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Porcupine Tree

C

CzEkSpEc

Sep 20, 2002
14
0
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#1
Ok, guys. There is this band called Porcupine Tree out of England...they have a bunch of records out, but no one over here knows about them. You all need to check them out if you are into rock or prog rock (not Dream Theater prog, more like a mix between Yes, Tool, and Pink Floyd...trust me on this one) then you will really dig these guys. Great songwriting and harmonies...the bassist (i met him) is way laid back and rarely steps out much, and he's not a "virtuoso," but a lot of his lines are really good. It's just awesome music...their latest album is In Absentia...they kick ass. :hyper: :bassist:
 
#5
ok, go to Invalid Link Removed, go to "Discography." Click on any of the albums (pretty much any of them) and it gives you a track listing and lets you listen to parts of 4-5 songs. Click on the albums In Absentia and Lightbulb Sun...way cool.
 
#6
Dude I was just listening to them. And I was gonna start a thread asking about them. I just discovered their music. They are a really cool band. I'm considering starting a band, in the same style of music. Another band thats like them, thats also rules is Spock's Beard.
 
#8
yah, I got four of their albums...I saw them play with Opeth (you know...Swedish death metal?..only, they played all their acoustic, artsy stuff) a while back in Detroit. They are SO DAMN GOOD. BTW, the lead singer and guitarist (Steve Wilson) produces Opeth. He really knows what he's doing.
 
#12
There have been threads about them here before a few times - if you do a search I'm sure you'll find some.

I have their album - "The Sky Moves Sideways" -which I do like - although I tend to only listen to the title track.

I went to see them play at a fairly small venue in my hometown though and I really didn't like it - I stuck with it, hoping they would do something like that album - but NO! Just endless boring guitar solos and I grew to hate the guitarist/singer - he was really "up himself" and irritating ...put me off them for life!

I think I decided that what I liked about the Sky Moves Sideways, must have been down to the presence of Richard Barbieri - ex-Japan keyboard player and very little to do with the band...:Hmm:

So - I prefer things like Rain Tree Crow which have a similar feel.
 
#14
I have on of their boots and I guess they just don't do it for me. Personally, I think the singer's voice is terrible.

I jammed with a couple of dudes who were intent upon sounding like a cross between them and Radiohead. Wasn't my thing.
 
#15
I'm not too keen on Mr. Wilson's voice and apparent egomania, and I also think his lyrics are embarrassingly bad from time to time. That said, he can obviously put together great songs, and he's a good guitarist.

I guess I like the other guys in the band better - Richard Barbieri in particular, especially when he's journeying into avant-garde-land every now and then. Adds a nice touch to the pop/rock/prog recipe they use nowadays. In Absentia is a nice album and Gavin Harrison, their new drummer, was a pleasant surprise!
 
#16
GREAT band. I got In Absentia last summer and I still love it. Great songwriting and very tasteful playing. Personally I like Steve Wilson's voice a lot, although i noticed he goes off pitch live occasionally.

Gavin Harrison is one of the best drummers I've heard...
 
#17
Oysterman said:
I'm not too keen on Mr. Wilson's voice and apparent egomania, and I also think his lyrics are embarrassingly bad from time to time.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I felt from seeing them live at close quarters - I think "The Sky Moves Sideways" benefits from having very little singing and a lot of good arrangements!!

I couldn't believe how bad they were live, without Richard Barbieri and the production values of the album....:hmm:
 
#18
I'm not sure what you guys are talking about when you say they were bad live...must've been a bad night. When I saw them, everything was right on. Wilson's voice was as clean and on pitch as in the records. The whole sound was really close to studio, and Wilson's solos were really fantastic. At the time I saw them they were quite honestly the best sounding live act I'd ever seen (except for Dream Theater and W3W...DT are robots, and Wooten is, well, Wooten ;) ).

Then again, maybe I saw them on a rare GOOD night :ninja:
 
#19
Bruce Lindfield said:
I think I decided that what I liked about the Sky Moves Sideways, must have been down to the presence of Richard Barbieri - ex-Japan keyboard player and very little to do with the band...:Hmm:

So - I prefer things like Rain Tree Crow which have a similar feel.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. The only reason I listen to the band is for Barbieri's synths and fretless playing. Still though, if you want good synth and fretless bass, stick with Japan! Probably my favorite band. Never was the biggest fan of Rain Tree Crow though....Sylvian supposedly remixed things, which upset the rest of the band. You can tell...it sounds like another Sylvian solo album. And Mick Karn's fretless is totally subdued.
 

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