Porcupine Tree-Where do I start? (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Bunk]

I have not seen PT live yet. Wouldlove to see them release a concert DVD. The Opeth one is fantastic BTW.

 

[Jim_C]

Okay, I know this is the PT thread but we got off on a tangent...

I finally picked up and listened to the Opeth Damnation CD. Ho-lee shit! It's awesome! I would've never guessed they would put out such a melodic, amazing album (outside of the cookie monster stuff). I only wish they had a few more just like it.

I understand that they mix up the vocals between the growls/normal singing on their other albums. Are any of them primarily normal with less growls mixed in? I just don't think I can listen to the cookie monster stuff but man, I want more Opeth now.

 

[Jim_C]

Thanks for clearing it up, Paul. I had a feeling that was the case. As I said in earlier posts, I have a hard time listening to the cookie monster stuff. I was hoping it was 30/70 heavy/mellow. Oh well. I'll just listen to Damnation over and over and over again.

 

[ChrisDixon]

Morningrise is one of the mellower ones, but I don't think the writing was quite as good. Great guitar work though. Damnation is a special album, and you just have to enjoy it as a "one of a kind" for them. Though I think songs 2, 3, and 4 of Blackwater Park are just as good, if not better.

Chris

 

[Lee M T]

Your right Chris, 2, 3, and 4 are sweet off Blackwater Park. Steven Sounds really great on his parts on "Bleak." I actually never fully listened to that song until recently and discovered Steven singing on it.

I also just realized a couple of weeks ago that there was a double version of Blackwater Park. It has a bonus disc with two more songs on it. Both of wich are good. They are both mellow songs that feature predominately just guitar work. No drums or much else. Some excellent vocal work though. This edition is hard to come by. I took a chance with Barnes & Nobel for $19.99. They said it would take 1-2 weeks to ship, so I didn't have my hopes up. But it shipped in two days.

 

[Ron Reda]

I finally broke down and picked up Deadwing and In Absetia on DVD-A based on rave reviews on Allmusic.com and here at HTF. Wow, now I know what you guys were so pumped about...what a great band! So far, I've only listened to Deadwing, but have been really impressed. I was initially put off by the fact that there's no high-res stereo track, but even when listening in plain ol' DTS, it sounded simply awesome. I've never heard a surround mix like this before. I usually don't like 5.1 music, but I have to make an exception for these guys.

 

[mackie]

welcome to the club - grab Ligthbulb Sun and Signify when you get a chance.

 

[Rich Romero]

Steven Wilson deserves zero credit for "coaxing" mellow stuff out of Opeth considering Still Life could be considered their mellowest album besides Damnation, and it was made before he arrived. Also, Steven had no say in making an all mellow album considering the decision was already made before he even came aboard.

 

[Lee M T]

Well, Opeth definitely had the mellow stuff. SW definitely didn't tell them to start doing mellow stuff. Still Life is my favorite non SW related Opeth album...and it is far better than Deliverance.

But Steven was every bit the reason the last three albums were as good as they were. Watching the Lamentations DVD, it seems Steven had an absolute ton of input on how things went. Everything he mentioned in the documentary, Mikael immediately just went along with. Track three on Damnation was originally called Eevile Cruelty and Steven wasn't having any of it. So he rewrote it and called it Death Whispered A Lullabye. Plus, all the keyboard, piano, and mellotron parts were mostly SW's idea and he was the one to implement them. Not to mention he was brought in mainly for vocal manipulation and quality. Which Steven had a ton of input. You can just tell on many tracks, for instance the last vocal line on track 4 on Damnation, "Closure," that thick harmonizing along with the flow of the line, that was Steven's doing. It just sounds like that line belongs on a PT album.

I think it was definitely a collaborative effort, but it's more like Steven was a part of the band Opeth from 2001-2003, rather than he was just there for a couple of days each time (which is actually how it was).

 

[Rich Romero]

Umm, no. Track 3 was named Eevile Cruelty by Steven as a joke mocking the bands death metal image. That was never the title. It's called a joke. Opeth would have made 3 brilliant albums without him is the point I'm trying to make. I love Deliverance, but they made better albums on the whole before he got there. My Arms, Your Hearse being their best album.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Of course these are all opinions being stated here and not fact...

My opinion being Opeth took a substantial leap ahead in almost every sense with Steven being involved. The last three releases retained everything I liked about the first four releases and added a new layer of sophistication IMO.

