Search - Porcupine Tree :: Stars Die

The Delirium Years- Abbreviated

fats | 12/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many Porcupine Tree fans, such as myself, came to the band through newer, more audience-friendly releases such as In Absentia and Deadwing. Thinking that the Tree could do no better than those two, I still searched their early catalogue, and was absolutely blown away. In fact, some of their early albums are better than the giants that are In Absentia and Deadwing. While Steven Wilson's first album as Porcupine Tree, On The Sunday Of Life..., is a bit juvenile for taste, albums like Voyage 34, Up The Downstair, The Sky Moves Sideways, and Signify all are prime examples of Psychedelic Rock at its best and, for the latter two, Progressive Rock, a term Wilson, the guitar player/originally only member, never liked, but suits the music well enough. Signify is probably the greatest of the bunch, followed closely by Up The Downstair. Appropriate enough, since most of the songs off those two albums are represented here. After hearing all the albums to hear, I purchased the original Stars Die, with the extra-large booklet and boxed packaging. In terms of an introduction to early material for fans of newer opuses, I found the compilation to be great not just as a "best of", but also as its own album, as it has great flow. This, like all there albums, is an experience; everything about Porcupine Tree, from the lyrics and music to the packaging, is an experience. Here is a song by song review (Since they all get 5/5, I need not do that):



Disc One represents the early Porcupine Tree, with Steven Wilson performing all the instrumentation and vocals.



1.) Radioactive Toy- Wilson's first real song that gave record labels the impression that he could be successful. Although mostly compared to Pink Floyd, this song is in fact a great Porcupine Tree tune, and is a prime example of early work by Wilson. Still a crowd favorite, it often ends the band's encore, and is a wonderful jam song.



2.) Nine Cats- Recorded in Wilson's youth, this is a beautiful song off of On The Sunday Of Life... Although that album itself is weak, this collection greatly represents the songs that are great off that album. Nine Cats is one of them, and is so gentle that you could simply float while listening to it. Highly recommended early PTree gentle track.



3.) And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun- The urgency of the vocals is matched wonderfully with the marching beat of the music. This song is a wonderful counterpoint to the last song, and its easy to see why its Wilson's favorite off of the first album.



4.) Nostalgia Factory- Psychedelic, to say the least, this song is a great tune that features some of Wilson's vocal masking. Here, his vocals are kicked up a few octaves, as in his youth he couldn't bare the sound of his naked voice; therefore, he'd tamper with it on recording. Although this may not always sit well with people, it adds to the psychedelia of the song, as do the words, and it all makes for an interesting and wonderful experience.



5.) Voyage 34- Phase One- Psychedelic as the last song was, this is about as insane as it gets. Voyage 34- Phase One is part one of four in a series of epics about an LSD trip. The experience of the music is best in a dark room with your eyes closed and your mind open wide for a musical journey. Akin almost to a trip itself, the music makes for a profound experience. Here, Phase One explores protagonist Brian's trip from, as the booklet states, "ingestation to plateau. But that's not the end of the story..." If you like what you hear, purchase the digipack Voyage 34 for more. If not, enjoy this, the most listener-friendly phase of the four.



6.) Synesthesia- This song is one of the best off of the classic Porcupine Tree epic, Up The Downstair. The song is about war, and it a great beat that can get a room hopping. This is the extended 8-minute cut of the song, originally only 5 minutes long. Highly recommended.



7.) Phantoms- A previously unreleased track, exposing Wilson's voice with only an acoustic guitar and loops underlaying it. Due to this extreme exposure of his vocals, Wilson cut the song from Up The Downstair. Available only here, this song is a great example of lulling PTree music.



8.) Up The Downstair- Voyage 34 had been released as a single, after the idea of turning Up The Downstair into a double album had proven too expensive and had failed. Instead of two sonic pieces now, Up The Downstair, the title track, became the centerpiece of a very cosmic album. This track is extremely important, as it marks the arrival of technical whiz and keyboardist Richard Barbieri. The track itself is a much better form of Voyage 34, and is perhaps the greatest track off of the Up The Downstair album. Here, in all its glory, is the complete track with the drums re-done by Gavin Harrison, the current drummer, for a much better sounding song.



9.) Fadeaway- A favorite of Wilson's, and absolutely beautiful, Fadeaway is the ending of the Up The Downstair album. With new drumming by Gavin, the song now sits right as a wonderfully compelling track on this compilation, and is a great starting point for new PTree fans.



10.) Rainy Taxi- This track is extremely soothing, and really winds down disc one quite nicely. Recorded as a 10" single but never put on an album, this is one of two places this track can be found; the other is on the second disc of the reissued Up The Downstair album.



Aside from a few cuts, Disc Two represents Porcupine Tree as a band, a mobile unit able to record and tour. Although the music is essentially written by Wilson, the band still adds to make a much more powerful line-up.



1.) Stars Die- Steven Wilson has said that eliminating this track from the album The Sky Moves Sideways was perhaps the worst mistake he had ever made. The song is, indeed, quite compelling, and makes for a great listen and a wonderful opening for disc two, as well as a grand starting point for newcomers to Porcupine Tree. To correct his mistake, while reissuing The Sky Moves Sideways, Steven also added this track, previously only available here and on the Moonloop EP, as well as the remainder of the Moonloop EP as the second disc.



