Porcupine Tree v. Glarung is a Lightbulb

[jammindude]

I don't listen much to PT anymore, but FOABP will probably always be my favorite. There's a lot of very solid albums after that too.

Ummm...ya.   Exactly ONE of them.   

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

 

[Ultimetalhead]

Deadwing's one of those albums where I keep forgetting how much I like it because I listen to the other post-Stupid Dream albums so much more. But I revisited it a few weeks back and gained a little mini-obsession with Open Car. It's funny how you can hear a song so many times but once in a while, it will just hit you in a way you wouldn't expect.

Open Car is a fucking awesome song. Sure there's better songs, but it's utterly fantastic. Love the chorus to death.

[aprilethereal]

Out of interest: can you tell me something about the pre-Stupid Dream material? I know what kind of "sound" their later albums and the SD/LBS era have, but what about the early ones? And which one(s) of those do you recommend?

[FlyingBIZKIT]

A lot of electronic elements.

[FlyingBIZKIT]

All of them but OTSOL. You don't really NEED to hear that one, but at least listen to Nine Cats and Radioactive Toy

[The Letter M]

Pink Floyd meets Electornic meets Tape-experiments meets...a crap-ton of things that were influencing SW in the late 80's/early 90's.

I'd say, after you've digested everything from SD-onward, work your way backwards starting with Signify, which was truly their first full-band effort and less of an SW-with-guests under the moniker of Porcupine Tree. Then again, PT's first "album" was mostly SW anyway, but he still counts it.

-Marc.

[Super Dude]

Lately I've been giving Stupid Dream more of a chance that I previously had; it's really clicking now. Signify though...I dunno, I don't like his spacey psychedelic phase.

[aprilethereal]

Alright, thanks for the information, I think I'll give In Absentia and The Incident a try before I move on to the early stuff.

[Nel]

Deadwing's one of those albums where I keep forgetting how much I like it because I listen to the other post-Stupid Dream albums so much more. But I revisited it a few weeks back and gained a little mini-obsession with Open Car. It's funny how you can hear a song so many times but once in a while, it will just hit you in a way you wouldn't expect.

Open Car is a fucking awesome song. Sure there's better songs, but it's utterly fantastic. Love the chorus to death.

It's the way that "Being(?) with you is Hell" line hits that sealed it for me. Love that. 

[The Letter M]

Lately I've been giving Stupid Dream more of a chance that I previously had; it's really clicking now. Signify though...I dunno, I don't like his spacey psychedelic phase.

Their Pre-SD era took me awhile, too, to get used to. I've always enjoyed The Sky Moves Sideways the most out of their first 4 studio albums. I also happen to listen to these albums with their "companion" LPs/EPs as well...
On The Sunday Of Life + Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape
Up The Downstair + Staircase Infinities
Signify + Insignificance + Metanoia

There's just so much material that DIDN'T make the early albums that I usually lump those companion albums with their related studio albums to get the full experience of their earlier (and sometimes later) material.

-Marc.

[Super Dude]

Here we go again (out of the ones I actually have, anyway):

Deadwing
Stupid Dream
In Absentia
Lightbulb Sun
Fear of a Blank Planet
The Incident
The Sky Moves Sideways
Signify

I know I'm missing a LOT.

[aprilethereal]

What exactly is the problem with The Incident that it's so unpopular?

[Nel]

The Incident is my first PT album, so I do love it, but from what I gather, most longtime fans were tiring of the "metal" angle that PT had been doing during the last decade, and TI wasn't really doing anything to set itself apart from previous releases. Combine that with Time Flies sounding more like a rip-off of Pink Floyd songs than an homage and it's a so-so album for a lot of people.

Like I said, though, I really do love it. Disc 2 not so much, but yeah...

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

For me, at least, it had the misfortune of following up Fear OF A Blank Planet, one of my favorite albums.

I've grown to appreciate it a bit more, but it feels just a bit uninspired. I know that's just a matter of opinion, but I think it has some credence, with Steven putting PT on hold following it.

But, that's just my opinion. It's quite a good album, just not really on par with their best works.

[JayOctavarium]

Deadwing
Fear
Stupid Dream
Lightbulb Sun
Signify

Incident






I haven't listened to anything pre - Signify enough to rate

[Ultimetalhead]

Deadwing
Fear of a Blank Planet
In Absentia
The Incident
Lightbulb Sun
Stupid Dream
Signify
Up the Downstair
The Sky Moves Sideways
On the Sunday of Life

[TioJorge]

It will more than likely be universally disagreed with, but On The Sunday of Life is a must-listen if you want to experience what Wilson expanded upon with and how PT gets its truly psychedelic start. Duffy's lyrics are among the most creative and insightful lyrics I've ever had the pleasure of listening to and while the music is highly inconsistent, it's one of the things I love about it. Certainly one of the most diverse albums in existence; I really love most of the tracks. But again, I'm pretty much the only one with that opinion, which is fine; but anyone starting out with PT should really at least give it a shot and/or force yourself to listen to it if only for the experience if the music itself isn't your thing. It's a trip.

