How does it feel without your drugs?

Steve Wilson is the perpetrator, or at least one of the primary instigators, of some of the best things going on in music right now. Ranging from psychedelic/progressive/metal monster Porcupine Tree to Krautrock devoted I.E.M. (aka The Incredible Expanding Mindfuck) to the ambient textures of Bass Communion , it's unbelievable that one person could work on so many diverse projects and turn out the level of quality that he has consistently produced.

Porcupine Tree is his primary band and musical focus. Originally started as a sort of joke, the first Porcupine Tree tracks were created in the spirit of the Dukes of Stratosphear, i.e. a "forgotten" band of the psychedelic era with a full-blown, fake history and catalog. These releases were originally available on cassettes between 1988 and 1991 but the cream of the bunch became the double album, ON THE SUNDAY OF LIFE... (1992). Generally simpler and lighter in tone than the future releases, it's a one man show with Wilson playing all the instruments and writing all the music - lyrics are by Alan Duffy on a number of the tracks. Wilson immediately plays the Syd Barrett card on "Jupiter Island" and you won't need to go too far to find other "psychedelic standbys" like ticking clocks, surreal narration, guitars dripping in Echoplex, flutes and mellotron. The two standout tracks, which hint at what is to come, are "Radioactive Toy" and "It Will Rain for A Million Years", both of which display Wilson's strengths as a writer of melodic, moody epics. Wilson's playing and production skills are evident; given the home-brewed nature of this collection, the recordings and mixes are excellent and the performances superb.

UP THE DOWNSTAIR (1993) is the first real Porcupine Tree recording and while still primarily a Wilson solo outing, it included appearances by future PT members Colin Edwin on bass and Richard Barbieri (ex-Japan) on keyboards. The psychedelic spirit of SUNDAY is still present but there is a trance-y sheen to the album - probably due to the main track of the sessions, "Voyage 34", an Orb-like bit of synth LSD music which ended up being released as a single and removed from the album proper. The lyrical content starts branching out in tracks like "Synesthesia", a first person account of a corpse being shipped home from war - a harbinger of the sort of songs Wilson will write more and more of. The recent reissue is nicely re-mastered and Wilson has replaced the rather clunky drum machines with current PT drummer Gavin Harrison performing the parts. Appended to this reissue is the rare STAIRCASE INFINITIES EP (1994) which consists of music from the DOWNSTAIR sessions but in and of itself not a major part of their catalog.

THE SKY MOVES SIDEWAYS (1994) has Wilson joined for half the disc by the musicians that will become the official band on the next release - the afore mentioned Barbieri and Edwin along with drummer Chris Maitland. This is the most Floyd-like psychedelica of the Porcupine Tree albums and for the most part marks the end of the early period of the band and the subsequent work starts moving toward progressive metal, though the sense texture evident here remains their hallmark. The 2003 remaster of SKY fleshes out the original tracks to a two disc set with a created "master version" of the title song, which was originally conceived as a album length epic though never actually recorded that way. This is their first great album and though the songs tend toward 10+ minutes long, it is full of haunting melodies and some beautiful vocal arrangements, especially on "Stars Die". "Dislocated Day" is the hint of what is to come next as this album closes out the first phase of the band (Porcupine Tree Mark I...)

This group effort is also their first real masterpiece, 1995's SIGNIFY. This album features the beginnings of their heavier sound: the progressive metal riffing, the tauter songs and performances. Also the release artwork shifts to the more interesting surreal visuals that has graced all their releases since. The disc starts off sounding like a continuation of UP THE DOWNSTAIR with snippets of text and washes of synth texture for the first two minutes ("Bornlivedie"), interrupted by the quiet guitar riff of the title song, which explodes into their maiden venture into progressive metal. All the touchstones of the years to come are evident - crisp recording and mixes, ethereal and strange synth texture, muscular guitar and complex time signatures. The moods run the range of the angular title tune to the quiet tone poem "Light Mass Prayers" to the beautiful "Waiting Phase One". The Floyd card gets played on the fantastic "Every Home Is Wired" though Wilson's compositional voice is starting to take control of his influences. The disc ends with the epic "Dark Matter", a reminder of their psychedelic roots. An extraordinary album. The recent reissue/re-master is a two disc set with the second disc full of out-takes, demos and alternate versions.

The first of several live releases, COMA DIVINE (1997) captures the band on the SIGNIFY tour and provides a nice overview of their career to this point. The recent 2002 reissue is expanded to a two disc set with more songs from the three Rome shows that make up the release. The first disc is material from SIGNIFY and SKY; the second disc mostly draws from the first two albums. COMA shows the band expanding the material from the early Wilson-only discs and really making those pieces come alive. "Radioactive Toy" and "Not Beautiful Anymore", which close the second disc, are great songs taken to new heights. A good place for the uninitiated to start, this is an exciting live release and in no way an example of the "toss-off" live disc one often purchases.

