Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb

[jammindude]

The songs don't necessarily hold up on their own IMO...but every time I sit down to listen to that album, it's just a great experience.

You don't think? I reckon Anesthetize is one of the best songs they've ever written, and Sentimental ranks up there in my top PT songs overall too. I think FOABP is awesome and Sleep Together is great... but I could do without hearing My Ashes or Way Out of Here ever again tbh.

That's just it.  The weaker songs fit perfectly into the scope and theme of the album...making the entire album better than the sum of its parts.    I'm personally really sick of Sentimental and LOVE My Ashes.  (especially the live version).   I don't think Anesthetize is as good an epic as Arriving Somewhere, but that's probably just because it doesn't seem like a song at all...it's more like a three song suite.  But the parts don't sound related to one another, and I feel that brings the piece as a whole down slightly.    It's still really awesome though.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I think I'll spice things up and rank both albums on one list:
1. Don't Hate Me
2. Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled
3. A Smart Kid
4. Baby Dream in Cellophane
5. Russia On Ice
6. Slave Called Shiver
7. Piano Lessons
8. Hatesong
9. Even Less
10. This is No Rehearsal
11. Shesmovedon
12. Lightbulb Sun
13. The Rest Will Flow
14. Tinto Brass
15. Where We Would Be
16. Stop Swimming
17. Stranger by the Minute
18. Pure Narcotic
19. How is Your Life Today?
20. Four Chords That Made a Million
21. Feel so Low

Won't bother putting on Stupid Dream title track. If we were talking Even Less extended, it'd be #4.

[nightmare_cinema]

The songs don't necessarily hold up on their own IMO...but every time I sit down to listen to that album, it's just a great experience.

You don't think? I reckon Anesthetize is one of the best songs they've ever written, and Sentimental ranks up there in my top PT songs overall too. I think FOABP is awesome and Sleep Together is great... but I could do without hearing My Ashes or Way Out of Here ever again tbh.

That's just it.  The weaker songs fit perfectly into the scope and theme of the album...making the entire album better than the sum of its parts.    I'm personally really sick of Sentimental and LOVE My Ashes.  (especially the live version).   I don't think Anesthetize is as good an epic as Arriving Somewhere, but that's probably just because it doesn't seem like a song at all...it's more like a three song suite.  But the parts don't sound related to one another, and I feel that brings the piece as a whole down slightly.    It's still really awesome though.

I don't think I could ever get sick of Sentimental, and releasing Normal just added more fuel to the fire of my love for it. I always felt like parts 1 and 2 of Anaesthetize are closely related and very complementary, but yeah the final part just doesn't really do it for me. It's nice, it's okay, but given the jaw dropping amazingness of part 2 I always feel a little too wound up to let it play out and end up skipping onto something else, especially if I'm listening with someone else.

I'm listening to Coma Divine now. I love how much energy Signify has on this CD.

[Mladen]

There's no such thing as a wrong starting point, as long as you're patient and aware the better albums are yet to come. I started with Up the downstair, fairly liked it, but I wasn't too impressed. I went by discography, and at a certain point I heard Stupid dream, which was more like it - and then a couple of weeks later In Absentia and Deadwing sealed the deal. 

[Ryzee]

Lightbulb Sun is my favorite PT record.  I started with Signify.

[bout to crash]

I bet Signify would be a good starter. Mine was In Absentia, which of course did the trick.

[Buddyhunter1]

In Absentia or Deadwing would probably be the best.

[bout to crash]

Agreed, but Signify does showcase quite a bit of their range. I love it so much.

[KevShmev]

Signify was the second PT album I heard and it absolutely floored me on the first listen.  It didn't utterly destroy me like Stupid Dream did a short time after that , but it still had a massive impact on me.

[King Postwhore]

I don't know if this was posted before but what a great cover of "Lips Of Ashes"?  If not, enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bVqZ_-KtZ3M#!

