards? Not sure) solo, when the only other thing playing are the drums. So yeah, good track but nothing special.

VOTE: 6

IT WILL RAIN FOR A MILLION YEARS
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 10:51

This is another cool track but it’s pretty different compared to the rest of this album. It’s very atmospheric and dark, and I like that. It’s trippy, but in another sense of the world. IWRFAMY is one of those tracks that reminds me of Pink Floyd, especially the beginning. The lyrics make sense in this one, they talk about a guy who travels through time and space. Cool stuff, if you ask me. So, after an album of color, brightness and mental craziness, Steven gives us this kind of aftermath. I like to think of it as a kind of hangover,  the lyrics also fit, they look like a guy describing a LSD trip. So very cool closer for OTSOL.

VOTE: 8=

------------------------

So, after all these rankings, OTSOL is not that bad of an album: it’s different, it’s strange, but it’s cool. It just drags on a bit, and some of the songs are not great but, as a debut, as a SW solo record, it’s pretty cool. So I give this album a solid 7 –



NEXT UP:
What happens when you take the psychedelic elements of OTSOL, take some actual instrumentalists and write some actual songs?

EDIT: Added ATSDATS (sorry for that)

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Nice writeups! Even if you did give my favourite on the album a low rating.

[Zantera]

Nostalgia Factory is my favorite on the album and a song I really like actually.

[TioJorge]

Aw...you didn't review the version that has one of my favorite songs, And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun. Cool write-up though.

[mikemangioy]

Thanks guys, I feel sorry for The Nostalgia Factory though 

Edit: also, zantera, would you mind changing the title? I feel like an impostor 

[Zantera]

I did.

[mikemangioy]

hahha that's awesome! Thanks.

[KevShmev]

I want you to put Felix's penis on me.

[TioJorge]

   

[RoeDent]

Where is And The Swallows Dance Above the Sun? Also, the instrumentals are a huge part of the flow of this wonderfully diverse album. It is the White Album of the 1990s.

[TioJorge]

This man.

He knows what is up.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Where is And The Swallows Dance Above the Sun? Also, the instrumentals are a huge part of the flow of this wonderfully diverse album. It is the White Album of the 1990s.

They really aren't worth whole writeups IMO.

[mikemangioy]

Where is And The Swallows Dance Above the Sun? Also, the instrumentals are a huge part of the flow of this wonderfully diverse album. It is the White Album of the 1990s.

They really aren't worth whole writeups IMO.

this

[mikemangioy]

Oh god, now that I think about it, ATSDATS IS an actual song on the album 
I feel embarassed... writeup for dat one coming your way.

EDIT: Added it.

[mikemangioy]

Here we go!

UP THE DOWNSTAIR

What you are listening to are musicians performing psychedelic music, under the influence of a mind-altering chemical called..

BAM

Up The Downstair, ladies and gentlemen, one of the most, if not THE most, underrated PT albums. Steven Wilson is once again the main man here, but certain characters began to pop up around him: a certain Richard Barbieri, and another funny-looking guy, Colin Edwin. Yes, that’s right. The future keyboardist and bassist of PT as a band both contributed to this album. And what an album.
In UTD, Steven took the psychedelic basis of OTSOL and used them better, with great songs, long and short. As soon as Synesthesia stars, you just know you’re in for a ride. So, let’s take a look.

SYNESTHESIA
Music and lyrics by Steven Wilson, 5:16

After the creepy intro the song begins out of the blue. This is one of the catchiest PT songs, and it’s very infectious. The groove is great, the vocal line is great, the chorus oh my god. The chorus of this song is one of my favorites. The lyrics here are from a perspective of a wounded soldier, facing his death on a stretcher, and thinking about his family at home and how he is only another dead soldier on the other and. That’s what the title of this song stands for.  The synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which two sensories/cognitives pathways live with each other, even if they are opposites to one another. The soldier in the song is both important to someone (his family) and a waste of space (doctors, army). Amazing song. And I love the wah guitar and the keyboards.

