DEADWING

Hi from Canada Porcupine fans! I give this album 4 stars but really it should deserve 4 1/2... I can't give 5 stars to an album after listening to it for only a couple of weeks.. One thing i don't understand though is how somebody call this album crap after only a few listens.. This is the kind of album you have to listen repeatedly to get the essence of it, specially the longer songs. I was disappointed after my first listen, but then, usually, when your first listen is disappointing it is a good sign sometimes... I'm a longtime fan of Porcupine, i think all of their albums are really good and stand the test of time. (except maybe Lightbulb Sun that i don't particuraly like that much) I'm kind of surprised by people saying that they have changed too much. I think this album has a little bit of everything Porcupine is about. Porcupine Tree is not a copy of older prog band (thank you very much for that!!). I used to love prog music a lot and i still do for some bands (Gentle Giant, King Crimson). But there is one thing that has bored me with prog over the years. Always trying to sound prog, that's the problem of too many bands (IQ, Spock's Beard, Flower Kings, things like that...) I like music that makes me feel something, and Porcupine always does.. Songs like "Deadwing", "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" and "The Start Of Something Beautiful" are absolute great songs with great musicianship and feeling too. I don't think that when Pink Floyd made Meddle or Dark Side, they sat down and told themselves "we have to sound prog"... They just played with their hearts and their great musicianship.That's exactly what Porcupine is about.. Forget the labels. To me a band that is labelled to only one genre is pretty one dimensional and boring... Maybe it is a little bit more mainstream then Up The Downstairs or The Sky Moves Sideways but that really doesn't matter... Pink Floyd sold millions of albums over the years, does that mean they're not a good band? Radiohead was #1 with OK Computer, but it is one of the best rock albums ever made too... Even a band like Tool was near the top of the charts with Lateralus, are they a pop band? I don't think so... It just means that these bands can interest different styles of music lovers. I can't wait to see Porcupine in Montreal on May 16th. I saw them twice allready and they were great! So buy this album it is worthwhile... unless you like one dimensional bands that replay the music you heard in the 70's. See you!