Prog rock was banished to the margins during the 1980s (despite the 'dinosaurs' continuing to sell huge numbers of albums and do sell out tours), but in the early 1990s some younger musicians started to revisit the genre. Some (and I'm looking at you, Radiohead) merely used electronica to develop a new level of misery, while some saw things differently.
Porcupine Tree were, on this debut album, a solo project of Steven Wilson, the band's leader (other members followed later), and now the go-to engineer/producer for remastering of 1970s classic albums. I heartily recommend the podcast The Album Years that Wilson does with No-Man collaborator Tim Bowness.
I picked this up last week, in the aforementioned Rock Bottom records in Whitstable, and the combination of this and a Miles Davis CD earned me a stunning 98p discount. Admiration, or pity? I don't know.
Opening with an ethereal electronic drone with flute Music For The Head, we're soon into the catchy Jupiter Island. Third Eye Surfer is a frenzied drum / keyboards jazz rock piece - one of those that sounds like it's an intro, then two minutes in you realise is the tune, flowing into On The Sunday Of Life - a very pastoral sounding oboe piece, with electronic mayhem and drums taking over at the end. The Nostalgia Factory is a standard rock song, with lots of synth, a good listen, but nothing amazing. There are a couple of short spoken word/electronica pieces, leading into the mammoth Radioactive Toy, a sprawling prog rock epic of ten minutes, again listenable and pleasant, with some great guitar work, after which Nine Cats sounds a little limp and throwaway as does Hymn. Footprints is a dark song, with a powerful drum and guitar middle, but the mood lightens with the more lively Linton Samuel Dawson, a piece ruined for me by the distorted 'pixie' vocals. And The Swallows Dance is a piece heavy on atmosphere and virtuosity, but lacking impact, while Queen Quotes Crowley is really just some messing about. There's a couple of short instrumentals, leading to the final two tracks, This Long Silence rocks along in a pleasant prog way, and It Will Rain For A Million Years, a long moody piece, heavy on guitar solos, with only a couple of short spoken sections.
I think I've enjoyed this album, though I feel much has left me underwhelmed. But there's enough to make me want to revisit this album, a creditable debut which does enough to pique the interest without convincing.
3* - enough to make me want to look at some later, more mature work from Wilson and Porcupine Tree
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