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Surrounded By Prog - Steven Wilson's Insurgentes

To start, a quick apology: if you feel that the posts have slowed somewhat here at the Prog Rock Blog, you'd be correct. The fact of the matter is that the Vancouver winter Olympics are well underway and most of my time has been dedicated to keeping an eye on the Canadian TV coverage for my Canadian media blog. Fear not though, while the Olympics are on for a few weeks, the world of Prog never sleeps. I'll post as often as I can here and will resume to full-tilt Progland once the closing ceremonies are over. Prog On! (hahaha that's a silly thing to say)

As much as I adore what Porcupine Tree has done over the last couple of decades, my favorite album by Mr. Wilson probably has to be the one he released under his own name. Steven's first solo album is not just another Porcupine Tree album. There are hints of the PT sound to be found for sure, but what makes Insurgentes so special for me is that it's really a compendium of everything Steven Wilson. Take a dash of Porcupine Tree, add some No-Man, sprinkle a bit of Bass Communion and heap in a health dose of Blackfield. This album features just about every aspect of the man. We often mention about how diverse and prolific the guy is, but I'm not sure we've ever considered what it would sound like if he brought all of his masks to the same ball. That really is the essence of what makes Insurgentes what it is: a work of art unique to one man. There is always a question of how much of the artist should be apparent in his art. This album is pure Steven Wilson.

Frankly, I have no idea why I haven't presented this album earlier in this series. The great thing about it is if you own it, you have the DVD-Audio. As far as I'm able to tell, every CD comes bundled with the DVD. That means that if you're even remotely into contemporary Progressive Rock, you probably already own it. And wow, what a disc it is to own. In fact, looking over my fairly large collection of surround sound music discs, this album probably ranks amongst the all time best. What I mean by this is that never has there been a better 5.1 music release in the history of the format. (It's likely that The Incident may take the crown once it comes out in a month or so, but for now Insurgentes is king) Everything about this disc is perfect: the music, as previously mentioned, is amongst the most diverse and interesting of Wilson's long career. When it comes to mixing music for surround sound, there are simply none better than Steven Wilson. He's taken what could have been sheer novelty and elevated it to level of beautiful art. Every track on this album creates a 3D sound-field that will envelope and surround you.

The album starts off with what I consider to be the least interesting track. Harmony Korine will probably remind you of Blackfield. This automatically means a focus on the pop song structure. It's a good pop song for sure, and the surround mix is excellent, but compared with what's to follow it seems tame and bland. Things start to get very interesting with the next track: Abandoner. As soon as it starts you are immersed in a world of vinyl crackle and analog warmth. Steven's voice takes to the centre channel with a chilling dry delivery of cynical verse. The first instrumental break occurs when one acoustic guitar plays a Spanish flavoured line in the front left speaker and a second responds in harmony in the rear right. Second verse (well if you can call it that, this is hardly standard songwriting here) comes with a chorus of Wilsons backing up the initial lone voice from the rears. Then we enter a state of quiet suspended animation. The delicate glockenspiel in the left rear doesn't prepare you for what's happening next. Suddenly a wall of white noise and distortion surrounds you like a veil of evil descending creating a thick fog of sound. It's an amazing effect that has to be heard to be believed. If you're familiar with this song in stereo, you aren't getting the full effect of this section.

Veneno Para Las Hadas. If the opening guitar chords remind you of Porcupine Tree's Sky Moves Sideways, you're not alone. What really makes this song unique and special is just how much better Wilson has gotten at creating lush atmosphere. This is a great track to play to anyone who is convinced that digital is incapable of the warmth of analog vinyl. The bounding bass and lush harmonies surround you and fill your body with warmth. This is a delicate track and the surround mix is ripe with soft detail. It'll send a shiver down your spine. And then there's the woodwind. You can hear the reeds vibrating! This is a master recording engineer at his finest.

No Twilight Within The Courts of the Sun is definitely the hardest rocking piece here. Fans of Porcupine Tree are going to see (hear) plenty to like. Check this out: Tony Levin on bass and Gavin Harrison on drums. What an out of this world rhythm section! The Fripp-like screeching and searing guitar that permeates this track is some of Wilson's most interesting. If there was any track you could use to show off the extended dynamic range of DVD-Audio, this would be it. It goes from ear bleeding loud to whisper quiet. A couple of moments will surely make you leap out of your flesh. Fantastic production. Check out the cool moment when Wilson's whispering vocal first enters: it's a cool effect that really sounds like he's inside your head.

