Archive Review: Steven Wilson’s Insurgentes (2009)

Rock music these days is largely a game of desire, with many musicians acting as petulant children wanting an extra cookie at snack time. Every singer wants to leave their band to become a solo artist, every guitarist wants to become the singer, every bassist wants to play guitar and, well, you get the idea. The rules are different in prog-rock, though, where musicians get a chance to pretty much wear whatever cloak they want on any given day, depending on their skill set and ambition. Take, for instance, Steven Wilson, prog-rock wunderkind and the subject of today’s treatise.

The erstwhile singer/songwriter/guitarist in front of neo-proggers Porcupine Tree, Wilson has so much music inside, knocking at the door waiting to be let out, that he can’t be constrained by just the efforts of his already-prolific full-time band. No, Wilson has also dabbled in side-projects such as Blackfield, his collaboration with Israeli musician Aviv Geffen, as well as No-Man with vocalist and songwriter Tim Bowness. Did I mention that he has also spend significant time hanging around the studio with Goth-metal cult faves Opeth? Or that he’s lent his musical and production skills to works by former Marillion frontman Fish and ex-Japan bassist Mick Karn?

Steven Wilson’s Insurgentes

Hell, he even sang behind Janet Jackson on “Rhythm Nation”! And it’s not like Wilson is a dilettante, sniffing around here and there and quickly abandoning projects…these side deals have, in some cases, lasted for years and have resulted in better than a dozen albums. Still, the release of Wilson’s solo album Insurgentes marks a distinct departure from his previous modus operandi. A full-length work more akin to a Porcupine Tree album than to much of his avant-garde personal wanderings, Insurgentes is his highest-profile solo album, Wilson’s most traditional and yet adventurous work to date.

Within the ten songs on Insurgentes Wilson has created a wealth of tone and texture, each composition a surprising carnival ride of the unexpected. The brilliant “Abandoner” is a moody, atmospheric piece with a fractured antique sound serving as a recurring riff upon which Wilson layers on subdued vocals, odd instrumentation, and percussive keyboards and synth. After lulling you into an unquiet sleep, the song suddenly explodes around the three-anna-half mark into a blazing white light roar before gently lapsing back into its languid state.

“Salvaging,” a lengthy soundscape, rages from pastoral to furious and back, and displays some of Wilson’s most expressive and deeply-cutting guitarplay as well as his most gentle composing skills. The disjointed and cacophonous “No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun” is a dense, eight-minute clash of instrumentation that treads not-so-lightly into Sun Ra territory, admittedly from a rock perspective. Helped by prog royalty like bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson) and pianist Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), the song’s unexpected twists-and-turns make for a challenging and, ultimately, rewarding work.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

With Insurgentes, Steven Wilson has taken a giant step forward in favor of his solo career, capturing his unique vision with this intelligent collection of imagination, anger, and passion. Incorporating the electronic drone and avant-garde experimentation of much of his earlier solo work with the aggressiveness of hard rock and the virtuoso nature of progressive rock, Wilson has created in Insurgentes a hybrid, of sorts, certain to keep listeners scratching their heads and sighing in disbelief for some time. (Kscope Records, released ‎March 22nd, 2009)   

Review originally published by Blurt magazine, 2009

Buy the CD from Amazon: Steven Wilson’s Insurgentes

Archive Review: Porcupine Tree's Deadwing (2005)

If any band leads the charge, bringing progressive-rock back to the great unwashed masses, it may well be Porcupine Tree. For almost a decade and a half, the English band, led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Steven Wilson, has forged a career by tempering prog-rock tendencies with hard rock sensibilities. Unlike other leading lights in the modern prog movement such as Spock’s Beard or the Flower Kings – bands that take their cue from ‘70s-era progmasters like Yes or King Crimson – Porcupine Tree instead follows a path similar to Pink Floyd. Throw in a strong measure of NWOBM reliance on startling guitar riffs; add elements of lush, ‘90s-vintage 4AD label atmospherics, and stir well with Wilson’s self-taught musical genius and you’ll have the sound of Porcupine Tree.

Porcupine Tree’s Deadwing

The eighth studio effort from Porcupine Tree and only the band’s second album to receive any sort of significant stateside distribution, Deadwing is a magnificent collection of songs with easy appeal to both the mainstream music fan and the diehard prog-rocker. The album opens with the nine-minute-plus title cut, a stunning musical tour de force that never loses steam no matter how many twists and turns the song takes. Infected with an overall moody ambience, Wilson’s somber lyrics are supported by taut leads and blazing riffs, tribal drumbeats and Richard Barbieri’s magnificent keyboard wizardry. The wiry guitar solo in the middle of the song is provided courtesy of Adrian Belew, a well-respected fretmaster with credentials from both the prog-rock and art-rock worlds.

