Release date: 02.11.2018
Label: Eagle Vision
Production: Steven Wilson
Length: 146:15
Genre: progressive rock
Rating: 9.5/10
“Home Invasion” is the third live album from the never-resting sonic perfectionist Steven Wilson, the most important musician in the modern progressive rock movement. This recording comes from the third night of Wilson’s run at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall. It took place during an extremely successful tour promoting the album “To The Bone” (2017), though the set included plenty of other standards from Wilson’s solo career, plus a few goodies from his past with the cult band Porcupine Tree. Joined here by musicians of the caliber of bassist Nick Beggs, guitarist Alex Hutchings, drummer Craig Blundell and keyboardist Adam Holzman, Steven touches on every key chapter of his creative career on this live document, all of it clearly reflecting his always thrilling, eclectic songwriting and stylistic range.
From “To the Bone”, Steven picked a few favorites for the Royal Albert Hall show too, among them the epic-melancholic “The Same Asylum As Before”, the pop-rock “Permanating” and the ethereal “Pariah”, which comes off downright superb with special guest Ninet Tayeb. Porcupine Tree fans get an unusually rich selection and great performances of classics like “The Sound of Muzak”, “Even Less”, “Sleep Together”, “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here”, “The Creator Has a Mastertape” and “Lazarus”. As is only fitting for a Steven solo show, the peak of the whole recording is the almost cathartic performance of the gloomy masterpiece “The Raven That Refused to Sing” from the album of the same name, which most fans still consider Wilson’s best solo achievement.
“Home Invasion”, also out on Blu-ray/DVD, is a real live treat for anyone who loves everything about the one-of-a-kind Steven Wilson, who was in great spirits at the Royal Albert Hall and served up a near-perfect selection from his colorful career. Only a few solo favorites ‘slipped through the cracks’ of that set, while for the die-hard fans there are, as usual, never quite enough Porcupine Tree numbers. As for this concert recording being, on top of the stellar performance, dressed up with superb sound from one of the most highly regarded producers around today, that hardly needs any lengthy discussion.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
CD1:
1. Truth” (Intro) 4:17
2. Nowhere Now 4:11
3. Pariah 5:20
4. Home Invasion / Regret #9 10:49
5. The Creator Has A Mastertape 6:23
6. Refuge 7:56
7. People Who Eat Darkness 6:10
8. Ancestral 13:55
9. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here 15:06
CD2:
1.Permanating 4:16
2.Song Of I 7:11
3. Lazarus 4:11
4. Detonation 11:28
5. The Same Asylum As Before 6:39
6. Song Of Unborn 6:34
7. Vermillioncore 5:08
8. Sleep Together 10:33
9. Even Less 4:09
10. Blank Tapes 3:05
11. Sound Of Muzak 5:11
12. The Raven That Refused To Sing 10:36
Musicians:
Steven Wilson – vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar
Ninet Tayeb – backing vocals
Alex Hutchings – guitar, backing vocals
Nick Beggs (introduced as ‘Sir Nicholas Beggs’) – bass guitar, stick, backing vocals, keyboards
Craig Blundell – drums
Adam Holzman – keyboards