[TioJorge]

Ohhh I'm just here to reaffirm that Chloroform is one of the most beautifully haunting pieces of music I've ever heard and I love it.

[?]

I don't know if this was posted before but what a great cover of "Lips Of Ashes"?  If not, enjoy!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bVqZ_-KtZ3M#!

Nice cover! Lips of Ashes is one of my favorites and probably the most underrated post-TSMS era PT song.

[ReaperKK]

Ohhh I'm just here to reaffirm that Chloroform is one of the most beautifully haunting pieces of music I've ever heard and I love it.

Top 5 PT track for me.

[Elite]

Yes, Chloroform is amazing.

[wasteland]

Sorry if I interrupt your natural flux of conversation, I have one question: is there any knowledge, however informal, of the time PT will likely begin planning a new studio release? I mean, are they likely to enter the studio before the end of 2013 or are there other side activities filling the year's schedule?

[ReaperKK]

As far as I know there are no concrete plans. SW is busy doing his solo album which I'm sure he'll tour after he is done.

[wasteland]

As far as I know there are no concrete plans. SW is busy doing his solo album which I'm sure he'll tour after he is done.

Yes, but the tour kicks off on March. How long could it last? By mid summer it should be over.

[KevShmev]

The theory is that PT will reconvene shortly after Wilson finishes up his solo tour next year, but I don't think it is confirmed, nor should it be considered a given, especially since Wilson is not the type of guy to adhere to a schedule or take the "I guess we are due to do an album" approach.  He'll do it if he is feeling it, bottom line.

[The Letter M]

The theory is that PT will reconvene shortly after Wilson finishes up his solo tour next year, but I don't think it is confirmed, nor should it be considered a given, especially since Wilson is not the type of guy to adhere to a schedule or take the "I guess we are due to do an album" approach.  He'll do it if he is feeling it, bottom line.

And if he doesn't, in the mean time, he could compile all the B-Sides from In Absentia and Deadwing and make a "Recordings 2" album. Many of those tracks are hard to find/expensive to buy, so getting them all on ONE CD would be a treat! I'd buy it, for sure! Maybe also include some demos and other PT-related material that hasn't been released before, just to entice the hard-core fans who already have the B-sides.

-Marc.

[wasteland]

I would buy an EP release of the full 41 minutes long Moonloop improvisation.

[Zantera]

Steven doesn't strike me as the person who would do anything for a quick cashgrab. While I agree with you that those songs are hard to come by and having them on one CD would be cool, it doesn't strike me as something SW would do himself. Possibly Roadrunner in the same way as Octane Twisted, put something out to sell some albums and remind people about the PT-name.

[TioJorge]

That would be amazing, M. I have all of the B-sides already, but getting them on one disc, perhaps remastered in some way by the man himself (or otherwise...or not), would still be pretty awesome. They certainly deserve to be in the spotlight a bit more.

Yeah, no one should expect anything at all in terms of PT activity for the next year or two. For all we know, Wilson will get yet another flash of inspiration during this tour and go on to a fourth album; I mean, he really is loving the hell out of this new-found freedom and creativity. I love that, and I'm not holding my breath for anything PT-related as it's a sure thing that at the absolute least, we won't hear news of it till after the tour for the third solo album. No concrete information at all thus far, and Wilson himself has stated, after being asked  "...is (there) a danger that Porcupine Tree might fall by the wayside?"

The honest answer is I don’t know. The solo career for me now is probably the most important. I think about it more than anything else, I’m more focused on it than anything else, I enjoy it more than anything else...

From wikipedia, which has cited a source. So any other information is theories by starved fans. Rightfully so. Despite the fact that I still really, really abhor most of The Incident, even I'm starting to wonder what the next album will be like, and I'm not worried at all that they'll 'die out'. Wilson is far too much of a creative monster to not go against that pre-set plan that he thinks fans envision for PT. Which is probably a very large reason why he's so gung-ho about this solo-career. Either way, I wouldn't worry. He's enjoying himself, and so are the other members of PT. When the time is right, when the ideas are flowing, something will come of it. But right now that's just not his area of focus. Who knows, maybe something during this solo tour will inspire him to do something with PT.

