Porcupine Tree just reissued their 1993 album Up The Downstair in a 2CD DigiPak edition. The album is scheduled to release in the US in June. I couldn't wait that long, so I imported. We can use this thread for discussion of the album, if anyone cares to, that is. It'll be interesting to see how many people care about the old stuff vs. the new.
As for this album, the drum machine has been replaced by Gavin Harrison. The bonus disc is the very rare Staircase Infinities album.
I was very worried that Gavin would get way too technical for this album, but he has proven me wrong. In the liner notes, Steven Wilson states that he told Gavin to be simple.
Synthesia does sound a bit strange with real drums, but your ears adjust fairly easily. Steven's vocals are much clearer now too, which really sounds great. As for the rest of the tracks, I think they sound a whole lot better than their original counterparts. Even my beloved Fadeaway sounds great with real drums. Always Never and Small Fish I was also extremely pleased with. Listening to this album again is really like a whole new experience. It is definitely worth the investment even if you have the original.
Staircase Infinities was left alone. Steven did not remaster this album. However, it is still a great piece. There are five tracks, four of which are instrumentals.
I've always liked the album Up The Downstair, but I always placed it further away from Signify through Deadwing. But it is now in that same caliber, in my opinion.
