C’mon…there’s gotta be some Steven Wilson fans out there.
It was the first album of theirs I heard and I’m probably biased because of it, but In Absentia is just amazing.
My all-time favourite band. A clear preference for Fear of a blank planet, one of my top 5 albums. Depressingly, I totally cannot get into the Incident.
I’ve been listening to them since Deadwing, but my favourite was* The Sky Moves Sideways*–that’s what made me a fan.
Then The Incident came out. It’s their best album yet, IMHO. It combines the best elements of In Absentia with some of the spacey, Floydian moments from Wilson’s earlier work. The result encapsulates the band in one listen.
Funnily enough, I loved Fear of a Blank Planet when it was released, but I’ve grown to really dislike it. It doesn’t withstand long-term listening for me. Seeing it live was the nail in the coffin. I’m dragging my heels on buying the new DVD for this reason.
OTOH, The Incident went from “meh” to “outstanding” over the course of a few months. Seeing it live was the capper.
I first got into PT when The Sky Moves Sideways came out, and it remains my favorite of theirs. Problem is, due to not having much money to spend on music for the past several years, I’ve not heard anything more recent than Lightbulb Sun. Once I do finally have a good cash flow going again, PT is one of the bands at the top of my list to get caught up on.
The album that introduced me to Porcupine Tree was the compilation Stars Die: The Delirium Years (wonderful title too), which really is a best of.
Apart from that, I’d have to go with The Sky Moves Sideways.
Their worst album is Metanoia: a completely empty dirge.
Can I recommend Spotify or last.fm or something like them? A great way to catch up on music without paying anything.
Voted Deadwing (In Absentia, close second), primarily because I feel “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here” is their finest moment.
Not loving “The Incident”, I felt Wilson’s recent solo effort “Insurgentes” was vastly superior.
You do know there’s videos on YouTube and other places, right? Just to hear what you are missing out on…
Sad, I guess it doesn’t count as a real album, but I love Recordings. Truly, Buying New Soul is just about a perfect song, and I’m pretty fond of the rest of the album too. But, since that’s not an option, I’ll have to go with In Absentia.