WARSZAWA

A good view of Porc tree for stupid dream and Lightbulb son. This album is not truly a live touring album, it's the band in a studio with a live audience with very good recording materials. It's hard to imagine that the aggressive in Absentia would come after this ( even though this certain album came out in 2005) because, this album is very mellow andeven boring at times. I dont own either of the albums this live recording goes over, but I have heard shesmovedon many times, Deadwing and lightbuld son versions, and I must say that I am very disapointed with this song because it's absolutely studio perfect, no improv and nothing new, and this song could easily have an extended solo or something.

The music on the album besides shesmovedon is a bit better though, the drumming does occasionally do an extra fill or two, when it would be very obvious that that would never be on the officially reording. Steven Wilson does not play piano or any other kinds of synthesizers, but i guess that would be a little diffucult on stage. I like the spaceyness, but it is obvious the bands was in for some major changes, cause some of the more aggressive moments seemed to lack the power needed to really make an impression, thus the metal for the next couple of years. The one thing that really blows me away with the music is Richard barbaeri's pretensiousness. On album, he rarely does any solo's, he's usually doing that usual electronic playing that he is known and loved for, but on this album, he has a solo for every other song, with the same weird sound he makes on album. It's very cool and all, but the sound he makes for his solo's on album are cool, because it's very rewarding to him solo, but that noise he makes on almost every song does get a bit irritating, even on the three minuete song, Where We Would Be he has a solo! I thought Steven was the only one in the band allowed to have more than one solo per album!

The songs are cool and collective with no mistakes or errors, which can be a good or bad thing, which ever way you like. The album kicks off on Even Less, which I think is not the best opener, considering it's very mellow with a sub par climax, though at some parts are very pretty and hamonious. Alas, the soft songs continue with slave called shiver, which is slower and very plain, usually I have the words to a song memorized by the fifth listen, and I dont for this song because i just cant pay attention to it. So by this time, you are pretty bored and are waiting for some more exciting songs, well the next song does make up for the absence. I have already bashed Shesmovedon, but by this point in the album, you are very happy to hear it, with more energy and catchiness than the last two songs. The next song Last chance to evacuate planet earth is very cool, but Lightbulb sun seems very simalar to Even less, slow and melodic. The firt ten minuete plus song Russia on ice has kind of a boring into that slowly builds to an exciting climax near the tenth minuete. Where we would be has nice placement as filler from the epic before it, and t's also a very lovely song, even with the strange synth solo. Hatesong is next, and it's really cool how there has been nothing but, symbolic slower songs (maybe besides shesmovedon) until this point with a very direct point and message. Sadly the song does kind of meander after a while. The next song, stop swimming, Steven Wilson describes as one of his favirotes, but it seems kind of awkward with the busy drum beat complicating the very pretty and sad song. Next we have the closers Voyage 34 and signify, voyage 34 is completely studio redone which is once again disapointing, but Signify is improvised very nicely, giving it a hard rocking edge.

Good, sometimes very good, but I think porcupine ree just chose some bad songs, or just bad placement of songs. Either way, my impression from it...

3***