Rod in Toronto Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Over the years I´ve heard nothing but praise to Porcupine Tree, and a few years back I bought Deadwing. I couldn´t get it at all, and found it quite boring and monotone, then typecats the whole band´s discography because of it, and didn´t give them another chance. When Fear of a Blank Planet came out I got it just because Alex played in it, and thought it was great! Then I did a road trip through New Zealand and bought what ended up being the perfect soundtrack to that trip, The Incident. Now I want to get more into the band, but I put The Incident on and it seems to much of an effort to go through the whole album - it´s too demanding, I think...so for all you PT fans, what should be my next move in terms of acquiring a taste for the band? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geddyforlife Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Over the years I´ve heard nothing but praise to Porcupine Tree, and a few years back I bought Deadwing. I couldn´t get it at all, and found it quite boring and monotone, then typecats the whole band´s discography because of it, and didn´t give them another chance. When Fear of a Blank Planet came out I got it just because Alex played in it, and thought it was great! Then I did a road trip through New Zealand and bought what ended up being the perfect soundtrack to that trip, The Incident. Now I want to get more into the band, but I put The Incident on and it seems to much of an effort to go through the whole album - it´s too demanding, I think...so for all you PT fans, what should be my next move in terms of acquiring a taste for the band? try their earlier stuff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dscrapre Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 (edited) Up the Downstair is a great one. Pretty accessible if you like psychedelic rock. In Absentia shows the beginnings of their metal direction, but if you didn't like Deadwing, you might not like it. I'd also recommend Lightbulb Sun, which is very accessible. Additionally, I'd suggest checking out Steven Wilson's solo material, specifically Insurgentes and The Raven. Insurgentes is more like early PT, where as The Raven kind of reminds me of Jethro Tull. Edited February 27, 2013 by Dscrapre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nim2 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 My time is too limited as it is to branch out to a new band. I will stick with Rush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Sawyer Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 If I had a nickel for everytime I heard "Rush, help me like them" ..I'd...I'd... have a lot of nickels!! It's a preference thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony R Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 My time is too limited as it is to branch out to a new band. I will stick with Rush. You have 24 hrs a day, same as the rest of us. Life's too short not to broaden your musical horizons. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The K Man Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are not only two of their best albums to date, they are both more instantly accessible than most of their other albums. But they aren't as hard rocking as the last four albums, so don't be thrown when you don't hear any major riffing like heard on the albums you already have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nappy2112 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 If you don't like Pink Floyd at all , then you probably won't like PT much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unattractive Truth Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are not only two of their best albums to date, they are both more instantly accessible than most of their other albums. But they aren't as hard rocking as the last four albums, so don't be thrown when you don't hear any major riffing like heard on the albums you already have. Agreed. Those are two great albums. I like the "crunchy stuff", so In Absentia and Deadwing get a lot of play in my changer. So does The Incident. But there's lots to love about SD and LS, and I think you hit the nail on the head when you taled about them being more accessible to a new fan. Enjoy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Two words: they're METAL!! :haz: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted February 28, 2013 Author Share Posted February 28, 2013 Thanks for the tips, guys! I´ll try Lightbulb Sun first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtull Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun are not only two of their best albums to date, they are both more instantly accessible than most of their other albums. But they aren't as hard rocking as the last four albums, so don't be thrown when you don't hear any major riffing like heard on the albums you already have. Agreed. Those are two great albums. I like the "crunchy stuff", so In Absentia and Deadwing get a lot of play in my changer. So does The Incident. But there's lots to love about SD and LS, and I think you hit the nail on the head when you taled about them being more accessible to a new fan. Enjoy!!! I'd add a third to this. SD and LS are good for starters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 They're so varied that it just doesn't matter where you jump in. I'll say (just because it's gotten no love so far here) give the oft-overlooked Signify a chance. It's a bit of a transition, bridging the more atmospheric earliest PT (snore in my opinion) and the vastly improved PT of Stupid Dream-era onward. Signify is the first PT album I really liked, sequentially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The K Man Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 They're so varied that it just doesn't matter where you jump in. I agree for the most part, except that I would suggest that someone NOT start with On the Sunday of Life, Voyage 34 or any of that other very early stuff that was basically just Wilson and glorified demoes. Once PT became a full-time, "real" band, from that point till now is where you can't go wrong! :D Not that I don't like some of that early stuff, but I don't think hearing it will make a lot of people want to explore further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steevo Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 They're so varied that it just doesn't matter where you jump in. I agree for the most part, except that I would suggest that someone NOT start with On the Sunday of Life, Voyage 34 or any of that other very early stuff that was basically just Wilson and glorified demoes. Once PT became a full-time, "real" band, from that point till now is where you can't go wrong! :D Not that I don't like some of that early stuff, but I don't think hearing it will make a lot of people want to explore further. Aye, it would've put me right off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Presto-digitation Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Well but we're talking about someone who didn't much like Deadwing, so maybe On The Sunday Of Life would be his thing. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Fellow TRFers, I have great news to report: I decided to bring Deadwing to work today, and I guess taste changes with age more than I thought - I´m really digging it! Shallow and Lazarus are my favourite so far. I haven´t had a chance to listen to the longer tracks yet, but I´ll try Deadwing and "Arriving Somewhere..." in the afternoon. I guess this proves that some bands/albums take more than one or two listens to be fully understood, right? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtull Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Fellow TRFers, I have great news to report: I decided to bring Deadwing to work today, and I guess taste changes with age more than I thought - I´m really digging it! Shallow and Lazarus are my favourite so far. I haven´t had a chance to listen to the longer tracks yet, but I´ll try Deadwing and "Arriving Somewhere..." in the afternoon. I guess this proves that some bands/albums take more than one or two listens to be fully understood, right? I had In Absentia for about a year before I really sat down and gave it a good listening...and that was after Fear of a Blank Planet came out. Sometimes it takes time and persistence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtull Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...once it clicked, I started devouring everything PT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...once it clicked, I started devouring everything PT. I guess it´ll start soon then. At least they haven´t been anywhere near where I live yet, so there´s less to regret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjtull Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...once it clicked, I started devouring everything PT. I guess it´ll start soon then. At least they haven´t been anywhere near where I live yet, so there´s less to regret. And they may never tour again. SW seems awful prolific (and happy) without them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unattractive Truth Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...once it clicked, I started devouring everything PT. Me too. ;) Deadwing is my favorite PT album, and Arriving Somewhere... is one of my favorite songs by anyone, ever. Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geddyforlife Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...once it clicked, I started devouring everything PT. I guess it´ll start soon then. At least they haven´t been anywhere near where I live yet, so there´s less to regret. And they may never tour again. SW seems awful prolific (and happy) without them. And in a way I understand why SW might like his current situation. He gets the freedom to create the framework of a great song but then let very proficient musicians interpret the structure. SW has admitted in past interviews that PT is very structured and I think he still might be tired of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think I know what put me off for so long - I found SW´s voice kind of dull. Now I can´t say I like it, but I got used to it. And it fits the songs quite well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steevo Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think I know what put me off for so long - I found SW´s voice kind of dull. Now I can´t say I like it, but I got used to it. And it fits the songs quite well. I can understand the voice thing. It gets less of an issue over time, trust me. If we're talking fave PT: Fear > Deadwing > Absentia > Incident. That lot will do me nicely, thankyou :D-13: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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