From: Brown, Ken BROWNKJ@imsint.com
Subject: Porcupine Tree - Signify
Date: 4 November 1996
Bornlivedie              1:41
Signify                  3:26
Sleep of No Dreaming     5:24
Pagan                    1:34
Waiting (Phase 1)        4:24
Waiting (Phase 2)        6:15
Sever                    5:30
Idiot Prayer             7:37
Every Home is Wired      5:08
Intermediate Jesus       7:29
"Light Mass Prayers"     4:28
Dark Matter              8:57
Well it is here in America finally, the new CD from Porcupine Tree. The
American versions and the British have the same track listings. I say that
because last year's The Sky Moves Sideways the two versions had slightly
different tracks.
Ok for those still living under a rock, Ptree is the brain child of Steve
Wilson, one of the most promising song writers in music today. He has two
groups and it seems unclear which came first: No-Man with Tim Bowness 
vocals)
and Ben Coleman (violin), which is a dance-oriented band; or Ptree, Steve's
one man prog-psych-rock band. There were two tapes (Tarquin's Seaweed Farm 
nd
Nostalgia Factory) which led to Ptree first CD On the Sunday of Life. The
remaining tracks from the two tapes were later released in a limited edition
CD called  Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscapes. While the first CD had it short
comings (many styles and lousy drum machines) one could see the glimmer of
things to come. That arrived with Up the Downstair a stunning work, of rich
imagination and playing. Then came The Sky Moves Sideways an instant
classic. (Please don't tell me that it sounded like Pink Floyd, take the time
and really listen to it, it is a record Floyd wish they could make). The best
CD from last year and also the start of Ptree as a band. Up until this point
Mr. Wilson had played everything, but in order to play live he needed other
musicians. He brought on Richard Barbieri on keys (ex-Japan), Chris Maitland
on percussion and Colin Edwin on bass. While the band is credited for playing
on some of the tracks, it still basically Mr. Wilson's show. The band played 

ton of dates and became very tight. I say this because the new CD reflects 
.
I believe that the new CD shows the differences between the one man gig and a
full band. While Mr. Wilson's bass and drum machine parts were adequate, with
the addition of a bass player and drummer his music comes alive more. I am
sure that Mr. Wilson brings finished demos to the studio, much like Pete
Townshend did for the Who. Pick up either Scoop CD by Mr. Townshend  and one
can hear how complete songs were when brought to the band. The band then 
dded
the Who stamp to them. I feel that Mr. Wilson has this same vision of his
music in his head and with a band he can achieve that goal.
So what does the new CD sound like, well it doesn't sound like  The Sky
Moves.. volume 2. The CD isn't as mellow as that CD was, nor is it the hard
driving metal prog that many of today's "prog" bands play. The CD starts as
all Ptree cds start with mellow, almost ambient beginnings with some sample
dialog bits, its then moves into "Signify" an almost "Red" sounding rocker.
Immediately, one can hear what the rest of the band brings to the Ptree 
ound.
Because not only did Mr. Wilson form band but he found incredible musicians 
o
play with him. The next track "Sleep of No Dreaming" is an exceptional track
(Well to be honest all the tracks are) Mr. Wilson use the slow/fast flow to
most of songs and he makes it work all the time. The theme of the CD seems to
be about life and how difficult it is. (Lyric study is not my strong suit) 
ut
again in the way that Mr. Townshend spoke for a generation of boys who had
trouble coping with growing up, so Mr. Wilson seems to be his generations
voice. (Well at least with this CD.) This song is killer and one of the few
that could easily win radio audiences over. Next "Pagan" is an ambient piece
that leads into what has to be the single of the year "Waiting." Most bands
would die to write just one song that comes close to this. It is the same 
old
as "Stars Die" but about half way through kicks into a rocker with some
fantastic wah-wah playing. Have I failed to mention that Mr.Wilson is one of
the great guitarist of our time?  Again the lyrics seem to be pointing to the
desolation of growing up. "Waiting Phase 2" is another instrumental, 
eaturing
a great drum solo by Mr. Maitland that kicks it into gear.  Next is "Sever"
whose beginning reminds me of "Tomorrow Never Knows." Again another great 
ong
for the radio. Mr. Wilson never fails to amaze me in that the notes always
seem to fit a song.  "Idiot Prayer" is an ambient/techno piece that Mr. 
ilson
does to great effect. What sounds like some 'tron is there for the progheads.
It's another piece that ebbs and flows through out. The only piece that
features drum samples. These are the pieces that help link No-Man to Ptree.
