Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Steven Wilson. Image credit: Kevin Westenberg Lyrically I arrived at a point where I was no longer interested in writing about abstract concepts, like war, religion, space... etc. These are very personal and emotionally raw songs.Steven Wilson, on Porcupine Tree's Lightbulb Sun (2000) Steven Wilson's latest album, The Overview, is inspired by the emotional and …
Continue reading "Steven Wilson’s Space Songs Part I: The Porcupine Tree Years"
Tuesday 25 February 2005 BFI IMAX, London “It’s about death… in the nicest possible sense of the word.” ***** To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, the album has been touring the UK’s planetariums, reaching Jodrell Bank in Cheshire late last year. The showings have been immersive, with …
Continue reading "Steven Wilson – The Overview – Album and Film Launch with Q & A Session – Review"
I am pleased to announce that the Second Edition of my book, Porcupine Tree On Track, is now available to order from Burning Shed and other good bookshops. The new edition is fully revised and updated to include an in-depth analysis of Porcupine Tree's most recent album Closure/Continuation. "... [Holmes'] analysis is critical and well-balanced, …
Continue reading "Porcupine Tree on Track Second Edition – Revised, Updated and Expanded"
2024 was a stunning year for Prog Rock new and old The Cover of Living & Alive by Beatrix Players The Return of Beatrix Players Beatrix Players, led by Ms Amy Birks, made a welcome return to the progressive rock scene in late 2023 with the release of their album Living and Alive. In 2024, …
Steven Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt's 2012 'weird beautiful' collaboration re-released in a Dolby Atmos surround sound mix ***** The cover of Storm Corrosion painted by Swiss artist Hans Arnold. Steven Wilson said in his book Limited Edition of One that the painting is 'a riotously twisted bacchanalian scene that somehow evinced the dream-fever mood of …
Continue reading "Storm Corrosion by Storm Corrosion (2024 remix) – Album Review"
Semkina's haunting and eclectic second solo album ***** Singer songwriter Marjana Semkina is a member of the prog rock group iamthemorning with her Russian-born compatriot the pianist Gleb Kolyadin, both of whom are now resident in the UK. The duo have released several records, the most recent being The Bell (2019) and the EP Counting …
The Deluxe Edition of In Absentia (Image from Burning Shed) What happens when the music and lyrics to a song give out conflicting messages? The singer songwriter Marjana Semkina told Jeremy Allen in the July 2024 issue of Prog magazine that she likes writing songs, such as 'The Storm' from her new album Sirin, which …
Continue reading "Off the Beaten Track # 13: Drown With Me by Porcupine Tree"
Inventive musical explorations and collaborations from a virtuosic duo and friends **** The cover of Perpetual Mutations. Image by Galina Timofeeva. Graphics by Antoine Fafard. In classical music, a concerto in which a soloist - such as a pianist or a violinist - performs with an orchestra, is a common form. Less common is the …
Continue reading "Perpetual Motions by Gavin Harrison and Antoine Fafard – Album Review"
Going through my late mother-in-law's personal effects recently, we found a pile of old 78s that belonged to her husband, who died many years ago. We decided to buy a turntable to play them, and the decades rolled back. Steven Wilson found a similar collection in his parents' loft and used them to create Ghosts …
Continue reading "Off the Beaten Track #12: Ghosts on Magnetic Tape by Bass Communion"
Wilson's most eclectic album to date is 'cinema for the ears' ***** Steven Wilson has often said he would like to write a film score. He even wrote a screenplay with the film maker Mike Bennion, and they tried for a while to get the film made. When it became clear this probably wouldn't happen, …
Continue reading "The Harmony Codex by Steven Wilson – Album Review"