METANOIA (1998) is a bit of a anomaly. It is a collection of studio improvisations recorded from 1995-1997, mostly during the SIGNIFY sessions and as such is a bit different than anything else in their catalog. It's easy to see where some of SIGNIFY, like "Light Mass Prayers" and "Intermediate Jesus" (which is also on this disc), grew out of this material. It harkens a bit to the I.E.M. project that was getting underway at this same time but mostly it's an album about stretching out and exploring sonics realms. Interesting to hear this band in this setting but this release is not so critical for the casual fan.

STUPID DREAM (1999) is an amazing album. A flawless collection of the best of Wilson's song-writing to that point, it shimmers and glows like an laser through a ruby. The 2005 remaster presents the album in stereo, 5.1 and a high rez 24 bit stereo mix. Eight of the twelve songs are still in the standard PT concert repertory as of this writing. This is the "must own" of their catalog and still arguably their best work.

LIGHTBULB SUN (2000) is the nearly as amazing follow-up to STUPID DREAM. It feels a bit gentler and moodier, but looking at the contents as I type this it really has as much edge and muscle as its predecessor. The great title track, "Hatesong", "Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled" and "Russia On Ice" are among the many highlights. The arc of the band from SIGNIFY to this point has a clear trajectory of refining their pop sensibilities of along with their heavier rock chops; this serves as the capstone to the second phase of Porcupine Tree (PT Mark II).

RECORDINGS (2001). A gap filler which presents out-takes from LIGHTBULB SUN and other previously unreleased material. Originally released in a limited run of 20000, it has recently been reissued with no new material or mixes. Possibly most noteworthy for "Access Denied", Wilson's most blatent XTC homage (he's often listed the band as one of his favorites). What the album lacks cohesion due to the randomness of the material, it more than makes up for in the quality of the individual pieces -- this isn't a throwaway collection although I'd say it isn't essential to the casual listener.

IN ABSENTIA (2002). The first recording with Gavin Harrison as drummer and the first PT album recorded following Wilson's production work on Swedish death metal band Opeth's stunning Blackwater Park -- the mighty influence both those factors have made on the music is evident in the first breathtaking minute of the disc. This is the harder edged, metal version of the band. They lose none of their texture, sense of melody or ability to create memorable hook-laden songs, but the music is heavier and darker.

Stars Die: The Delerium Years '91-97 (2002). Double CD collection of the first era of the band (through SIGNIFY) that includes 3 previously uncollected single tracks, 4 unreleased tracks and 3 new mixes. The booklet has a great, comprehensive history of the band to this point.

Warszawa (2004). 2001 LIGHTBULB SUN European tour.

XMII (2005). Radio performance for XM Satellite Radio, 2003.

Deadwing (2005)

Futile (2006) was originally a promo ep with limited release. It became available for download from the band and it's a critical companion to In Absentia as it was recorded during the same sessions. While the instrumental jam "Orchidia" is perhaps a lesser work, "Drown With Me" is the most haunting earworm of a song Wilson's written in many years. Drummer Gavin Harrison really shines on these pieces. This is worth the effort to obtain.

A download only release from the Porcupine Tree store, Rockpalast (2006) is a live document of the Deadwing tour and full with material primarily from the last two studio albums. A welcome return of "Radioactive Toy" from the first album is especially nice to hear with this version of the band.

Fear of a Blank Planet (2007)

Nil Recurring (2007)

We Lost The Skyline (2008) is a 2007 live instore solo Wilson performance, with tour guitarist John Wesley playing on about half the songs. A diverse collection of songs, including one from the just-released NIL RECURRING ep and a bunch of old favorites like "Even Less", "The Sky Moves Sideways" and "Stars Die", all given the acoustic treatment. It would be easy to overlook this as superfluous but the performances are terrific and the songs really benefit in this stark setting - this is actually essential listening.

The Incident (2009) is a 58 minute concept piece.

Blackfield

Blackfield II

Voices On Magnetic Tape

1996-1999

Arcadia Son

Cover Versions (2010) is a boxed set of CD singles which Wilson released every year or so between 2003 and 2019. There are six discs total, each with two tracks, the first a cover version and the second an original song. The covers are surprising and interesting -- Alanis, Abba, Cure, Momus, Prince, Donavan -- originals are mostly acoustic and low key. Originally released in plain clear sleeves the box provides great artwork and a booklet making this a beautiful total package.

Insurgentes (2008) is Wilson's first solo album proper in that it is credited to him (though features many guests including members of PT).

Last update: 24 May 2010