Customer Reviews

The Sky Moves Sideways

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not just my favourite Porcupine Tree album but i would go as far as saying that as far as progressive, ambient, atmospheric, chill out music is concerened it is the best! A beautiful and inspiring album!

There are so many Porc Tree albums to choose from and they are all so different. This is one of my favourites and is (deliberately) the most pink floydish of the lot, but with large smatterings of 80's tangerine dream thrown in.

Definitely a late night chillout album, although you may wake the neighbours in some parts.

Only criticism is that it lacks an overall cohesive "plot", the music coming and going in phases. Probably due to this being a cut down version of an original concept that never quite made it to completion.

I bought this album a few months ago and absolutely love it. Not much lyrics but Porcupine Tree does it in such a way that's beautiful and atmospheric. If you love Porcupine Tree, this is definately a must-have.

Agggggghhhhhh! How frustrating! The Sky Moves Sideways is comfortably my favourite PT album but it is hugely disappointing to find one of the songs from the original album has been left off the main album disc.

So, what gives? When purchasing this, I noted that "Moonloop" wasn't listed for disc 1. I *thought* this was an error but, unfortunately, the listing is correct. Moonloop is not included in the main album. Had it been, an unhesitating five-star would have been in the bag.

Does it matter? In my opinion, it does. The original album has Moonloop neatly nestled between "Prepare Yourself" and "The Sky Moves Sideways (phase two)" and the absence of it on the main album disc is unfathomable to me. It's omission has the unfortunate effect of creating a notable gap which disturbs the natural flow of the album. There is also a curious consequence of leaving out Moonloop from the first disc; this being that disc 2 (which includes an extended and different version of Moonloop) is significantly longer than disc 1 (approx 60:57 minutes and 48:33 respectively). The original album ran to 65:33 - the 17 minutes differential being Moonloop.

The "Moonloop" issue makes the rest of this review of this version of the album a bit trickier than it would otherwise have been but, here goes anyway.

First off, the packaging. Mine arrived in "book" form. Essentially, this amounts to being a double-digipak with an 8-page booklet secured between the two disc holders. Notably, there is only one paragraph of liner notes by Steven Wilson. Compare this to two PAGES each for On The Sunday Of Life and Up The Downstair.

The production of the music is top drawer. Clear, rich full sounds but no shrillness at the top end and lovely "warm" bass without it wallowing. Stereo staging is excellent and all of the instrumentation has plenty of "space".

Putting aside the Moonloop issue, the majority of the rest of the material on the first disc is just sublime. Lovely atmospheric backdrops are created by lush keyboard sounds, oily burbling bass compliments precise yet warm percussion and guitars produce notes that perfectly reflect the direction of the music. Sometimes NOT playing a note is as important as playing a note and in that context this album is superb with every note counting and every "non-note" rightly absent.

The only piece of music on the "main" album that doesn't quite work for me is Dislocated Day. The feel and structure at odds with the rest of the album, but that may be just a matter of personal preference.

Disc 2 is fantastic. A joined up version of the title track, running to 34+ minutes and, dare I say it, some elements are actually better than the original. The different lyrics also make for very interesting listening and, all in all, you are left wondering what a third "definitive" version might sound like containing all of the lyrics from both versions and the "best" elements musically (notwithstanding the fact that no one will ever agree on what those best elements actually are :-)). It is very easy to see how Stars Die might (and should?) have fitted in with the album.

Finally to Moonloop. Although listed as two separate parts, they actually segue together to play as one whole song at a total of just over 20 minutes - 4 minutes longer than the original album version. Most of the extended play is in the main body of the song (i.e. "improvisation"). It's very difficult to describe in words just how wonderful this version is. Ambient? Chill? Atmospheric rock? Spacy? Beautiful melody? For me, it's just gorgeous - especially the "improvisation" section.

Finally, there have been lots of comparisons to Pink Floyd. It's difficult to argue against those observations, particularly in terms of the style of guitar playing on this album. Personally, I don't think it matters. The album absolutely has huge merit in its own right and it is somewhat surprising (and sad?) that Steven Wilson has the regrets about this album he has stated on more than one occasion. Perhaps this explains the almost cursory line notes and the omission of Moonloop on disc 1. Who knows, but it would be interesting to find out.

To buy or not to buy? Anyone who hasn't heard the original album probably won't be bothered by the absence of Moonloop from the main album and, on that basis, I can't think of any good reason not to buy the 2-CD version. Anyone with the original album will probably be sufficiently intrigued by the disc 2 material and will buy it anyway. However, I'd suggest hanging on to the original "whole" album for reasons already set out.

Happy listening.

The Sky Moves Sideways was the album that introduced me to Porcupine Tree, and this re-issue makes remember why I stayed with them. The new version of Moonloop is very good indeed, especially with Stars Die before it, but the real star for me is the alternative mix of the title track. It puts a different slant on the piece - harking back to Voyage 34 and Up the Downstair - and for me is the superior version.

TSMS is not exactly indicative of where Steve Wilson took the band afterwards, but it is worthy in it's own right, and a truly great album and this re-issue deserves a serious listen.