I don't think the PT album was a reaction to TFB at all. It was music he and Harrison (and later Barbieri) had been developing since 2012, and really only came to the front burner because of COVID, when he had forced downtime, and elected to focus on that music. Had COVID not happened, SW might have continued on with his solo efforts, and it's possible the PT album might never have seen the light of day, or might have come around 5 years later, or something.
I liked what he was trying to achieve with TFB, I just don't think the songwriting was good enough to make it a full artistic success. I'm still interested in hearing the next chapter.
I don't think TFB is very good either, but does that make it an example of "overreach" or just of a weaker album in his canon? Overreach implies he tried to do something fundamentally outside of his abilities, rather than just that he made another album and it wasn't his best.
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He’s often been heard denying the Prog tag, or highlighting the narrow tastes of some of his fans, or preaching about the merits of pop and making people stand and dance to his apparently ABBA influenced single. I like SW and have bought practically everything he’s ever released with early PT through solo, but I wish he would stop with all of these pronouncements and just get on with the music. He does seem to try and wind people up, that’s my take from years of observing.
I'm pretty sure that SW has indicated in a number of interviews that, having made the music that he wants to make, he is then keen for it to be heard as widely as possible - which may then (or may not given the current state of artistic remuneration) translate into financial success.
"One should never magnify the harsh light of reality with the mirror of prose onto the delicate wings of fantasy's butterfly"
Thumpermonkey - How I Wrote The French Lieutenant's Woman
"I'm content to listen to what I like and keep my useless negative opinions about what I don't like to myself -- because no one is interested in hearing those anyway, and it contributes absolutely nothing to the conversation."
aith01
He has said before that while he follows his own muse, he of course hopes people like his music.
The two things aren't mutually exclusive.
It's not a condemnation of Wilson that he wants to be more famous than he is, or at least, outside the niche that he doesn't want to be associated with. WE ALL think Wilson/PT should have been bigger. Some of us think that the PT-C/C reunion on the heels of his least successful solo effort is merely coincidental, some of us do not. It's a difference of opinion not a personal attack. I'm not remiss that Wilson put out PT-C/C. I can still like the album and think it was the snub-nose revolver in his ankle holster incase his main pistol jammed.
Except I wasn't talking about PT-C/C in the discussion at hand. I was talking about TFB (i.e. "overreach", pop, mainstream success, etc.). Honestly I don't care what his reason was for resurrecting Porcupine Tree; I'm glad that it happened, but I wasn't pining away for the return of PT. I'm just not one of the die-hards. I've enjoyed most of Wilson's solo work to varying degrees, especially when compared to The Incident.
But the point I was trying to make was put much more eloquently by marblesmike:
Thanks Mike, you said it better than me.
"what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
- Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021
Yes I saw a video of this and it was highly awkward. I mean, I already have ABBA's albums so I don't need to hear that.
I remember he had a two-episode show with Tim Bowness on an online digital radio channel, where he played a lot of different stuff. He's an engaging enough guy without these lofty pronouncements and lecturing.
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Well, my point is that Wilson is not and never has been an innovator. I think he’s a sometimes excellent songwriter, a talented producer and a decent singer/guitar player, not great but he can get the job done. However, in terms of his music he has always been an assimilator and it’s generally pretty easy to figure out what he’s been listening to or remixing, because he wears his influences on his sleeve. For some reason he felt the need to make a really chill and sedate Trent Reznor record and folks are supposed to react like he invented the wheel.
"It was a cruel song, but fair."-Roger Waters
I agree. There are bits of TFB that I really like, but I find it an inconsistent album. I don't mind the musical direction at all. I really doubt he's going to do another Raven style record and if he wants to lean into the pop spectrum more, as long as the results are good, I'm OK with that. But it sounds like The Harmony Codex is going to be a varied album so I'm really curious to hear what he does with it.
I didn't mean the Abba bit, but if I might edit your earlier words: "He’s often been heard denying the Prog tag, or highlighting the narrow tastes of some of his fans [...] I wish he would stop with all of these pronouncements and just get on with the music. He does seem to try and wind people up, that’s my take from years of observing." Isn't that Fripp to a tee?
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Blogdegezou, the accompanying blog: http://bondegezou.blogspot.com/
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