Deadwing gets a little heavier with “Shallow,” a riff-happy rocker that edges into industrial territory, swinging back towards sanity before Trent Reznor comes knocking at the door. Alternately both brutally electric and gently melodic, the song’s theme of technological alienation stands in stark contrast to “Lazarus,” a pastoral composition with fine vocal harmonies and beautifully constructed instrumental passages. “Halo” ventures into horror-rock territory, echoed vocals and monster rhythms counterbalanced by a harmonic chorus with its roots in hard-rocking ‘90s-era grunge.

The band is at its most progressive with the twelve-minute “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here,” the song’s breathtaking instrumentation incorporating elements of swirling psychedelica, Eno-styled ambient electronics and classic, ‘70s-vintage prog-rock song structure. The punchy “Open Car” may be as close to a single release as Deadwing ventures; with its monstrous riffing and larger-than-life vibe the song sojourns into prog-metal territory and would fit perfectly into a modern rock radio format.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Handling vocals, guitars and some secondary keyboards, Wilson’s talents are abundant. Every wunderkind needs players to push them towards greatness, however, and Porcupine Tree offers an impressive collection of instrumental virtuosos. Richard Barbieri, who cut his teeth with groundbreaking ‘80s-era new wave art-rock band Japan, brings a classical element to the band, his keyboard and synth creations providing the underlying structure for Wilson’s complex, extravagant compositions.

Bassist Colin Edwin is more than mere background scenery, his fills and occasional leads providing the band’s sound with a heavy bottom end while drummer Gavin Harrison brings an explosive hard rock mentality to the material. Altogether, the band’s musical chemistry is quite impressive, the foursome creating a tapestry of sound and emotion that is ambitious in scope and invigorating in its results. Poised on the brink of U.S. stardom, Porcupine Tree is ready for you…but are you ready for Porcupine Tree? (Lava Records, released March 25, 2005)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2005

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Porcupine Tree’s Deadwing

New Music Monthly: August 2017 Releases

Wow! July offered a slew of new album releases but the month of August just backs the truck up to your garage and dumps a ton of great new albums for our listening experience. For one, there are a number of very cool vinyl reissues, including LPs by New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands Samson (featuring pre-Iron Maiden Bruce Dickinson) and Jaguar as well as some of Brian Eno's best work, appearing on high-resolution 45rpm vinyl for the first time since the 1970s. Throw in more great Nick Lowe albums as part of Yep Roc's restoration of the pub-rock legend's back catalog, a previously-unreleased album by power-pop kings the Raspberries, and new music by the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Hard Working Americans, George Thorogood, Will Hoge, and others and August is a month destined to bankrupt our music budgets!

AUGUST 4
Accept - The Rise of Chaos   BUY!
Coldplay - Kaleidoscope EP   BUY!
Def Leppard - Hysteria [deluxe 5 CD/2 DVD reissue]   BUY!
Brian Eno - Another Green World [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Brian Eno - Before and After Science [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Hard Working Americans - We're All In This Together   BUY!
Jaguar - Power Games [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual Live at 25   BUY!
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - Lay It On Down   BUY!
Samson - Shock Tactics [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Kim Simmonds - Jazzin' On the Blues   BUY!
Thor - Beyond the Pain Barrier   BUY!
George Thorogood - Party of One   BUY!
The Winery Dogs - Dog Years: Live In Santiago & Beyond 2013-2016   BUY!

AUGUST 11
Rick Estrin & the Nightcats - Groovin' In Greaseland   BUY!
Peter Himmelman - There Is No Calamity   BUY!
Will Hoge - Anchors   BUY!
Paul Kelly - Life Is Fine   BUY!
Dwight Yoakum - Live From Austin, TX   BUY!

AUGUST 18
Grizzly Bear - Painted Ruins   BUY!
Ray Wylie Hubbard - Tell The Devil I'm Getting There As Fast As I Can    BUY!
The Raspberries - Pop Art Live   BUY!
Steven Wilson - To the Bone   BUY!

AUGUST 25
The Cadillac Three - Legacy   BUY!
Alex Chilton - A Man Called Destruction   BUY!
Gogol Bordello - Seekers and Finders   BUY!
Iron & Wine - Beast Epic   BUY!
Nick Lowe - Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit   BUY!
Nick Lowe - The Rose of England   BUY!
Queens of the Stone Age - Villains   BUY!
Savoy Brown - Witchy Feelin'   BUY!

