Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Porcupine Tree
Label: Kscope
Release: 2012
Running time: 129:00
Rating: 4/5
British progressive rock revivalists Porcupine Tree, led by Steven Wilson, the great ‘patron’ of the modern prog movement and a versatile guitarist, singer and producer, have over the years become the leading force in their experimental corner of the music world. They’re known as one of those bands that usually sound even better live than in the studio. »Octane Twisted« is a double live document in a series of more or less interesting live albums that this excellent band has racked up quite a number of over its career. Its main selling point is that it captures a complete live performance of the Grammy-nominated, ambitious concept album »The Incident« (2009), after which Porcupine Tree ‘ran out of steam’ for a few years and decided to take a longer break instead. All the performances, except for the last three, which were recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall, were recorded on April 30, 2010 at Chicago’s Riviera Theater.
As has been pretty much the norm in recent years, the band was joined on the »The Incident« tour by additional guitarist and backing vocalist John Wesley, and his presence is key to making the difference between the studio and live versions of »The Incident« obvious, as is the noticeable fact that Wilson takes a somewhat ‘rawer’ vocal approach this time than most people are used to from the studio. It’s perhaps a little unusual that the band plays that studio effort ‘to a T’, with almost doctoral precision and zeal, staying faithful to the studio originals down to the second, with truly minimal improvisational deviations.
Some listeners might be bothered by this relatively cold lack of improvisational wit and the complete copying of the studio versions while listening to the first disc of »Octane Twisted«, but throughout the entire performance of »The Incident«, Porcupine Tree noticeably burst with untamed energy, especially when it comes to the instrumental magic between them, both on the more prog-metal-leaning numbers like the opening »Occam’s Razor« and »The Blind House« and on the subtler moments in the vein of »The Great Expectations« and »Kneel and Disconnect«.
On performances like »Drawing the Line«, where these masters of layered nuance conjure up a magical ambient atmosphere live too, you can best hear Porcupine Tree’s famous dual nature, with gentle synth waves courtesy of Richard Barbieri alternating with brutal guitar phrases, a touch more aggressive than on the studio version, joined extremely successfully by Wilson’s noticeably ‘edgier’ vocal approach. Porcupine Tree are one of the few modern progressive rock bands that can boast a thoroughly impressive sound, and although most of their music is quite dark and melancholic in its overall atmosphere, often with bitter social-critical messages, you can still occasionally feel that they haven’t completely lost faith in a ‘brighter tomorrow’, unlike the likes of King Crimson or Van Der Graaf Generator.
On the title track, the centerpiece »The Incident«, you can best hear Wilson’s compositional, production and philosophical ethos, as he successfully combines certain thoroughly modern-flavored variation tricks with selected ideas from the golden years of progressive rock, all fused with a distinctive sonic perfectionism. In the lyrics, Wilson tells the audience that he wants ‘to be loved’, even though the lyrics of this song are nowhere near being about him, since this musical mastermind guards his privacy very carefully and almost comes across as an asexual personality, to whom sex and relationships are really ‘none of his business’. Still, despite some of his unusual philosophical beliefs and the look of a role model for all computer nerds, when Wilson picks up an instrument, a guitar or keyboard, and opens his mouth, he’s a completely different person than he might seem at first glance. Only a genius could come up with something as wonderful and inspiring as the epic journey through the nostalgic meanders of the human mind titled »Time Flies«, where Porcupine Tree enchant on an excellent live version with their outstanding musical chemistry, sense of improvisation and above all their kneading of magical ambient nuances.
The second disc, which, with the exception of the »The Incident« track »Bonnie the Cat«, contains live versions of some of their most beloved works, as well as some not exactly obvious surprises from past albums, is ‘no slouch’ either, even though the improvisational restraint is slightly distracting in places. With »Hatesong« Porcupine Tree go back to the album »Lightbulb Sun«, one of their first more ‘commercially’ accessible efforts, when their name also started slowly breaking out of ‘underground’ obscurity to a wider audience, and it hit its commercial peak with the album »The Incident« itself, which was, to put it mildly, rather odd given the complexity of their music and the fact that they never had an ‘official’ hit. It was no surprise that Wilson halted all Porcupine Tree-related activities after the end of the »The Incident« tour, since one of the reasons was surely that he disliked the growing attention from commercial media, which made him uncomfortable.
Špecially good is the epic fusion of the »Lightbulb Sun« classic »Russia On Ice« and the song »The Pills I’m Taking« from the album »Fear of a Blank Planet« (2007), while the two oldest performances of the night are »Dislocated Day« and »Stars Die«, which originally came out in 1994 as a single and then also on the American version of the album »The Sky Moves Sideways« (1995), their first effort where a real band came together and not just Wilson on his own. They also play the entire, more than 14-minute version of the »Stupid Dream« (1999) classic »Even Less« brilliantly, which later came out in a better, longer version on the compilation »Recordings« (2001).
This double live document wraps up with the »Deadwing« (2005) standard »Arriving Somewhere But Not Here«, undoubtedly the highlight of the whole recording, which also gets the loudest reaction from the crowd. Some will surely miss longtime favorites like »Trains«, »Open Car«, »Blackest Eyes«, »Shesmovedon«, »Lazarus«, »Sound of Muzak«, »Fear of a Blank Planet«, »Piano Lessons«, »Radioactive Toy, »Mellotron Scratch« and »Shallow« on »Octane Twisted«, but it’s somehow right that Porcupine Tree chose to favor the newer material this time, in the form of the complete performance of »The Incident«, which is also the main reason to buy this double live treasure.
With »Octane Twisted«, Porcupine Tree once again prove that they can sound at least as convincing live as in the studio, this time with a slightly more aggressive approach, which is no big surprise to anyone familiar with their stage ethos. The live energy throughout the recording is unusually intense the whole time, while all the performances, as already mentioned, come out really ‘by the book’, with minimal improvisational changes and maximum tightness between the individual band members. This is a live recording that, with its content, and despite the band carefully saving itself from any improvisational ‘deviations’, will delight mainly longtime fans or those who first heard of Porcupine Tree thanks to »The Incident«, while on the other hand, for someone just getting to know the band, it doesn’t offer the best insight into who they are and what they do, since the older and more ‘notorious’ efforts are underrepresented on this otherwise more than impressive double live collection.
Lineup
Steven Wilson – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Richard Barbieri – keyboards
Colin Edwin – bass guitar
Gavin Harrison – drums, percussion
John Wesley – guitar, backing vocals
Production
Steven Wilson
Track list
CD 1 – The Incident – Chicago
1. Occam’s Razor
2. The Blind House
3. Great Expectations
4. Kneel And Disconnect
5. Drawing The Line
6. The Incident
7. Your Unpleasant Family
8. The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train
9. Time Flies
10. Degree Zero Of Liberty
11. Octane Twisted
12. The Seance
13. Circle Of Manias
14. I Drive The Hearse
CD2
1. Hatesong (9.57)
2. Russia On Ice / The Pills I’m Taking (15.02)
3. Stars Die (5.57)
4. Bonnie The Cat (6.11)
5. Even Less (14.28)
6. Dislocated Day (7.05)
7. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (12:59)
