WARSZAWA

Porcupine Tree's live album 'Warszawa' was recorded during the Lightbulb Sun Tour for Polish Radio, and features many of the tracks from that album and some favourites in the early era of the band. It is no surprise that the band focussed on spacier songs in this era with tracks such as 'Shesmovedon', featuring a dynamic wah-wah lead break, 'Last Chance to Evacuate Planet Earth Before It Is Recycled', with spoken dialogue, melodic singing, acoustics and mellotron, and 'Voyage 34' an edit of the legendary psychedelic epic with all the dialogue and trippy ambience.

There are still slightly heavier moments of course such as the slide guitar driven awesome 'Even Less', the psych rock of 'Slave Called Shiver', and the powerful 'Hatesong'. Naturally, the focus is on the latest material at the time so live versions of songs from 'Lightbulb Sun' are present such as the title track, 'Shesmovedon', 'Russia On Ice', 'Where We Would Be' and 'Hatesong'. I would have liked some of the really early material for a change but it is nice to hear live performances of songs rarely heard these days such as 'Russia On Ice', 'Where We Would Be; and 'Stop Swimming' from 'Stupid Dream', that Wilson says is one of his favourite songs. The concert ends on the bright powerhouse for Wilson's fiery lead guitar attack and hypno riffs, 'Signify'.

Overall, this is definitely a compelling live album from these masterful musicians. Each member plays wonderfully throughout; Steven Wilson, a master on guitar and vocals, Richard Barbieri, a compelling presence on keyboards, Colin Edwin on bass, and Chris Maitland on drums, both such an integral part of the PT sound. The sound production is clear and each member is audible, and I like Wilson's vocals throughout that are passionate and well executed. There are better live albums such as 'Coma Divine' and 'Rockpalast', but 'Warszawa' is still a showcase for the band powering out the music that the prog community has grown to admire over the years.