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Rating: The highly productive London musician Steven Wilson has developed and released over time, for his Porcupine Tree, a secondary discography, so to speak, parallel to the main one and composed of leftovers, alternative versions, B-sides of singles, and various other supplementary materials to the primary releases.
One of these complementary works is the present “Recordings,” a 2001 compilation consisting essentially of snippets and leftovers from a couple of albums, notably “Stupid Dream” (1999) and “Lightbulb Sun” (2000), tracks that at the time were released or not as B-sides of their respective singles.
The only track that overlaps with what is contained in Porcupine’s “noble” LPs/CDs is represented by the massive “Even Less,” one of the pillars of “Stupid Dream”; here proposed in an extended version of nearly fourteen minutes, double the previous length and essentially consisting of a long instrumental segment that eventually blooms into further, meaningful verses punctuated by a Crimson-esque flute. The rest, the other eight pieces, are therefore unreleased or almost, giving the album its reason to be.
I haven’t found any particular strokes of Porcupine genius in these episodes, nothing that one could claim was a mistake to exclude from the “series A” album lineups. In general, they are all more or less very “atmospheric,” slow, obviously played, sonorized, and mixed with the exquisite class that distinguishes this English prodigy with excellent, outstanding ears.
What struck me the most? Well, the opening number “Buying New Soul” is there as the standout piece, but it is really stretched too long (over 10 minutes); the sung and choral part may not have one of those winning melodies that Wilson has achieved multiple times, yet it is pleasantly ethereal and psychedelic, reminding me of David Crosby’s works.
“Access Denied” couldn’t be more contrasting: repeated piano, distorted voice, skewed melodies worthy of Syd Barrett, while the following “Cure of Optimism,” when the acoustic guitar comes into play, distinctly transported me back to the atmospheres of Pink Floyd’s “More.” Very evocative nonetheless.
Remarkable is the wah-wah pedal spiced sax by guest Theo Travis on the instrumental “Ambulance Chasing,” another dreamy and layered track until it is sharpened by leader Wilson’s acerbic slide guitar. Last mention for the closing “Oceans Have No Memory” (great title), another instrumental consisting of Wilson’s exploration of a jazz guitar with a great sound, over a skilful bed of Hammond organ.
With Wilson and his associates, (almost) nothing goes to waste… certainly never an entire album, even if this one is not considered essential. The cover is delightful anyway, featuring a series of century-old vintage photos.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Buying New Soul (10:25)
Dried up, a guitar upon my knee
I should have sold out when the devil came for me
Dig a hole and throw it out to sea
Break the code, how happy I could be
I still wave at the dots on the shore
And I still beat my head against the wall
I still rage and wage my little war
I'm a shade and easy to ignore
White wall, I had to paint a door
I always find that I've been through it before
Close it up and throw away the key
Break the code, how happy I could be
I woke up and I had a big idea
To buy a new soul at the start of every year
I paid up and it cost me pretty dear
Here's a hymn to those that disappear
03 Cure for Optimism (06:12)
Up there a mountain rises
Down here an ocean dives
A stranger with a head full of lead
Photographs me
Steel bars and a doctor's note
Don't give up
They can plead and beg but don't let them fix your head
Outside a path to knowledge
Inside a waste of cells
A serpent with a mobile phone
Sweet talks me
05 Disappear (03:42)
We made the world believe we didn't care
We gate crashed parties and just stood and stared
We moved to London and stayed in all year
You wrote poetry while I disappeared
You made a choice for us to live it up
I've got a voice inside me saying give it up
Let's get out of here, let's find a new career
You be famous, I'll disappear
Disappear - I erase myself again
I need security, you favour chance
I ponder everything, you advance
You bring the world to me and I just sneer
Standing next to you I disappear
08 Even Less (14:08)
A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach
He was a friend that I could not reach
He thought I was cold but I understand
But for the grace of god goes another man
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But you're a martyr for even less
A choirboy is buried on the moors
Where we used to go dreaming when we were bored
So some kids are best left to fend for themselves
And others were born to stack shelves
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But you're a martyr for even less
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By 3poundsoflove
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