Lots of dance rhythms and taped voice samples. "Every Home is Wired" is the
ninth track and starts of with acoustic guitar, the song tells of the age of
every one being wired into the world 'net. It could end up being the theme
song for the 'net generation. "Intermediate Jesus" seems to be a jam song as
all four members are credited. Techno/jazz/prog might be the best way to
describe it. Again featuring some great playing by Mr. Wilson. "Light Mass
Prayers" is the only track that Mr. Wilson didn't write, Mr. Maitland wrote
and performed the majority of the track. Its an ambient piece that puts you
right in the mood for the closer "Dark Matter," one of those epics songs that
close out LPs. Its closest comparison is probably "It Will Rain For a Million
Years" from the first CD. It again is amazing song. The vocals are 
ncredible,
the playing fantastic. It doesn't get much better then this. The song seems 
o
deal with Mr. Wilson becoming a star, something this CD should help him
become!!!!
Overall this is an excellent CD, especially when listened to as a whole. some
of the shorter pieces ("Bornlivedie" or "Pagan") would suffer out of context
but fit in beautifully to the whole CD. This is a masterpiece, one that could
put prog back on the map. It is a must have as was "The Sky Moves Sideways."
It is not often one gets to see a band that will change the way rock is
listened to, but Ptree is such a band!!!
Keep the Faith (in the Music)
Ken Brown
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From: Mike Taylor gepr@plato.museum.tulane.edu
Subject: Somnambulist, Musea Label releases, Lefty's Head
Date: 9 February 1997
Somnambulist: Somnambulist (1996; The Laser's Edge LE 1027) 56m
===========================================================
Totally insane and with attitude! Those were the only words that came easily
for this album. The music on Somnambulist is too varied to be pigeon-holed
and too unique for comparisons. The only predictable aspect of this album is
that any mellow passage is going to get heavy at one point or another. In
their own way, Somnambulist are as relentless as Anekdoten.  And speaking of
the Swedish greats, "Conqueror Worm" could easily have come from the 
nekdoten
playbook, with layers of mellotron, thumping bass lines, rattling drum fills,
and guitar leads with a gothic air.  The schizophrenic "Pinocchio" opens with
a piano and guitar passage that could have come from any '70s Dutch/Euro-prog
album. But the madman awakens, splitting the personality between 
traditional"
prog and total insanity. The resolution of conflict (for the moment) comes as
a brief keyboard solo that will make Rick Wakeman churn out weekly new-age
albums named after the shags in his carpet. Wait until Somnambulist get
crankin' in the second half of "Globos Formas Para Manana." If you've been
lucky enough to hear the cassette-only release by Atavism of Twilight, you'll
immediately recognize the similarity to the distinctive, arpeggiated riff 
rom
"Glorified Form." A variation on the theme recurs in "Multum In Parvo"
before going into a classical passage of acoustic guitar and harpsichord. The
theme then returns with some barrelhouse piano and freaky guitar. 
omnambulist
can and do venture off in any direction at the drop of a hat. You never know
when the hat is going to drop, and you never know which way the compass is
pointing. Yet, Somnambulist is  cohesive, inventive, aggressive, adventurous
and 100% recommended.
Tale Cue: Voices Beyond My Curtain (1991; Musea FGBG 4030.AR) 63m
=============================================================
Although I had heard several good things about Tale Cue, I was dissatisfied
with Voices Beyond My Curtain, ultimately an album of neo-progressive rock,
albeit rather good for the style. The album features six songs between 7-15
minutes in length. This five piece band consists of Laura Basla (vocals),
Davide Vicchione (bass), Giovanni Porpora (keyboards), Filippo Oggioni 
drums)
and Silvio Masanotti (guitar).  The album opens up with the 15 minute "The
Knell."  After a brief classical guitar statement, the album moves squarely
into Twelfth Night/IQ territory where it remains for the entire album.  The
electric guitar that swirls between the speakers is not unlike the main 
uitar
riff of Twelfth Night's "East To West" from Live at the Target, and the
overall flow is similar to "Sequences," also from Live at the Target. In
fact, Masanotti's style throughout the album often reminded me of Twelfth
Night's guitarist, Andy Revell. To Tale Cue's credit, they create a very good
atmosphere, dark and somber, that pervades Voices.  The enigmatic lyrics,
and Basla's mid-register voice, fit well with the mood. To Tale Cue's
discredit, did little, if anything, to distinguish it from the many other
neo-prog bands that have already done this bit. The musical writing is not
overly complex and usually predictable.  For example, at only seven minutes,
"Craven Smiles" seems to go on way too long and the "climactic" guitar and
keyboard solos happen right on cue. In the end, Tale Cue are basically 
welfth
Night with a female vocalist.  Tale Cue is very good neo-prog but only 
verage
when considered against the prog scene as a whole.  No doubt, fans of Tewlfth
Night, IQ and so forth will find much to enjoy when listening to Tale Cue.
Shub-Niggurath: C'etaient De Tres Grands Vents (1991; Musea FGBG 4042.AR) 45m
====================================================
Dark, spacious and often disturbing are the three best adjectives to describe
Shub Niggurth's C'etaient De Tres Grands Vents CD released by Musea.  The
phrase "Shub-Niggurath" comes from the writings of one of the masters of the
horror genre, H.P. Lovecraft. The music on C'etaient... would fit very well
as a soundtrack for many of Lovecraft's stories. Instrumentation consists of
bass (Alain Ballaud), electric guitar, piano, harmonium (Jean-Luc Herve),
drums (either Michel Kervinio or Edward Perraud, both on "Promethee"), bass
trombones (Veronique Verdier), and occasional voice (Sylvette Claudet). 