Album of the Month: The Raspberries Pop Art Live is a two-disc set that documents that near-legendary House of Blues concert performance from 2004 by the reunited Cleveland power-pop legends. Pop Art Live features live versions of songs from all four of the band’s classic studio albums, including favorite hits like “Go All The Way,” “I Wanna Be With You,” “Let’s Pretend,” and “Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)” as well as their unique performances of timeless songs by rock music legends like the Beatles and the Who. In addition to this month's CD release, plans are to release Pop Art Live as a three-album vinyl set later this year. 

Video of the Week: Blackfield’s “From 44 to 48”

Art-rockers Blackfield – a collaboration between prolific British prog-rock legend Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) and Israeli songwriter/musician Aviv Geffen – have released a “lyric” video for their latest song, “From 44 to 48,” from their upcoming album Blackfield V, which will be released on March 17th, 2017 by Kscope Records.

In a press release for the new album, Wilson comments “even though I don’t really write songs with specific projects in mind, as soon as I wrote this one I knew it was for Blackfield.” Continuing, Wilson says, “‘From 44 to 48’ is a song about growing older and letting go of dreams.” The song’s insightful, timeless lyrics and ethereal soundtrack is made all the more otherworldly by Geffen’s winsome string arrangement as performed by the London Session Orchestra. It’s a subtle, but powerful performance captured perfectly by the video.

Blackfield V was written and recorded over eighteen months in both Israel and England, the album featuring thirteen conceptually-linked songs that form a single 45-minute ocean-themed song cycle. Wilson and Geffen provide the album’s vocals, guitars, and keyboards, the duo backed in the studio by drummer Tomer Z and keyboardist Eran Mitelman. Legendary musician, producer, and engineer Alan Parsons worked on three of the album’s tracks. Blackfield V will be released in a number of formats, including a two-disc CD/Blu-Ray deluxe set that offers the album in both high-rez stereo and 5.1 surround sound mix and includes a 36-page color booklet.

Blackfield V will also be available as a single CD and as a two-disc 180g heavyweight vinyl set cut at 45rpm for better sound and packaged in gatefold sleeve with a four page booklet and free mp3 download. A limited edition single 140g vinyl picture disc featuring Lasse Hoile artwork (and including a mp3 download) will also be released on March 17th; a digital download of the album is already available.

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Blackfield’s Blackfield V

Gentle Giant’s Octopus gets the Steven Wilson treatment!

Prog-rock legends Gentle Giant released Octopus, the band’s fourth album, in 1972 to mixed reviews. Those critics with a proclivity towards progressive music hailed Octopus as another step forward for the band artistically and a fine example of the prog-rock form; less charitable pundits found the album plodding and uninspired.

Over time, however, Octopus has been rediscovered by prog-rock fans and is now considered one of Gentle Giant’s creative triumphs. Writing for All Music Guide, noted critic and rock music historian Dave Thompson says “returning to Gentle Giant's fourth album after any kind of lengthy absence, it's astonishing just how little Octopus has dated. Often written off at the time as a pale reflection of the truly gargantuan steps being taken by the likes of Jethro Tull and Barclay James Harvest…Gentle Giant often seemed more notable for its album art than its music. Octopus, however, marries the two seamlessly…and the end result is an album that has withstood the test of time a lot better than anyone might have expected.”

On October 27th, 2015 Universal Music Group will reissue Gentle Giant’s Octopus in both CD and Blu-Ray formats with a Steven Wilson 5.1 surround sound remix. Founder of modern prog favorites Porcupine Tree and an acclaimed solo artist, Wilson has brought his studio wizardry and genius to remixing classic prog-rock album by artists like Yes, King Crimson, and Jethro Tull. Wilson previously remixed Gentle Giant’s The Power & The Glory album in 2014.

For the recording of Octopus, Gentle Giant featured original band members Gary Green (guitars), Kerry Minnear (keyboards) and the three Shulman brothers – vocalist Derek, bassist Ray, and saxophonist Phil – along with a new drummer, John Weathers. Octopus was produced by the band and engineered by Martin Rushent who, at that time, had already worked on classic albums by T-Rex and Fleetwood Mac.

Wilson’s re-mix of Octopus includes a bonus live fifteen-minute concert performance of “Excerpts from Octopus,” sourced from the band’s 1976 tour. The Blu-ray version also includes instrumental mixes of five of the eight original album tracks, and both CD and Blu-Ray include new sketches by Roger Dean (who created the original U.K. album artwork) as well Charles White’s original “octopus in a jar” cover art that was used in the U.S.

Related Content: Gentle Giant's Octopus [Fossils]

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Gentle Giant's Octopus - Steven Wilson 5.1 Remix