Ahh, the progressive rollercoaster of epic and adventurous proportions that is Porcupine Tree. One minute you’re wielding a great sword, riding upon a mighty steed, the next minute, you’re floating weightlessly across the cosmos. ❤
I love Porcupine Tree, there is a fantastic somewhat older live performance in Tilburg of this song that you should really check out on your own just to see them in action. A shorter maybe more conventional song of theirs that is still gorgeous is Trains and I also love Russia on Ice and Arriving Somewhere But not Here, though some complain that the intro to that one is too long. But I love that ha, Tool is my fave band and I love their long intros! Time Flies is another fave Porcupine Tree song; my, there are just too many to list!
This is my first experience with Porcupine Tree. I really like it. It is as though Radiohead had a kid with Yes who was babysat by Swans and took the child of Dream Theater to the prom.
The LIVE version of this song at Tilburg is a MUST and absolutely worth its own video, no joke! May be the best live performance ever captured on camera/audio, it's absolutely stellar!
Steven Wilson's Hand Cannot Erase is a great album to start. He has almost 30 years of material both solo and from multiple bands/projects he works on. Porcupine Tree is offcourse the most famous of his projects. He is also a famous producer and worked on Remastering albums of many famous British bands like Jethro Tull, Marillion, Tears for Fears, Gentle Giant etc.
Pretty much anything Steven Wilson has a part in, is golden. I hear is tough to work with, but he is a compositional genius. We probably wouldn't have The Aristocrats without Steven Wilson, even though he's is not in that project, but both Guthrie Govan and Marco Miniman have worked with Steven in the past.
You have just popped the lid off an amazing Pandora’s Box of incredible music! Have a listen to “The Start of Something Beautiful” from their 2005 release entitled Deadwing.
Steven Wilson (the leader of Porcupine Tree) is also a producer, and has been in charge of remixing/remastering to 5.1 and 7.1 for several classic albums from King Crimson and Yes. The drummer is Gavin Harrison. Terrific drummer, outstanding in all his musical projects
Damn, I think he’s as good as Danny Carey, Mike Portnoy or Bill Buford but he doesn’t have the same name recognition. At least I’d never heard the name. But I guess that’s not saying much.
Great reaction! I'd recommend this band live, especially Cheating the Polygraph live at Tilburg. One of their most exciting songs with crazy good drumming. Steven Wilson grew up listening to his father's Pink Floyd records and is heavily influenced by them. That first solo is Rush's Alex Lifeson.
I was a huge Yes fan when I discovered Porcupine Tree about 25 years ago. My favorite album, so far, is In Absentia, though I haven't heard everything they've released yet. It's in my regular rotation. Shout out to Chris!
More needs to be said about Gavin Harrison, the drummer in this band. Brtter than Dany Cary in my opinion. Also check out Steve Wilsons solo career. An absolute rabbit hole of great music, musicians and compositions.
I should do this more often - watch a reaction video of a song I have never heard myself. This song was super intriguing on a first listen. I really appreciate your musical background and analysis. Thanks Erol, keep up the great content!
How about the overlapping harmonies that perfectly mimic the overlapping pattern of waves? I see the waves running down the shoreline in my mind whenever I hear that part.
It’s like Yes or Marillion and Tool had a baby. Really exciting musicianship. And yes, parts of it had a Pink Floyd vibe, Which is probably why I enjoyed this song as my introduction to this band, since I’m a huge Floyd fan And great lyrics. Drummer is incredible. He’s keeping company with Danny Carey and Bill Bruford for sure
Regarding the lyrics, per Wikipedia: "The lyrics deal with two typical neurobehavioural developmental disorders affecting teenagers in the 21st century: bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder. It also deals with other common behaviour tendencies of youth like escapism through prescription drugs, social alienation caused by technology, and a feeling of vacuity-a product of information overload by the mass media." Another PT song? Check out "Harridan"... another killer tune!
Excellent reaction Erol. Deeply analytical and shows a great understanding of the complexity and genius of this band and especially of Steven Wilson the primary composer, lead vocalist and one of the 2 guitarist. For more indepth complex but fantastically listenable fodder - can I suggest jumping straight into their current 2022 album Closure/Continuation. Check out any or all of either Harridan, Of the New Day or Walk the Plank. Could I suggest for a real treat, you react to their "live in the studio" clips of these 3 tracks on RU-vid. Porcupine Tree In Session Air Studios. I would love to hear your thoughts... Keep the PT coming and can I also suggest as Im sure others would have already that you check out some of Steven Wilson's solo work.
Well thats a hell of a choice at random. Can you let me know the lottery numbers? This is an amazing band with a huge catalogue of stunning work but you hit on one of the best. There is a fabulous live version on RU-vid from a concert in Tilburg which is a great mine for further tracks to react to. You might also consider listening to the lead singer and writer of Porcupine trees songs, Steven Wilson’s solo work which is also fire. As a next listen i would recommend ‘Hate Song’ Live by Porcupine Tree and ‘Detonation’ Live from the Royal Albert hall london from Steven Wilsons solo work.
If you like this facet, check Steven Wilson solo work. Luminol is terrific. And from the band that supported Steven Wilson, a different band came up. The Aristocrats. It's a rock jazz band, hard to describe without actually listening
Fear of a Blank Planet is a concept album based on a book called "Lunar Park". In general, when listening to Porcupine Tree --> they are way better Live than the studio album.
Love this song, except for the last slow section, which I always skip when listening to this song, as personally I would have just just ended the song after the hard riff ends.
@@neonpark1874 agreed neon. I was not referring to PT as "still is" prog rock, rather that we shouldnt be referring to them in the past tense. Rather than "was" pretty good, they "still are" as their album from just 2 years ago reminds us.