Analogy is perhaps the best way to describe Shub-Niggurath's music. Imagine a
mix of Present or early Univers Zero with Henry Cow improvisations, playing
while on downers. C'etaient opens with the seven minute "Glaciations." The
song consists of quiet, icy emanations broken by occasional fissues of
frenzied drums, bass and guitar.  "Ocean" is four minutes of meandering
trombone improvisation and distorted guitar, followed by one minute of 
ntense
zeuhlish improvisation that calls to mind Happy Family, then a long fade into
nothing. "Promethee" is a clear vocal line sung against crashing, discordant
guitar chords. The vocals are eventually replaced with meandering bass, much
like the trombone of "Ocean." Herve just bangs out distorted guitar chords 
or
the entire five minutes. I think you are beginning to get the picture. 
ecause
the instrumentation and improvisation is used sparse, the music is very
spacious, often almost ambient in nature, perhaps as a result of influences
from some avant-garde classical composers such as Penderecki. Yet, the
atmosphere is always very tense, and songs don't always have detectable
direction or musically resolved ending.  Shub-Niggurath do not play music for
casual listening and generally only for the experimentally-minded and those
predisposed toward the avant-garde.
Ilous & Decuyper: Ilous & Decuyper (1971; Musea FGBG 4173.AR) 45m
=====================================================
Bernard Ilous (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Patrice Decuyper (vocals,
acoustic guitar) are a folk/rock duo who recorded just this one album of 13
songs.  Musea's CD reissue includes two bonus tracks from a second single
comprised of songs not on the LP. Ilous & Decuyper is a surprisingly strong
album of experimental folk/rock/prog.  Ilous and Decuyper shared common
interests in the Beatles as well as folk and country rock artists like Bob
Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Crosby Stills Nash and Young. The duo also shared a
common desire to fully exploit the 16-track studio to their fullest extent, 
s
well as push their own musical limits. In fact, Ilous and Decuyper took one
year to record this album, quite a long time for that era. Because of their
love of vocal harmonies, the two spent a great deal of time arranging and
recording subtle voicing and instrumental details, as well as layering
harmonized voices one on top of the other. To achieve the sound they
envisioned, they played most of the instruments themselves, often processing
them in various ways to achieve new timbres. Occasionally, they drew help 
rom
some friends. On their only cover song, a very nice rendition of the Beatles'
"Eleanor Rigby," Jean-Pierre Alarcen (future Sandrose guitarist) provides a
fantastic guitar solo. Alarcen also appears in a duet with Ilous on
"L'espoir," the B-side of the second single. Here, Ilous played a guitar solo
run through a Leslie cabinet draped with felt to achieve a very distinctive
tone. But, the vocal harmonies are the real attraction of this album. Ilous,
the main lyric writer, chose the French lyrics based on their sound, not 
heir
meaning. (Recalls Jon Anderson, no?) With attention to engineering and
production details, Ilous and Decuyper created harmonies of striking beauty
and subtle detail.  Unique as a "folk/prog" album in 1971, the album is still
very fresh today.
Lefty's Head: Changing Time (1996; Povis Records) 33m
=================================================
Lefty's Head is Kevin Kmetz (guitar), Jim Foster (drums) and Tracy Miller
(bass, vocals).  Changing Time wastes hardly a moment of it's all-too-short 
3
minutes. Packing nine songs into that time, Changing Time offers an upbeat 
et
musical variety. Their style touches down in many areas but the strongest
influence seems to come from a jazz and fusion base. Comparisons?  The first
thing that came to mind was Bruford (the band) without keyboards. Perhaps 
aal
without the zeuhl influences. UZED with emotion? Ultimately, I think I 
ettled
on Xaal for the best comparison. They even have guest trumpet on a song or
two. You have three talented musicians (Kmetz has been featured in Guitar
Player magazine) with great instrumental rapport playing a complex, jazzy
fusion, and drawing from such diverse musical sources as funk, blues,
classical and folk. Other than the short length of the album, the only other
drawback I could find was the vocals. Of course, I've never been a fan of
vocals, anyway, so it's easy for me to find a flaw in that department. In 
his
case, the soft vocal style was somewhat discordant with the music. Miller's
voice reminded me of Eric Johnson on his early records, when it seems like
he's singing because it's expected but he'd much rather be playing.  Only two
of the songs have vocals, though, so my complaint is mostly insignificant. 
ou
can hear too much good instrumental playing to worry about a few minor 
ocals.
Recommended. -- Mike Taylor
You can visit the Lefty's Head Home Page at http://leftyshead.simplenet.com.
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