The longest gap between studio albums (2 and a half years) resulted in
the biggest shift in the sound of Porcupine Tree. It would be only a
slight exaggeration to say I was getting hate mail from some of the
older fans after they heard this. I am reminded of a quote from Paul
Stump's book "The Music's All That Matters" : "The last
thing a progressive rock fan wants a band to do is progress",
although I'm not sure that Porcupine Tree should ever have been referred
to as a "progressive" band in the first place. I always expect
with each album to lose some old fans and gain some new ones, as this is
the price of not standing still, but it happened doubly so with this
album. Eventually it would become our best selling and most popular
album to date.
The main source of the shift in sound came from a natural move into the
realms of songwriting and away from the more abstract instrumentally
based material of previous albums. I was particularly under the spell of
Brian Wilson, but also listening to artists like Jeff Buckley,
Soundgarden and (the incredibly over rated but still rather good)
Radiohead.
Also for the first time the album was recorded in one extended period
(rather than sporadically as with previous albums) in a remote
residential studio in Wales, where the band were able to experiment and
collaborate on a cohesive sound for the album. Consequently the album
contains our most vertically complex music, as opposed to horizontally
complex (whereby the tracks comprise simple sections, but many of them
strung together). Here the songs are relatively tightly structured but
much more layered than anything we had attempted before.
When the group signed to our new label Snapper Music, people inevitably
put two and two together and assumed that the new song orientated
direction was the result of pressure from the company to be more
commercial (whatever that means). But in fact the album was finished
long before there was any record company lined up and this was simply
another natural development in the sound of the group.
My favourite track on the album (and still perhaps my favourite PT track
period) is "Stop Swimming", which lyrically pointed towards
the more personal follow up album "Lightbulb Sun".
Steven Wilson
A much more sophisticated sound and meticulous attention to detail
defines my approach on this album. Steven came up with a strong
selection of songs and a long process followed during which we attempted
to condense as many ideas, flavours and colours into the arrangements as
possible. Orchestra, flute and saxophone added further to the eclectic
mix and I also feel that we started to focus more of what each other was
contributing. Nearly all my work was completed within an intense 7 day
session in Wales. Before the sessions we had decided that the keyboards
used would be analogue only. Much of my work was spontaneous performance
recorded onto hard disk, which allowed me to adopt an approach whereby
multiple takes and parts could be recorded and edited and compiled later
on - a much more creative way of working than always looking for the one
"perfect" take. But the other side to the recording was
getting the pre-written parts worked out and played as well as possible,
things like the mellotron and Hammond organ parts. The latter was a
rather ropey specimen and the sound at the end of the album is the
Hammond about to finally die !
My favourite tracks on the album are "Stop Swimming" and
"Tinto Brass".
Richard Barbieri
Even Less
Written by Steven Wilson
A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach
He was a friend that I could not reach
He thought I was cold but I understand
But for the grace of god goes another man
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But I'm a martyr to even less
A choirboy is buried on the moors
Where we used to go dreaming when we were bored
So some kids are best left to fend for themselves
And others were born to stack shelves
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But I'm a martyr to even less
Piano Lessons
Written by Steven Wilson
I remember piano lessons
The hours in freezing rooms
Cruel ears and tiny hands
Destroying timeless tunes
She said there's too much out there
Too much already said
You'd better give up hoping
You're better off in bed
You don't need much to speak of
No class, no wit, no soul
Forget you own agenda
Get ready to be sold
I feel now like Christine Keeler
Sleepwaking in the rain
I didn't mean to lose direction
I didn't want that kind of fame
(Take your hands off my land)
Credit me with some intelligence
(if not just credit me)
I come in value packs of ten
(in five varieties)
And even though I got it all now
My only stupid dream
I see you and me together
And how it should have been
I remember piano lessons
Now everything seems clear
You waiting under streetlights
For dreams to disappear
Stupid Dream
Written by Steven Wilson
[instrumental]
Pure Narcotic
Written by Steven Wilson
You keep me waiting
You keep me alone in a room full of friends
You keep me hating
You keep me listening to the Bends
No amount of pointless days
Can make this go away
You have me on my knees
You have me listless and deranged
You have me in your pocket
You have me distant and estranged
No narcotics in my brain
Can make this go away
I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you
I worry that I don't act the way you'd like me to
You find me wanting
You find me bloodless but inspired
You find me out
You find me hallucinating fire
No narcotics in my brain
Can make this go away
Have we ever been here before?
Running headlong at the floor
Leave me dreaming on a railway track
Wrap me up and send me back
Slave Called Shiver
Written by Steven Wilson
I need you more than you can know
And if I hurt myself it's just for show
I found a better way to curb the pain
You put a trigger here inside my brain
Mother I need her
I'm falling apart
Mother I need her
And it's only the start
I may be nothing now but I will rise
I'll have more followers than jesus christ
Through all the smashing and crashing cars
I love the ground you walk with all my heart
Don't Hate Me
Written by Steven Wilson
A light snow is falling on London
All sign of the living has gone
The train pulls into the stations
And no-one gets off and no-one gets on
Don't hate me
I'm not special like you
I'm tired and I'm so alone
Don't fight me
I know you'll never care
Can I call you on the telephone, now and then?
One light burns in a window
It guides all the shadows below
Inside the ghost of a parting
And no-one is left, just the cigarette smoke
This Is No Rehearsal
Written by Steven Wilson
How many children did I bring into this world?
How many did I lose in the shopping arcade?
This is no rehearsal - play it back
and throw things at the screen
This is no rehearsal - somebody
interpret this for me
And still I remember how I dressed him this morning
And then he was gone - stolen, my only one
Baby Dream In Cellophane
Written by Steven Wilson
I am - in my pram
Look you - I'm so new I am - sleeping there
Underneath the stairs
If you - wanted to
You'd find - inside my mind
Things so surreal
My lips are sealed
In the rain in cellphane
Pale dogs and demigods
They won't bring me down
The clocks go round, they never stop
I've been - in limousines
I've nseen - inside your dreams
It's raining there
Try not to stare
Stranger By The Minute
Written by Steven Wilson
Ghosts in the park
Appear just after dark
Killers, children ...
But no-one has a harp
They look like tourists
It makes me want to laugh
Under floorboards
It's hard to fly a kite
Underwater
My cigarette won't light
Standing in the shade
I'm getting frostbite
Strange as I seem
I'm getting stranger by the minute
Look in my dreams
They're getting stranger by the minute
When I'm drowning
You drag me up to you
Rings in the water
My only residue
But you're just fiction
And I'm a twisted boy
A Smart Kid
Written by Steven Wilson
Stranded here on planet earth
It's not much but it could be worse
Everything's free here, there's no crowds
Winter lasted five long years
No sun will come again I fear
Chemical harvest was sown
And I will wait for you
Until the sky is blue
And I will wait for you
What else can I do?
A spaceship from another star
They ask me where all the people are
What can I tell them?
I tell them I'm the only one
There was a war but I must have won
Please take me with you.
Tinto Brass
Written by Porcupine Tree
[instrumental]
Stop Swimming
Written by Steven Wilson
This song leaks out onto the pavement
It could be a joke, it could be a statement
The more that I fake it and pretend I don't care
The more you can read in to what isn't there
Maybe it's time to stop swimming
Maybe it's time to find out where I'm at
What I should do and where I should be
But no-one will give me a map
I'll leave now this can't continue
But I forget which door I came through
And I know what the lift can be painfully slow
So I'm happy to leave by the window