My award for best-of-the-best surround (that is the best track on the best album) would go to Twilight Coda. This soft and beautiful instrumental is definitely a demo piece. Turn off the lights and crank up the sound. The rich guitars and piano (by Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess no less) creates the perfect audio replica for that eerie feeling you get at twilight. This is 5.1 bliss right here. (That's no over exaggeration my friends). Get All You Deserve is as creepy as creepy gets. Wilson's voice is so delicate and soft, at yet for some reason I feel it's subliminally threatening. The song ends with what Wilson dubs "Total Fucking Noise". I suggest you listen to it yourself to see exactly what he means by this. (Hint: it's very loud)

As we've come to expect from Mr. Wilson over the years, the album comes to an end with a beautiful and moving piano ballad. This track was apparently recorded in a church and the 5.1 recreates the cavernous space perfectly. It's a subdued and emotional way to conclude the disc. (Did I mention the koto? My oh my: the koto!)

I could really go on and on (and on and on and on...) about how great this album is. This is the perfect work of art and one of the best examples of artistic rock we've had in decades. It's completely original. Steven Wilson has put just about every other modern rock artist to shame. This is miles away from what you're going to hear on mainstream radio. You can't say that there aren't any original things being done in rock after listening to this masterpiece. This album came out early 2009 and completely blew out anything else created around the same time frame. Why do the majority of people continue to listen to what the mainstream rock stations are oozing out when there is such real creativity going on under the radar? The fact that this work, and pretty much everything Wilson's done in the last few decades, has been largely ignored by most rock critics and fans just goes to show you how miserable the mainstream has become (at least here in North America).

Do yourself a favour, if you don't already own this, you have to pick it up today. Keep in mind that if you buy the CD you are also getting the DVD-Audio. If you don't own a surround sound system but know a buddy who does, then ask to borrow it for an hour or so. It is the best mix I've ever heard coupled with some of the most original and dynamic rock music produced in the last decade. The Incident is about to come out on DVD-Audio very soon so expect me to review that as soon as I get my hands on it. There is no doubt in my mind that it's going to be fantastic.

Now, if you don't mind I have to get back to watching the Olympics. There's an exciting curling match underway.

Found Link: The Vine reviews Porcupine Tree's concert in Brisbane

No band has done more to challenge the preconceived notion that many have about Progressive music in the last decade. While the idea of playing a 55-minute song to open up a concert is an unthinkably pretentious notion to many, Steven Wilson and crew have been opening up the notion that longer can indeed be better to many around the world during The Incident tour. This rather thoughtful review touches on this fact and many others aspects of Porcupine Tree's very entertaining show that has been travelling to all parts of the world over the last six months or so. If you've already seen the tour then you'll find the review a nice reminder of many aspects of the tour.

Live Review - Porcupine Tree, Brisbane 2010 - Music | thevine.com.au

Though song lengths can be used as a fair marker of an act's pretension - that is, the longer the song, the larger the sense of self-infatuation - when you're making music this beautiful, one might see little point in conforming to convention. Porcupine Tree hope to create music whose attraction crosses boundaries; the wide array of humanity assembled at The Tivoli tonight reflects this. Emotive, considered and dramatic, this is music that demands your full attention if you're to begin to reciprocate.

News: Porcupine Tree returing to Canada in May

This is a heads up to all Canadian Porcupine Tree fans (hey, that's me!). There was fear that Steven Wilson and the band were going to go back on their promise to return here in the spring. Well, fear not! Mr. Wilson is a man of his word. Porcupine Tree will be coming back to Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto on May 6th, 7th and 8th respectively. No word as to when tickets will go on sale. Keep an eye on Porcupine Tree's site for more information.

Found Link: Neil Peart says Rush may abandon the 'album', but might follow Porcupine Tree and write longer material

Well well well. When I posted previously that Rush's drummer Neil Peart was saying Rush might abandon the album format, it was assumed that meant that they might become a 'pop-single' band. That assumption, it would seem, was a bit presumptuous. According to an interview in the Belleville Intelligencer, Peart says that after seeing Porcupine Tree playing all 55-minutes of The Incident in concert, he understands that just because the physical medium may be irrelevant in a digital world, it doesn't mean that writing extended musical excursions is automatically impossible. The quote goes as follows:

I went to see a band called Porcupine Tree not long ago. And I was talking with (singer-guitarist) Steven Wilson. They just put out a 55- minute piece. That's a finger to the whole iTunes shuffle thing, and he intended it as such. And I thought, 'Yeah, that's another way of rebelling against it -- by just saying no.' There's too much lost in giving up the integrity of an album -- what it represents to you as a musician, and as a human being, for that matter. So I like that approach. That's very possible for a band like us. So there are no limitations; we might go big or we might go small.

