The Raven That Refused To Sing

Steven Wilson is quickly becoming my most favorite artist around. He's best known for being the leader of prog rock outfit Porcupine Tree. For whatever reason, and despite being a prog fan, that was a band that I did not get into until just a couple years ago. He's also part of a bunch of side projects, the most interesting of which is Blackfield. Not just interesting, it's a great band.

Recently, Steven has put aside the band restrictions and focused more on his solo material. His latest record is called The Raven That Refused To Sing and other stories. As someone who has followed his career with relish the last couple years, for me it is just a jaw-dropping display of talent. In interviews with him, he despises labels or comparisons, but at the risk of arousing his ire, and to give you a point of comparison, his older material had a very Pink Floyd feel; now, the King Crimson influence is rubbing off. But...it is incredibly unique. The songs are stories, as the title implies, about old buskers or sad old timers regretting the loss of their child sister.

Here's the title cut and final track from the new record, one of the prettiest songs I have heard in a long while:

It starts almost like a theme to a horror movie but it builds into one of the loveliest melodies I have heard in forever. I especially love the outro. The swelling of guitar mixing with the piano and the vocals make the song take flight. The song and the video created with it exemplifies everything about Wilson as an artist.

The rest of the songs are just as good. "Luminol" kicks the record with a very aggressive King Crimson Red like jolt. "Drive Home" sweeps along on a piano-melody augmented by strings and tasteful electric guitars. "The Watchmaker" opens with a Jethro Tull-ish flourish of acoustic guitar segues into a piano based melody before ending on a raving cacophony of drums and guitars and keys. The shortest song is just over 5 minutes; three clock in over 10. But that is what he is after here; creating longer pieces with movements that draw the listener into the story being told. The guitar is no longer the primary instrument, but is one of many painting the entire scene.

I bought the record directly from his English label. There are various incarnations of it. I chose the CD with the 100-page hard-cover book of illustrations that inspired/were-inspired-by the music. It's a beautiful piece of art, befitting such a remarkable record. It contains an additional CD of demos, a DVD version of the album with surround sound mixes, and a Blu Ray with the surround mixes and galleries and a documentary.

If I had my druthers Steven Wilson is the artist I would emulate. Too bad for me that I don't have 1/1000 the talent and creativity he has. Good for me that I can enjoy the remarkable fruits of his labor.