VOTE: 8-

ALWAYS NEVER
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy, 7:01

The second song in this album is underrated like the album itself. This song features that bald happy bassist which is Colin Edwin. And let me talk about him: Colin is amazing. I love the fact that his bass-lines (even if they’re written by Steven, I think) are almost always independent in the context of the song. And they’re freaking groovy, too. So, let’s get to the song. This song strongly reminds me of some later-ballads (especially from the second era of PT, the poppier one) and it is amazing. The chorus here is the first shining moment of SW in PT’s career. In the previous album there weren’t so great vocal moments but the chorus of Always Never.. is godly. And I love how sudden it is. The second one, when all the instruments finally start playing together, is absolutely gorgeous. And the riff after it reminds me of Mellotron Scratch for some reason, and that can only mean good. And Colin oh my god, you can almost feel his presence, even if you didn’t know that it was him on bass. Great track.

VOTE: 8.5

UP THE DOWNSTAIR
Music and words by Wilson, 10:06

This is the first instrumental I rank, the title track. Four words:

BEST

BASSLINE

EVER

PERIOD

This song features Richard Barbieri on electronic effects. You can definitely hear is influence, especially in the intro of the song. But holy fuck, this instrumental Is basically two riffs. And those two riffs. Are. Genius. Enough said. Just listen to it, and be amazed

VOTE: 8

NOT BEAUTIFUL ANYMORE
Music by Wilson, 3:25

The second of three instrumentals on this album is Not Beautiful Anymore. This song is based off a rocking drum groove, which Gavin (who by the way re-recorded the drums for the remastered edition) performes very nicely. The riff is pure energy but unluckily that’s it. This song it’s just that riff, with some variations here and there and some samples about a girl talking about how you don’t need sex in order to be in a good relationship. Good song, but could be more creative (yes, I know there’s a 9 minute version on it on Coma Divine, but I still have to listen to that record, I hope it’s good.

VOTE: 7

SMALL FISH
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy, 2:42

The first thing that I saw was..

This little song is pure beauty. Like Nine Cats, it’s just pretty, but more melanchonic and sad. I don’t know what the lyrics are about, can’t seem to figure it out but still, this song is pretty atmospheric and haunting. I also love the solo in this one. Great prelude to Burning Sky.

VOTE: 8 –

BURNING SKY
Music by Wilson, 11:37

The last instrumental on this album is similar to Up The Downstair but it’s less dancy and more dramatic and epic. Burning Sky consist of a creative reverb-based guitar riff, dreamy guitar leads and an oriental-style riff. All the riffs work very well with one another, along with a couple of ambient breaks which suddenly explode into the main riff once again. Awesome instrumental, works great.

VOTE: 8 –

FADEAWAY
Music by Wilson, Lyrics by Duffy - 6:13

UTD closes with this beautiful ballad. I love the chord progression and the vocal line in this one, and the chorus is just beautiful. I think that the lyrics talk about a guy realizing he’s dead. That’s it, there’s not a whole lot I have to say about this song, it’s just pretty, and underrated, too.

VOTE: 7/8

--------------------------------

I think I proved my point here. Up The Downstair has incredible songs which are incredibly overlooked. IMO best album in the psychedelic era of PT. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

OVERALL VOTE: 8 –

[goo-goo]

Who's Duffy? (lyrics by Duffy)

[mikemangioy]

Who's Duffy? (lyrics by Duffy)

The duck.



Jk, Alan Duffy, a friend of Steven who wrote most of the lyrics from OTSOL and UTD.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Love Up the Downstair. Nearly flawless.

[ColdFireYYZ]

Haven't listened to early PT (or any PT, for that matter) in ages but I love Up the Downstairs. Such an underrated album.

[Zantera]

I would rank Up the Downstair higher than some of their more recent albums actually. Maybe even higher than both of In Absentia and Deadwing. Both of those albums have some of the band's best songs, but as a whole Up the Downstair is a perfectly crafted album in comparison to some of their other albums that does have a few "meh" songs. It's not like every song on UtD is a 10/10 song, but it's hard to remove any of them. It's a nice flowing piece of music.

[KevShmev]

I love Up the Downstair, but the problem for me is that I love everything that came after it so much more than UtD doesn't get a lot of love from me when it comes to playing time.

[ReaperKK]

UtD is very hit or miss with me but Fadeaway is one of my favorite PT songs.

[?]

Haven't listened to early PT (or any PT, for that matter) in ages but I love Up the Downstairs. Such an underrated album.

[PolarizeMe]

As a whole Up the Downstair is a perfectly crafted album in comparison to some of their other albums that does have a few "meh" songs. It's not like every song on UtD is a 10/10 song, but it's hard to remove any of them. It's a nice flowing piece of music.

