|
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lots to enjoy in this debut from Steven Wilson's band, 11 Oct 2004
The latest in the series of remastering Porcupine Trees early Delerium back catalogue sees Steven Wilson back to the roots of the band. Well, it wasn't really a band at this stage, more of a recording project with Wilson playing everything apart from a few instruments and lyrics supplied by friend Alan Duffy. This album is not really a debut as such as it was compiled from the best tracks of the original cassette only releases, "Tarquin's Seaweed Farm" and "The Nostalgia Factory". The material here is very different to the core albums which Porcupine Tree are best known for. There is plenty of psychedelic and spacey experimentation going on here. Some of it sounds a bit, how should I say, naive now, but the seeds of where Wilson would take Porcupine Tree are very much in evidence. The highlight of the album is of course the excellent "Radioactive Toy", which has been a live staple of the bands for years. This features Wilson's trademark guitar sound to the full and sounds better here than ever before. But in truth there is quite a bit on this album to enjoy. "Jupiter Island" is fun, with it's Hawkwind type intro. "Nine Cats" is wonderful, with glorious nonsensical Edward Lear type lyrics which adds to it's overall charm. All very trippy and very English. Although the original CD version quoted a dedication to the spirit of Miles Davis, I think that of Syd Barrett is more in evidence. Other highlights which do stand the test of time are "The Nostalgia Factory", "And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun" and the closing "It Will Rain for a Million Years". This album is not just for completists, as the ideas, songs and execution clearly display the burgeoning of a singularly gifted talent. The version here is part of Snappers re-issue of Porcupine Trees back catalogue in digipack format and looks good. And at this price you cannot go wrong really.
|