Porcupine Tree "Warszawa" 2004****

It's been 20 years and a few months since I first saw Porcupine Tree (PT) play live. The place was a huge parking lot next to Ellinikos Kosmos cultural center in Athens. I remember being satisfied by their performance, but they were totally eclipsed by the support band, Love, whose leader Arthur Lee was recently released from prison and making up for a lost decade with a sensational, and very emotional, presence. A few years later, I saw PT again, this time supported by another legend, Van Der Graaf Generator. Which makes last week's show in Amsterdam the 3rd PT concert I've been to. The band were back from a 10-year hiatus and eager to prove they are still relevant. The lineup featured Steven Wilson, keyboardist Richard Barbieri and drummer Gavin Harrison from the old band as well as new members Randy McStine from New York, UK, and Nate Navarro from Texas, UK (according to Wilson, at least). No support band this time - and none was needed, as the show lasted for 3 hours, minus a 20-minute interval. They played their new album in its entirety, as well as a selection of past favorites - mainly from In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet. The new songs went down well with the crowd. Hearing them for the first time myself, I got the impression that the new album must be a typical, albeit above average, PT affair. Including many older songs was probably meant as a reward for the fans who had patiently waited for their return, but the result was an over-long show, which can be a bit tiresome for a "band without hit singles" as Steve Wilson himself described PT. That said, the band played impeccably, while some numbers were nicely augmented with visual content on a big screen. The whole show was being filmed for a possible BluRay release - which would make it the second time a Dutch PT show is released officially, after Anesthetize (recorded in Tilburg in 2008). A few times during the concert, Wilson had to ask for a more enthusiastic audience participation, even jokingly threatening to dub audience noise from a Harry Styles DVD. Well, he may be a talented songwriter/musician, but his stage banter needs some work. I wonder if they'll edit these bits out.

Still under the influence of the concert, I decided to present a PT album for my next blog entry. The obvious choice would be their latest release Closure/Continuation, but since I don't have it yet, I chose one of the 3 live CDs in my collection. As it is, none of them had a similar tracklist to the show I just witnessed: Coma Divine (1997) is mostly based on Signify and the band's period on the Delerium label, Warszawa (2004) is mostly based on Lightbulb Sun, and Octane Twisted (2012) contains the entirety of The Incident plus a few extra tracks. I settled on Warszawa as it has some of my favorites on it. This is not a concert recording, but a 2001 session for Polish radio, recorded live in the presence of a small audience. The session was widely bootlegged, prompting the band to release their own, superior, version, remixed from the 32-channel multitrack ADAT tapes. 6 out of the 11 tracks come from the band's then-latest CD Lightbulb Sun (2000), which is the apex of the band's psychedelic/space rock phase. Their later move towards a prog/metal hybrid would prove more successful, but for me PT never bettered Sun. Warszawa opens with "Even Less", a typically Floyd-ish song from the Stupid Dream album, and one of only 2 songs here that also featured in last week's concert. It's followed by another track from the same album, "Slave Called Shiver" featuring a more alt-rock sound with a funky foundation. "Shesmovedon" is among their poppier melodic songs, great guitar and excellent backing vocals reminiscent of 60's folk rock (think CSN&Y). "Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth" (the other track still in their setlist) also starts as an acoustic piece but veers off into space rock territory with spacey guitar and keys, and a weird spoken word excerpt by the leader of a suicide cult. "Lightbulb Sun" brings the electric guitar back to the foreground, followed by 12-minute prog epic "Russia on Ice", and a shorter melodic piece called "Where We Would Be". Next up there's aggressive rocker "Hatesong" and the atmospheric "Stop Swimming". The CD closes with two (even) older tracks. First off is "Voyage 34". In its original form it was a 30-minute electronic/trance track describing a fateful LSD trip. Hearing it re-purposed for live performance is pretty exciting: spacy guitar solos and synths reminiscent of Pink Floyd circa Meddle, while the narration and Dead Can Dance samples from the original are reprised here to provide that other-worldly atmosphere. An excellent showcase of PT's early space rock sound. After that, closing with an instrumental, even one as kinetic and complex as "Signify" seems anticlimactic. A recent (2020) remaster reinstates "Tinto Brass" in its rightful place - it was the only song performed during the session but initially omitted from the CD so that the show could fit into a single disc. Now, as a live band PT are always solid. What they lack in showmanship they make up for with their arrangements and musicianship. One's choice of live PT release would depend on which of their periods they like the best. For myself, I slightly prefer Warszawa to their other live CDs and DVDs, because it draws mostly from Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream, two of my favorites. I'd like to see them compile their all-time best songs in a single set some time, instead of focusing on their latest release. They might end up with a great live album for once, instead of another solid one. 

