STUPID DREAM

'Stupid Dream' is the fifth studio album of Porcupine Tree and was released in 1999. This album and their next sixth studio album 'Lightbulb Sun', which was released in 2000, represented a transitory musical period for the group. After those both albums, Porcupine Tree moved away from their earlier musical works, more in the vein of instrumental and psychedelic music, to a more metal and heavy musical direction what can be seen on their next studio albums. That can be particularly noted on their ninth studio album 'Fear Of A Blank Planet'. 'Stupid Dream' takes a more commercial and accessible approach to pop rock sound while still maintaining the heavy progressive rock musical influences.

The album's title refers Steven Wilson's view of today's music industry. While many artists aspire to be a musician for fame and glamorous lifestyle, he feels that it's a stupid dream because, in reality, it leads to a real life of hard work and struggle. If a modern musician wants to survive as a musician he has to learn and to deal with the need to sell his music and his art, which is a very difficult thing to do nowadays. And I'm sure that Wilson knows perfectly well what he says.

The line up on the album is Steven Wilson (vocals, guitars, piano, samples and bass), Richard Barbieri (analogue synthesizers, Hammond organ, mellotron and piano), Colin Edwin (bass guitar and double bass), Chris Maitland (backing vocals, drums and percussion) and Theo Travis (flute and saxophone). Strings by East of England Orchestra.

'Stupid Dream' has twelve tracks. All songs were written by Steven Wilson, except 'Tinto Brass' which was written by all four band's members. The first track 'Even Less' is an incredible track highly progressive, psychedelic, harder and a bit more atmospheric than the typical band's tracks. The keyboards and synthesizers add a nice and rich musical atmosphere to the chorus and it has also a good guitar solo at the end. The second track 'Piano Lessons' is another incredible track with relaxing guitar tones and parts, atmospheric and psychedelic choruses, and layered vocals work wonders for another one of the album's best songs. The third track is the title track 'Stupid Dream'. This is just a little mood piece of music of 28 seconds long with a tuning orchestra and some sound effects. The fourth track 'Pure Narcotic' is the second single from the album before 'Piano Lessons' which was the first single. This track features acoustic guitars, close harmony vocals, glockenspiel, pastoral piano and wonderful lyrics. The fifth track 'Slave Called Shiver' is a song with funky musical influences which is particularly noticed by the bass and the percussion that open the album complemented by the repetitive piano work. A fantastic vocal work and atmospheric background music can be heard before the electric guitar work that introduces the heavier musical section. The sixth track 'Don't Hate Me' is a more melancholic song with gentle vocals and a fantastic keyboard work. It has also solemn soundscapes and relaxed noises and it features the first use of a saxophone in the music of Porcupine Tree. The seventh track 'This Is No Rehearsal' is a song with great musical atmosphere and the guitar solo is excellent in the middle of the song. The song changes tempo, rhythms and dynamics very quickly, although kind of giving the song a kind of disorder. The eighth track 'Baby Dream In Cellophane' is a song with distorted vocals over acoustic guitar chords and spacey slide guitar. This short psychedelic track sounds a lot like an earlier Pink Floyd's music. The ninth track 'Stranger By The Minute' became the third single of the album. This is one of the most psychedelic tracks on the album with its guitar riffs in the background, the flowing layered vocals and the acoustic guitar rhythm behind the electric guitars. The tenth track 'A Smart Kid' is a song with lyrics that deals with a sole survivor after a nuclear or chemical war. Musically, this song features amazing atmospheric sounds, which really give an image of desolation and destruction. The eleventh track 'Tinto Brass' is the only band musical composition on the album. It was inspired by the Italian director Tinto Brass and starts out with some Japanese spoken text that musically has a funky space tune that turns into a metal extravaganza. The twelfth and last track 'Stop Swimming' is another excellent track with sadness and despair present in both, music and lyrics. Steven once said that this is one of his favourite compositions. This is a perfect way to close this album.

Conclusion: 'Stupid Dream' is a great album and is definitely a must have for any progressive rock fan. The album's variety, emotion, soundscapes, atmospherics and experimental parts work together perfectly well all over the album. With this album, Steven hasn't lost his Floydian musical influences, but on the album, it's a different era of Pink Floyd's development that can be recognized. For instance 'Baby Dream In Cellophane' features effects that clearly resemble the middle piece of 'Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun' of Floyd. Concluding, 'Stupid Dream' is an excellent psychedelic progressive rock album that features some of Porcupine Tree's best works. It's another solid chapter in the discography of the band. It also explains why Porcupine Tree is recognized as one of the best prog bands of our times.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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