Reviews of Prog Rock, Classical Music, Art Rock and Jazz
Friday 18 November 2022 Eventim Apollo, London **** Swedish prog metal band celebrate three decades of music with audience choices A work colleague was bemused when I told her I was going to London on Friday to see a prog metal band, 'didn't you do that last week?' she said. I explained that I had …
Friday 11 November 2022 Wembley Arena, London Triumphant return of the band to London after 12 year hiatus ***** Image credit: Mike Holmes Last time Porcupine Tree played in London was just over 12 years ago, in October 2010. As band leader and main songwriter Steven Wilson recounts in detail in his new book Limited …
***** Porcupine Tree return after 12 years' hiatus with their new album which reached number 2 in the UK charts Pink Floyd once satirised the music industry executive who said, 'You gotta get an album out/You owe it to the people' (Have a Cigar from their 1975 album Wish You Were Here). When Porcupine Tree …
Continue reading "Closure/Continuation by Porcupine Tree – Album Review"
Steven Wilson is known as ‘The most successful British musician most people have never heard of’. So how did I find him? (updated April 2022) Steven Wilson and Nick Holmes at a book signing in Manchester in April 2022 In February 2009, Steven Wilson did something uncharacteristically violent; he destroyed five iPods. He shot the first …
Nick Holmes’ Porcupine Tree On Track provides an astute analysis of all Porcupine Tree’s studio albums and EPs and provides an illuminating insight into the band’s music for existing and new fans alike. (Burning Shed) "Holmes' book is a thoroughly entertaining and informative read for anyone with a lively interest in progressive rock, and an essential purchase …
Excellent songs that didn't make the final cut Some very strong songs were left off Porcupine Tree's studio albums for reasons of space, changes of style ... or in at least one case due to what the band's leader Steven Wilson now regards as a mistake on his part. The Sound of No-One Listening This …
Continue reading "Porcupine Tree – Hidden Treasures You May Have Missed"
***** New Prog supergroup bring joy in fragmented times Drummer Craig Blundell, keyboard player Adam Holzman and bass player Nick Beggs began playing together on Steven Wilson's Hand. Cannot. Erase tour in 2015. They also joined Steven on his To the Bone tour in 2018 and 2019. When Steven went off for a cup of …
Impeccable live jazz-rock from former Miles Davis music director and Steven Wilson's keyboard player ***** On 12 March 2020, keyboard player Adam Holzman and his band Brave New World drove to the Nublu club to soundcheck for a gig that night. The global pandemic was about to close New York City. Broadway had just shut …
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Steven Wilson bites back at the future ***** THE FUTURE BITES™ In the early years Steven Wilson's band, Porcupine Tree, were often compared to Pink Floyd and Wilson himself admitted the importance of that musical influence. He later distanced himself from the Floyd, moving towards a more distinctive sound. It is not surprising that he …
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The band's 2007 classic album ***** Lasse Hoile's striking cover image for Fear of a Blank Planet Within Porcupine Tree's canon of eleven studio albums, their 2007 album Fear of a Blank Planet has a similar status to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in the Pink Floyd catalogue, a cohesive and deeply-satisfying concept …
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