I personally thought The Incident was bland, boring, repetitive and highly drawn out. Not only was I tiring of the metal aspect of PT by the point TI was released, but the whole 'song cycle' (or for that matter, 'concept albums') pushed me over the edge. I really cannot stand most of the album and it truly pains me to admit that every time because I haven't disliked a single thing from Wilson and company; but that album is one glaring exception. I've given it many chances and time after time I have to admit that it's simply not for me. Some great moments, but few and far between and the fact that I feel as if I have to listen to the whole damn thing lest each song feel out of place and random is a huge turn-off. That is one of the reasons why I dislike most concept albums. I like to be able to pick and chose a song to listen to at a moments notice, and that's very difficult to do with a concept album, let alone a huge 'song cycle'. I do really love the title track and The Seance though. That's...about it...

[Big Hath]

I've grown to appreciate it a bit more, but it feels just a bit uninspired. I know that's just a matter of opinion, but I think it has some credence, with Steven putting PT on hold following it.

But, that's just my opinion. It's quite a good album, just not really on par with their best works.

this is pretty much how I feel about The Incident as well.  Uninspired seems to be the best descriptor I can put on it, even though it is quite good in places.

[TioJorge]

Perfect word to use... It does feel absolutely uninspired.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Yes it does feel uninspired. And it only has maybe 2 great tracks (Time Flies and Remember Me Lover) in the many tracks on it.

[?]

Hm, your avatar

I took it from this video as a kind of compromise, because this pic looked funnier than the Signify one and someone was using the original In Absentia cover here, so I thought the Photoshopeth'd version might not look different enough when it's so small.

Regarding the early stuff, I haven't heard OTSOL, but Up the Downstair and The Sky Moves Sideways are awesome and Signify has a lot of great songs, although some filler tracks make it a bit weaker than the aforementioned two albums.

"Uninspired" is a good adjective to describe The Incident. It doesn't offer anything new and the previous three albums did the same things better. The first disc is also broken down to so many short tracks that don't work when listened to on their own and even as part of the album they are really meh. The Incident is easily the weakest PT album I've heard and it was a smart decision to take a break afterwards, although I think PT could come back now.

[Ultimetalhead]

I like pretty much everything on The Incident except Flicker and Black Dahlia.

[aprilethereal]

this video

Some of those I hadn't seen before, amazing stuff

And one of my favourite Opeth songs as well

[bout to crash]

I like pretty much everything on The Incident except Flicker and Black Dahlia.

Good gawd this.

[Zantera]

I highly recommend Signify if we're talking pre-Stupid Dream material. Second best PT-album imo, and has some really brilliant tunes, and their best song. (Dark Matter) Up the Downstair is another really great album, and The Sky Moves Sideways feels very Pink Floyd inspired, and is also really good.

[Super Dude]

The Incident is my first PT album, so I do love it, but from what I gather, most longtime fans were tiring of the "metal" angle that PT had been doing during the last decade, and TI wasn't really doing anything to set itself apart from previous releases. Combine that with Time Flies sounding more like a rip-off of Pink Floyd songs than an homage and it's a so-so album for a lot of people.

Like I said, though, I really do love it. Disc 2 not so much, but yeah...

Actually Time Flies is the only track I like off that album, apart from Kneel and Disconnect. I just found it was OK but there was nothing standout about it. Thinking back, I did grade it too harshly; it should at least be above FoaBP.

[mellotron_scratch]

I like pretty much everything on The Incident except Flicker and Black Dahlia.

Good gawd this.

This, but I love Black Dahlia; it's probably one of my favourites from the album. Not a huge fan of Flicker.

[aprilethereal]

Thinking back, I did grade it too harshly; it should at least be above FoaBP.

What's not to like about FOABP?


Couldn't wait till next week so I've started listening to Deadwing on Spotify. Sounds excellent so far (NP: Mellotron Scratch).

[Super Dude]

Thinking back, I did grade it too harshly; it should at least be above FoaBP.

What's not to like about FOABP?


Couldn't wait till next week so I've started listening to Deadwing on Spotify. Sounds excellent so far (NP: Mellotron Scratch).

It's a very boring album. Some nice melodies here and there, but nothing that sticks. The first half of Anesthetize is the only thing I can stand to listen to anymore.

[Ħ]

I like pretty much everything on The Incident except Flicker and Black Dahlia.

This is the correct opinion.

[aprilethereal]

Thinking back, I did grade it too harshly; it should at least be above FoaBP.

What's not to like about FOABP?


Couldn't wait till next week so I've started listening to Deadwing on Spotify. Sounds excellent so far (NP: Mellotron Scratch).

It's a very boring album. Some nice melodies here and there, but nothing that sticks. The first half of Anesthetize is the only thing I can stand to listen to anymore.

That's really interesting. Apart from some parts in Sleep Together, I think it's exceptional.
Of course I can't really compare it to other PT albums (yet).

[JayOctavarium]

Oh snap forgot In Absentia in my rating... it goes up just under Fear...

[Ħ]

I see nothing wrong with FOABP. It's pretty much a flawless album in my eyes.

[KevShmev]

The Incident > Fear of a Blank Planet.

That's right.  Both are great, but The Incident is just a little bit better.