Steven Wilson – Home Invasion (In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall) (2018)

I've had a particularly good week for picking up reasonably priced CDs, which started last Saturday at the local boot fair, where there's a chap who regularly has a selection of sealed CDs at very reasonable prices. I don't ask him how he came by them, and was happy to part with just a couple of quid for this 2CD & BluRay set of Steven Wilson's 2018 Royal Albert Hall concert.

It's a fine listen, as you'd expect from someone who puts musicianship and sound quality at the core of everything he does. The selection draws heavily (about 50%) from his 2017 album To The Bone, and the show starts with two from this album, the solid Nowhere Now and Pariah, which I find a bit power ballad-like (vocals by Ninet Tayeb), but which has become a bit of an earworm. Things really get going with the progtastic Home Invasion, followed by the Porcupine Tree favourite The Creator Has A Master Tape. Refuge is a much gentler come down, building up to the lively People Who Eat Darkness. The first CD concludes with the long (13 minutes) and brooding Ancestral, not a favourite, but with a fine guitar solo and some lively rock towards the end; and Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, a really enjoyable PT song.

After a patronising little speech from Wilson, Permanating is a really fantastic poppy little number which doesn't need the justification he opens with, followed by the longer, more sinister Song Of I. Lazarus again revisits the PT catalogue, a pleasantly gentle song, with a bit more life to Detonation and a gloriously funky instrumental section. The Same Asylum As Before carries on in a similar style, a fine song, followed by the slow, ordinary Song Of Unborn. Vermillioncore is a sound rocking instrumental, then Sleep Together, a loud, grungy grind of a song. Then it's back to early PT, with just Wilson and guitar for Even Less, a fine solo effort, followed by Blank Tapes, a gentle duet. Then we're on the final stretch, firstly with the fantastic PT favourite Sound Of Muzak, followed by the lovely gentle ending of The Raven That Refused To End.

This is a great show and showcase of Wilson's back catalogue up to 2018, with everything from his gentle ballads to the all out rock. For preference, it's the loudest, proggiest sounds which appeal to me the most, but the show needs light and shade. Now if only my ancient DVD and computer equipment could play BluRays!

Link to album tracks

4* - a fantastic show, and a decent summary of Wilson and Porcupine Tree up to this point.