[mikemangioy]

Time for one big disappointment.

THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS

So, I saw a lot of people on the internet praising this record, so the first time I listened to it I was expecting great stuff from it - I mean, even if people weren't acclaiming it my expectation would've been high, it's P3 after all. And it's even the first album in which P3 became a full band, with Colin, Richard and Chris joining Steven for two songs. But, I don't know, it may be beautiful, it may be a masterpiece but it just didn't click with me. Anyways,  it is a good album nonetheless.

THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS (PHASE ONE)
Music and lyrics by Steven Wilson - 18:37

TSMS has two distinct parts, this one, at the beginning of the album, and the second one, at the end, kinda like Shine On You Crazy Diamond or In The Presence Of Enemies.
The first part of the suite is awesome. It's very relaxing at first, with two basic chords and very dreamy atmosphere. The lyrics are the usual strange beautiful imagery that Steven and Alan Duffy (who doesn't appear anymore) taught us to love. The chorus of the second section "I Find That I'm Not There" may be one of my favorites P3 choruses. It's epic. And after the last one the song changes completely direction as we enter the third section, called "Wire The Drum": IT'S TIME TO DANCE-AH
Colin plays a groovy bassline, and stuff happens around him. I think this section drags for too long. And here is my problem with TSMS as an album: it drags on at times. Too much. The song eventually transitions back in acoustic and it fades out.

STARS DIE
Music and lyrics by Wilson - 5:02

This is a nice song, I love the drum intro and the overall beat in general. I don't really like the vocal track, but the chorus is very nice and reminds me of Time Flies. The lyrics are nice, very spacey and kind of armageddon-y. Good song but not the best
VOTE: 7 -

MOONLOOP
Music by Porcupine Tree - 17:04

I always hear good about Moonloop. But let me say something: IMHO it is pretty boring. I know it's a jam, but usually jams are not THIS boring. It's flat, it's 17 minutes of the same stuff over and over and over and over, with the exception of the Coda, which is pretty good actually. If all the song would've been structured and with awesome riffs like its ending I would've liked it A  TON more.
VOTE: 6 -

DISLOCATED DAY
Music and lyrics by Wilson - 5:24
Dooooooo.
Dooooooo.
Dooooooo.
WHAAAAAAM

Now we're talking. This song is awesome. It's very reminiscent of some of the material on OTSOL, except it's at least 5 times better. Dislocated Day starts out loud and loud continues with some great percussion work and trippy lyrics (strange, uh?). When the chorus hits, though, you feel like you're in a vortex of colors and chaos. Good god that riff. THAT is how you use a riff, to prove a point. And if there's a point that this song tries to prove, it is chaos. Great track.
VOTE: 8

THE MOON TOUCHES YOUR SHOULDER
Music and lyrics by Wilson - 5:40

Another pretty cool song is this one. TMTYS is sweet but also a bit dark. The vocal line is basically the one from Russia On Ice; when I'm listening to this song I always expect Steven to go I SEE THE WHOLE THING COME DOWN! I BURN IT TO THE GROOUND!. Anyways it's a pretty good song, I love the psychedelic sounds on the left speaker towards the end, and the cool riff that follows.
VOTE: 8=


Not going to rate Prepare Yourself, although I have to say I like the arpeggio and the bass drum in it. Cool interlude.

THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS (PHASE TWO)
Music by Wilson - 16:44

The second half of TSMS is completely instrumental, asides for some strange female vocal "oohs" similar to The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd and some reverse shit going on towards the end. The first section of this part is "Off The Map" and it has pretty cool musical moments along with some memorable riffs like the one at 8:25. The other section start with some reverse vocals which I have yet to find out what they actually are
*opens Sony Vegas
OK, it's the chorus of I Find That I'm Not There, cool.

The section is basically a reprise of the first movement, The Color Of Air.

So The Sky Moves Sideways is a pretty cool song, definetly not the best epic that they have, and it is maybe a bit too long.
Given that VOTE: 8.5

-------------
So I was a bit underwhelmed by this album. I thought that there were gonna be some great stuff on it, and there is, but I expected more. It's a very heavy listen and boring at bits (Moonloop I'm looking at you).

Soooo yep
OVERALL VOTE: 7.5


NEXT UP: I'm so lonely. I want a band. But I still want to write the songs, dammit.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

Stars Die should be rated higher