 This makes me very happy. Steven Wilson is a guy that clearly understands the power of the extended musical journey. It's almost ironic that after being influenced by Rush's albums of the past, he now is having an influence on their future songwriting. What goes around comes around.

Rush Blog - Rush is a Band Blog: New Neil Peart interview with the Belleville Intelligencer

REVIEW: Porcupine Tree - The Incident

However much I tried, each attempt to compose this review resulted in me discarding what I had written. The problem is that this album has received quite a bit of media attention. One of my intentions whenever I do any writing is to be original. I don't want to repeat what others have already written. What's the point? There is so much obnoxious repetitious trash online already. One benefit of focusing on the obscure Progressive albums that is the point of this blog, is that quite often there is scarce prior work in terms of reviews on the web. Thus, originality is all too easy. Then Porcupine Tree came along...

As I've mentioned recently, Porcupine Tree has garnered unprecedented success with their most recent album The Incident. A quick glance at this Wikipedia article will serve as ample proof of this fact. While this isn't exactly a number one hit, you have to remember that this is in reality a ONE SONG ALBUM!!! When was the last time such a composition reached such heights in the popular charts? I would guess that honor would most likely befall Jethro Tull's A Passion Play. That number one album contained one epic length 'song' split into various sections and movements. The Incident follows a similar structure. In the year 2009, nearly four decades removed from the peak of Progressive Rock's popularity, this is quite an achievement.

This brings me to my own opinion on this album. Since the vast majority of the press reviews have been positive, I considered staking my claim to originality by panning the work. When the album was released I was deep into a study of Frank Zappa's catalog and Steven Wilson's latest composition seemed all too simple and tame in comparison. Really though, who was I kidding? I'm sure most things sound simplistic and formulaic when compared to Zappa's creativity. Porcupine Tree was never about complexity and insane originality. Comparing them to Zappa would be like comparing computer monitors with banana peels.

I then remembered Mr. Wilson's general hatred towards the modern day 'download culture' and the Single Track mentality that comes along with that. He's an album man! He comes from a background of creating long flowing compositions that are meant to be digested in one sitting. In a way, The Incident's structure is really a way of encouraging the '3 minute song' crowd to consider the album as a whole as opposed to simply a collection of unrelated tracks. Every one of Porcupine Tree's albums actually does follow this model, but this didn't stop the modern day music fan from going on iTunes and just purchasing Trains instead of all of In Absentia in one go.

What does that make The Incident then? In one sense you could compare its effects on popular culture to what The Beatles did with Sargent Pepper's in the 60s. (Of course Porcupine Tree is still completely obscure by comparison so the comparison isn't really fair.) After decades of the Hit Single ruling the music business, The Incident proves once again that it is The Album that is the real platform for creative composers in the Rock genre. The way Wilson guides you through the extended length of The Incident provides a powerful experience that simply cannot be achieved in the 3-5 minute length of a single song. It is only after sitting through the 55 minute composition that even the most skeptical Pop Song fan should realize that music is really capable of being much more than a catchy tune and a nice voice.

As my last essay stated, I am sure that creativity is making a comeback. The faster the old monolithic record companies bite the dust, the better it will be for music as a serious art form. I feel that the age of Big Money in the world of music has reduced it from a true medium of creativity to bland aural wallpaper, decorating the bland boring life of the bland sheepish consumer. I have always believed that listening to music can provide as much emotional and intellectual stimulation as a good film or book. Those of us who chose to stick with Progressive Rock during the 80s, 90s and 00s are already well aware of this fact. Let's all encourage Mr. Wilson and the rest of Porcupine Tree as much success as possible. They are on the front lines of a musical revolution that started online but is making its way, however slowly, through the current of our societies.

Oh, and if you haven't guessed, The Incident comes with my highest recommendations! If you have yet to purchase it, do so immediately and help spur on music's renewal.



Keep The Prog Alive!!!