Of course Opeth would have progressed and made some fine albums had SW never been involved. Personally, I'm very glad they went the way they did. And the new clip I heard floating around sounds awesome as well. It'll be interesting to hear how they applied what they've learned from the past few releases and put a new spin on it.

 

[Felix Martinez]

I just finished interviewing Steven Wilson this afternoon. Even with the chaos in London today, he was gracious enough to spend about 1/2 hour on the phone to discuss Deadwing and his experiences with surround sound music (so far).

A few bullets:

* He was not into or even aware of DVD-A, SACD (music in surround) prior to DTSE's DVD-A release of In Absentia - which was mixed about a year after the original album wrapped. While he loved the experience, he said it was difficult to recall all the EQ and mixing decisions to make the 5.1 faithful to the stereo version (he's satisfied with the final result, but is more pleased with Deadwing). With Deadwing, the stereo and 5.1 were mixed back to back, and he was much more involved in the process. The Deadwing CD and DVD-A were released about a month apart, and he plans to do this going forward.

* Many of the demo tracks for Deadwing made it to the final release. In fact about 60-70% of the vocal tracks are taken from the demos - which were immaculately recorded anyway.

* We spoke at length about dynamics and mastering. As he is very involved in all aspects of his music, he takes this very seriously. The In Absentia and Deadwing DVD-As (and CDs) were mastered with dynamics in mind. Steven hates the current state of slam-the-levels mastering, and is even thinking about putting a disclaimer on the packaging that states that the levels may not be as loud as other CDs, but this retains the original dynamics of the performance. Feel free to raise the volume!

* While Elliot Scheiner mixed both IA and Deadwing (the latter with Steven working closely with him), Steven will be spending part of this summer to tackle mixing prior PT releases himself - and yes, there are plans for earlier PT releases on DVD-A.

* He is very concerned with not repeating himself, and is always pushing himself into new areas - he would hate for PT fans to experience a sense of deja vu when listening to a new PT album.

* He says he's been criticized for going a bit to far in assembling immaculate productions, and as balance, this is one of the reasons he brought in Adrian Belew to do some chaotic guitar work on Deadwing!

Looking forward to hearing more from this great artist and band!

 

[Lee M T]

Awesome info Felix! Much appreciated. I'm already eager for some older releases in DVD-A. Up The Downstair and The Sky Moves Sideways would be phenominal in this format, what with there spacey feel and all!

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Heck, I'd settle for domestic stereo releases of Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun!

 

[Manus]

I wish they'd put 'metanoia' and XM 1.2 and maybe 'Recordigs' out , E-Bay has gone to hell lately !


M

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Can't you order all those from porcupinetree.com? Or do you pay more since they ship from europe?

 

[Lee M T]

Unfortunately many of Porcupine Tree's releases are out of print. Some just because that's the way the world of music sometimes works out, especially when label hopping. Sometimes its because PT has limited the number of copies to sell. Recordings was limited to 20,000 copies and is now sold out everywhere. You'll usually have to pay around $100 to get a copy in good condition. Some PT releases can sell upwards of $400. It's rather sad really, so much of this music needs to be heard by the world. Kind of hard to do when there are only 2,000 copies of Steven Wilson's Cover Versions in existence. Or only 350 copies of Steve's Unreleased Electronic Music out there.

Luckily a lot of the major releases from Porcupine Tree have already been reprinted (Up The Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways, Signify, Voyage 34) and others are still to come (Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun). There has been a rumor that Recordings actually would see light of day again. But that would make the value of my #07636 go down. hehe Oh well. I'd be more happy with other people getting to enjoy this music.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Lee,

Just curious, where is it stated that Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are confirmed for re-release? I've been hearing this rumor for a while, and I thought they would get out in time for Deadwing but no such luck.

Also, I managed to get a brand new copy of Recordings last year for about $40-had to order from Sweden though.

 

[Lee M T]

Get over to Amazon.com right away!

Pure Narcotic Single: $10.49
4 Chords Single: $12.98
Lightbulb Sun (Single disc version): $17.98
Stupid Dream: $12.98

All brand new!!! Warning though, it does say 1-2 weeks for shipping. That usually doesn't bode well, but for them to suddenly show all these in stock seems as if they will indeed ship.

Good luck.

 

[Jim_C]

Well, I took a chance and ordered Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream via Amazon. We'll see if they actually have them. The order listed them as new and sold thru Borders via Amazon. I'll let you know if they show up.

Thanks for the heads-up, Lee!