[The Letter M]

And I agree, while Steven is enjoying his solo career, I fully do NOT expect any PT activity until I hear news about it.

After about 2 years of TFK's The Sum Of No Evil, I decided that Roine just wanted to go on with other projects, but it also helped that his fellow Kings also had other bands/projects! Even though the wait was about 5 years until the next album, I knew it would be well worth the wait, especially since we got some great music from the band members in the interim.

I believe the same might be true for SW/PT during this hiatus - we've gotten 2 very good albums from SW, as well as some great side-projects from SW and other PT members, so I'm not complaining. I'm sure that, within the next 2 years, PT will reconvene and all will be right with the prog world!

-Marc.

[glaurung]

Steven doesn't strike me as the person who would do anything for a quick cashgrab. While I agree with you that those songs are hard to come by and having them on one CD would be cool, it doesn't strike me as something SW would do himself. Possibly Roadrunner in the same way as Octane Twisted, put something out to sell some albums and remind people about the PT-name.

I wouldn't consider a "Recordings 2" to be a cash grab. I would save a lot of fan's time and money from having to hunt down to b-sides from elsewhere.

[Zantera]

Well, I think it mostly comes down to HOW it gets released. With the case of Octane Twisted and SW having barely (if any) involvement at all, then it feels like the recordlabel just putting out something to remind people of the band, and earn money on something that's just sitting around otherwise.

[seasonsinthesky]

i'm afraid the only possible upcoming PT release being mentioned is a mailorder CD reissue of Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape — SW just mentioned it on Twitter recently.

i was able to find the original YHD CD just recently for a really good price, so i'm not on board if he just does a straight reissue, but anything different (like putting the vinyl version on CD, which has other songs) and i'm in!

[TioJorge]

That's fucking awesome even if it is just a reissue, if only to get the more people interested into his earlier works, which are ingeniously beautiful. But yeah it'd be even better if there was something new to the mix.

[glaurung]

I didn't even know that existed, so I'll definitely be picking it up.

[SomeoneLikeHim]

Ever since discovering these guys a few weeks ago, all other music feels somehow lacking and I keep going back to Deadwing and In Absentia. Ahh, good stuff.

[TioJorge]

  I remember that feeling. Still kinda there. They are an amazingly talented band.

[skydivingninja]

Why are they separately reissuing Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape?  They included it as a second disc on the UTD remaster...

[?]

The bonus disc on UTD is Staircase Infinities, which includes a re-recorded version(?) of the title-track of YHD, though. YHD is basically a compilation of songs that didn't make it onto OTSOL.

[glaurung]

Why are they separately reissuing Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape?  They included it as a second disc on the UTD remaster...

That disc is what would have been included on UTD if it would have been allowed to be a double album.

[bout to crash]

Interesting...

Despite the fact that I still really, really abhor most of The Incident, even I'm starting to wonder what the next album will be like, and I'm not worried at all that they'll 'die out'. Wilson is far too much of a creative monster to not go against that pre-set plan that he thinks fans envision for PT. Which is probably a very large reason why he's so gung-ho about this solo-career. Either way, I wouldn't worry. He's enjoying himself, and so are the other members of PT. When the time is right, when the ideas are flowing, something will come of it. But right now that's just not his area of focus. Who knows, maybe something during this solo tour will inspire him to do something with PT.

If I remember correctly (too lazy to check right now), Barbieri said in that recent interview that they were all kinda tired of the "heavy" PT, and that the next release, whenever it is, will be in a different direction.

[TioJorge]

Well shit, that gets my blood flowing in all the right places. I really hope so. It would be so amazing to hear something from the mid-era or (dare I hope) beginning-era of PT's catalog. Either way they go (even if it's something completely and utterly new), any different direction is good.