**** for Even Less, Slave Called Shiver, Shesmovedon, Lightbulb Sun, Hatesong, Voyage 34

*** for Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth, Russia on Ice, Where We Would Be, Stop Swimming, Signify

Porcupine Tree "Deadwing" 2005***

This is my latest Porcupine Tree acquisition, almost completing my collection: I count now 9 studio albums, 4 live ones, and two compilations, plus some scattered tracks in various samplers. I've been following PT since their first steps on the Delerium label, a UK indie that was in my radar for releasing interesting neo-psychedelic albums. I have some nice records from other Delerium bands to present in the future, but none as good as Porcupine Tree. Initially a Steven Wilson solo project heavily influenced by Pink Floyd and Gong, they gradually morphed into a real band with an instantly recognizable sound eschewing early electronic experiments in favor of a modern prog style, and spearheaded a prog revival movement during the 90's and 00's. With every release they seemed to hone their sound further, reaching their apogee (IMO) with consecutive albums Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun. At this point they took a left turn, embracing a heavier sound with traces of Dream Theater, Opeth, and a number of grunge/alt.metal bands. Deadwing belongs to this latter period: their previous melodic ambient style is augmented (or interrupted?) by violent bursts and metallic riffing. The vocals are distinctively PT: dreamy, distant-sounding, and often multi-tracked. To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of Wilson's voice: it's perfectly adequate for his material, but indifferent to me. Then again, not everybody can be Freddie Mercury or Robert Plant, and that's alright. The album opens with eponymous track "Deadwing", whose short electronic intro is then followed by heavy riffing. The song changes often pace in its 10-minute duration, and includes contributions by guests Mikael Åkerfeldt (from Opeth, on vocals) and Andrew Below (King Crimson, guitar). The latter adds a nice solo that almost justifies the existence of the song's second part, but I think it would have worked better as a straight-up rocker if faded out around the 6-minute mark. Second track "Shallow" is less complicated, and the better for it: a commercial 4-minute rocker a la Smashing Pumpkins/Soundgarden. "Halo" and "Open Car" are two more songs in the same style, while "Lazarus" is the most beautiful composition here. Atmospheric mellotron, wistful piano and dreamy vocals combine to produce one of their best ballads. Not overtly progressive, yet a great song that's bound to broaden their fan base, it has echoes of UK indie bands (think Coldplay, Elbow etc). It is the album's highlight, next to 12-minute progfest "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" reviving the ghost of Pink Floyd that was lying dormant until now. Great guitar solos, multitracked harmonies, alternating acoustic and heavy passages, everything you ever wanted from PT is here. "The Start Of Something Beautiful" is another alternative rocker with exceptional bass, rousing chorus and excellent guitarwork. The two remaining tracks "Mellotron Scratch" and "Glass Arm Shattering" are typical of PT's earlier airy psychedelic style. While undoubtedly good, they sound over-familiar. Maybe this explains PT's sudden infatuation with heavy rock circa In Absentia as an attempt to break out of the mold somehow. In any case, repetition was unavoidable - already Deadwing sounds too much like its predecessor, and two further albums in the same prog-alternative-metal style were to follow with diminishing returns before Wilson broke up the band. It is also worth noting that the album apparently started out as soundtrack to a ghost story co-scripted for film by Wilson, but never realized. This is partly mirrored in the CD booklet, but not made explicit - there are some spooky photos and cryptic scrawlings, but the lyrics are not included. No worries though because, unlike the Dream Theater's similarly themed Metropolis Pt.2 , here the story is not integral to the music. Finally, I'll acknowledge that my 3* judgement may be selling Deadwing a bit short. It is after all an intelligent, impeccably played and produced album. But after listening to as many PT CD's as I have, the repetition has started to grate on me. I wish this included more memorable choruses/riffs, or a bigger variety of styles: maybe a throwback to their electronic days or some purely acoustic folk diversion. In any case, newcomers have no reason to avoid this: it is a satisfying listen, and as good an introduction to latter-day PT as any.