2.) The Sky Moves Sideways- Phase One- A masterpiece. The Sky Moves Sideways is extremely overlooked in Porcupine Tree's catalogue, as it is seen as Progressive Rock, and is generally frowned upon. However, this music is far too relaxing to be overlooked as it is, and is in fact a staple to Porcupine Tree's career. For nearly 20 minutes of some of the best music you're ever likely to hear, sit down, dim the lights, and float to this track.



3.) Men Of Wood- This is an unreleased track that was supposed to be on either Up The Downstair or The Sky Moves Sideways- it was cut both times. Surprisingly, the song is actually quite exquisite, it just didn't fit the moods of either album. The song is very fast and effervescent, and really gets the blood pumping after The Sky Moves Sideways. The chorus is amazing.



4.) Waiting- One word: Beauty. That's all it takes to describe this song. I am not even going to review it; just listen, and feel your tension go away, and your body melt.



5.) The Sound Of No-One Listening- Cut from Signify because Porcupine Tree was running away from the Progressive Rock title they had gained after The Sky Moves Sideways. This track is absolutely wonderful, with a great hypnotic bassline, excellent guitar work, groove-oriented drumming, and ambience that only PTree can serve. The sections where it gets heavy are the best, and make for a wonderful song that just barely missed the cut. Essential to any fan.



6.) Colourflow in Mind- Yet another B-Side, like The Sound Of No-One Listening, on the Waiting single, this song was cut from Signify because the band was not impressed by it, even though Wilson was very proud of it. Here, it finds a new home. The song itself is extremely mellow, and is very great in my opinion; why it didn't make the cut is beyond me. Listen and see.



7.) Fuse The Sky- The third B-Side from Waiting, and a great track it is. This is, in fact, a reduced form of the introduction to The Sky Moves Sideways, written and mixed for a cover CD for Volume Magazine. Since it was not accepted, it now appears here.



8.) Signify II- Cut from Signify due to time constraints, Signify II is usually played live, where it is joined with Signify to create one supersong. Quite the track indeed, here, for the first time, it appears.



9.) Every Home Is Wired- One of the greatest songs off of Signify, Every Home Is Wired is a commentary on how technology will take over. The verses The chorus makes your body melt. Listen to this song, and have your breath taken away from you.



10.) Sever- Along with Every Home Is Wired, this is one of the best songs Signify has to offer. Sever's urgent vocals and apocolyptic music make for one of the greatest experiences on the album: the chaotic verses move flawlessly into the mellow chorus, only to recede back into chaos, over and over again until the song is finally over.



11.) Dark Matter- This song is the last song on Signify, as well as the last song from the Delirium Years. This makes it an appropriate closer to this package. The song itself is absolutely gorgeous, and gives off a depressed mood as the band gives what is left of themselves into this song.



Total Running Time: 2:26:23



Over all, this new Snapper release features exquisite new packaging. While it suffers from the lack of the biographical part of the booklet, it still contains the song notes. The package is also far more friendly to the discs themselves, with actual plastic holders instead of the sleeves found in the box. The cardboard package itself has pictures, and folds like the rest of the Snapper releases, and makes for a great package overall. In terms of the music, the songs themselves are remastered, with Synesthesia, Fadeaway and Up The Downstair containing remastered drumming, and Voyage 34 containing the 2004 remix. Indeed, this package is fantastic for new fans, who are searching out older material, and old fans, who receive some B-sides and unreleased tracks. Any fans of In Absentia and Deadwing who want to explore earlier tunes, but are hesitent or short on cash, should definitely pick this up. From there, grab Signify, Up The Downstair, and if those sit well, get The Sky Moves Sideways and Voyage 34. In terms of the more commercial records, Stupid Dream and Lightbulb Sun, those will be released in Springtime by Snapper, and I advise to wait for these definitive editions before purchasing them. Until then, buy Warszawa for the best versions of the songs from those albums."

A Great way to catch up on their older classics.

Sunshine the Werewolf | Canada | 01/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"PORCUPINE TREE - Stars Die: The Delerium Years '91-'97 [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

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This is a re-master of the 2002 release of Rare tracks, and some PT Classics, spanning from Wilson and Co. from 91-97. It includes 2 disks and 21 tracks in total.

I had started with Absentia then Deadwing and now I'm working my way backwards. This is a great place to start. There is material from when it was just Steve Wilson (mostly on Disk 1 I believe) and then material with PT as a band (Disk 2)

Who said Progressive Rock was dead... Wilson has been carrying the torch since the conception of PT in 87'. (First Release -1989) They really came into form in 1991, On the Sunday of Life..., and have only gained strength since then.

I'm going to go into detail... Just read the excellent review by "Fats AL." (Dec 29, 05)

For fans that like older Floyd or King Crimson. Or like newer PT do yourselves a favour and get this amazing compilation.

Favorite Songs: (DISK 1) Nine Cats, Phantoms and Fadeaway. (DISK 2) Stars Die, The Sky Moves Sideways, and Waiting.

-4.75 Stars





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Glad I found out this band and this compilation

Luis C. Diaz | Mason, Ohio | 11/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I learned about Porcupine Tree just recently. I was given a copy of In Absentia by on of my brothers and I just can not get enough of them. I started to want to learn more about the band and decided to give this compilationa try.



Now that I own other PT releases I find this double CD and excecelent starting point summarizing early material from Steve Wilson's Porcupine Tree early work. The song selection is adecuate as well as the booklet. I say this as not only are they satisfying but they encourage the listener to research the original albums... and for a Prog band that seems to be now becoming more popular this CD is an excelent opportunity for new fans as it shows how the bands sound has eveolved over the years."