**** for Shallow, Lazarus, Arriving Somewhere but Not Here, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful

*** for Deadwing, Halo, Mellotron Scratch, Glass Arm Shattering

Jethro Tull "A Passion Play" 1973***

Among fans and critics alike, no other Jethro Tull album creates more controversy than "A Passion Play". To be honest, opinion isn't all that divided: critics, at least, all agree it's pompous shite (somehow, the medieval form sounds more appropriate than just plain shit). Fans often defend its complexity and argue that the band undermine any notions of pomposity by injecting it with healthy doses of surrealist humour, although all agree that this mix of English folk, classical music, jazz and rock is somewhat difficult to digest. Serving it all up in one piece (or two sides of vinyl) makes it nigh-on impossible to swallow. Which is why I had so far abstained from acquiring it. It took the recent appearance of a Steven Wilson remix to change my mind. The Porcupine Tree mastermind's remixes of classic prog albums (especially in 5:1 surround form) have won heaps of praise but what tipped the scales for me was his decision to divide the album into 15 "songs" - although few of them can actually be described as such. Now even those of us with a short attention span can enjoy "A Passion Play". Bandleader Ian Anderson's first mischief was his work's title, the word "passion" in classical music usually referring to the passion of Christ. But, although this play deals with Heaven & Hell, its take on the afterlife is distinctly different from the official Christian version. After an instrumental intro, track 2 ("The Silver Cord") has the protagonist Ronnie Pilgrim watch his own funeral, in ghostly form. The song is a ballad in the familiar JT prog-folk style, giving way to an acoustic instrumental interlude ("Re-Assuring Tune"), a complex prog piece ("Memory Bank") and a more hard rock one ("Best Friends"). "Critique Oblique" is a strong prog-rocker which survived from sessions for an aborted album at the Château d'Hérouville studio. In storytelling terms, these songs account for Purgatory and Judgement. "Forest Dance" (a nice baroque-prog piece) sees Ronnie Pilgrim pass the test and get admitted to Heaven. But it's interrupted, to the dismay of Tull fans, by a completely unrelated Monty Python-esque story about a "hare who lost his spectacles", narrated in a silly voice. A short film of the story was made and projected during the band's concerts of the time. Trying to describe it is pointless. You just have to see it:

The second part sees Ronnie experiencing Heaven and Hell and rejecting them both, to finally get in line for reincarnation. Musically it is, to my ears, more accessible, with songs like "Flight From Lucifer" and "Magus Perde" sounding like the familiar Jethro Tull of the Aqualung period. Saxophone solos (most notably in "The Foot Of Our Stairs") make for a nice addition to the Tull sound, as do some flamenco flourishes in "Overseer Overture". Two short pieces (acoustic instrumental "10.08 to Paddington" and the literally titled "Epilogue") round up the record. My final verdict is that "A Passion Play" isn't all that bad. Taken in small morsels rather than swallowed whole, it can be quite enjoyable. The new remix, which properly highlights the musicians' inspired playing, almost compensates for the absence of recognisable song structures. On the other hand, there can be no excuse for including the silly rabbit story and placing it in the middle of the album. JT fans circulate their own versions of the album on youtube with that piece edited out - probably a better way to enjoy this work...

**** for Critique Oblique, Flight From Lucifer, Magus Perde

*** for The Silver Cord, Re-Assuring Tune Memory Bank Best Friends, Forest Dance #1, Forest Dance #2, The Foot Of Our Stairs, Overseer Overture, 10.08 to Paddington, 

** for Lifebeats /Prelude, The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, Epilogue