HiRez Poll Porcupine Tree - FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET [DVD-A/BDA]

[Neil Palfreyman]

Got my DVD-A copy today...popped it in the Acura TL and went for a drive.
I've never heard of these guys before and I was completely blown away with the sound quality and the musical arrangements.
Time to buy more of their music.

...you have so much fun in store that I'm envious! They have a *lot* of stuff out on DVD-A. Only trouble is much of it is now quite hard to track down new and often goes for funny money.

There was a rumour that "In Absentia" may get an anniversary release this year and, although I stress that this is pure, uninformed speculation on my part, I wouldnt be at all surprised to see (hear) it in Hi-Res on BluRay.

 

[GOS]

Yep - Just an amazing disc...and it helps that the music is over the top emotionally charged. Outstanding sonically and amazing mix...of course. An easy 10. Maybe 11??

 

[rtbluray]

This disc currently has 70 '10' votes (including mine!)

Wonder what's so good about this disc? Well you can either buy it and find out for yourself, or continue on reading!

I must start off by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of the title track, and it's always been the weakest song on the album for me, but then from that point onward, it gets REALLY good!
"My Ashes" is one of my favorite Porcupine Tree ballads, and the strings sound particularly good within the context of this surround mix.
The next track "Anesthetize" is the real beast of the album, being one of the longest Porcupine Tree songs to ever be written and recorded. Gavin's tom patterns sound particularly good at the start of the track before Steven's vocal enters from the center channel. The end of part 1 of this song even features an incredible guitar solo from RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson. The end section of the entire track features a lovely vocal counterpart from Mr Wilson that works especially well in surround.
Following is another wonderful ballad "Sentimental", a track that is very reminiscent of "Trains" from "In Absentia", so much so that the end of the song even features the same chord sequence and rhythm as "Trains"!
The penultimate track on the album "Way Out Of Here" is my personal favorite. Gavin's drumming is particularly inventive towards the end of the track, and I can tell you from listening to several live recordings of the song that he never plays it the same way twice!
And finally we get to the hypnotic "Sleep Together" featuring a lot of loops keeping everything glued together. This track has another amazing string arrangement that really works well in surround.

Every once in a while, it's possible to get sick of having the same lyrics and thematic content appear in every song, but that's why it's a concept album. Wilson fully explores the concepts plaguing many people today in the modern world, mostly revolving around our obsessions with technology.
It stands as one of the benchmarks in the career of Steven Wilson, and the surround mix best defines what is so great about this album.
A '10' all the way!

 

[bktouchstone]

9.5 rounds up to 10! Great music, and great mix!

 

[ji eff]

I'm pretty sure most here already know this one... but for those who don't: Here goes..

Fear of a Blank Planet, the album that introduced me to Porcupine Tree's music, has "reference quality" written all over it: The surround mix is stellar. The drum overheads and toms mics are panned in between the fronts and rears, giving the drums this special 3D feel that you don't usually find elsewhere, even in the other PT releases. Not like this one. The amount of bass drum sent to the sub gives it an edge that you just have to hear to understand what the words sub, balance and perfection mean when combined. And that's just the drums... Not surprising Steven Wilson got a Grammy nomination for the "Best Surround Sound Album" that year.

It's the first Porcupine Tree album I heard, and it's still the first I usually reach for when I crave me "a porcupine treat".

Like with many PT albums though, there are tracks I tend to skip, almost everytime. 6-7-9

But who cares? There's still over 59 mins of material to enjoy!

Content: 9
Mix: 10

Overall: 9.5 (rounded up to 10 for the poll)


A must for every surround enthusiast... you have to listen to this at least once in your life.

 

[Sixtyten]

I will lay my cards out right at the start. I think this album is dreadful, and is amongst the worst albums I own. Although it stands alone as an album which actually annoys me.

The surround sound mix is as you'd expect from Wilson. Professionally done, immersive, and the rest. The package it comes in is pretty good as well. So no complaints there. The problem I have with it is the music. The undercurrent which existed in earlier songs such as "Piano Lessons", "Four Chords That Made A Million" and "The Sound of Muszak" comes fully to the fore in the title track. Which, bluntly, sounds like a man in his late 30s railing against the tunes the then current "yoof" were listening to. "They sound like Pearl Jam, Their clothes are all black, The music is crap" he opines like someone indignantly waggling a pipe. Of course, I could be missing the point and I'm simply not clever enough to see they are being ironic; PT condemning yet simultaneously pursuing the exact same black clothed demographic. But I suspect there's nothing ironic about it, as evidenced by the decision to call a 17 minute long dirge "Anesthetize"

So 2 for the surround mix, 1 for the packaging and a big fat zero for the music.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Whelp, there's no accountin' for taste, as they say...

FOaBP is the album that got me in to PT and is among my PT favorites. Stylistically, I like it just fine. As with most rock and metal I don't pay too terrible much attention to the lyrics.
They're there. They provide a bit of interest, mood, texture and such, but they don't make or break an album for me.

When I get around to votin' this piggy 'll be a solid 9 or 10. Just depends on how it's stacking up to current 10s...

 

[edisonbaggins]

Strong 10er from the Bagman.

 

[skherbeck]

This is a great progressive metal/alternative hard rock album. The song "Anesthetize" is epic, and I absolutely love the Alex Lifeson solo. The fidelity sounds perfect to me, and the drums especially kick some a**. The surround mix is discrete but conservative on the album proper, but when you get to the "Nil Recurring" mini-album, Steven's adventurous side kicks in and the mix goes into surround overdrive. This was a 9 until I got to the "Nil Recurring" songs... now I'm so torn... what the hell, let's call it 9.6.

 

[weekendtoy]

If you don't already have this one, Burning Shed has this for $14. A great price on fabulous surround disc.

https://burningshed.com/pt_foabp_dvda

 

[vegas]

If you don't already have this one, Burning Shed has this for $14. A great price on fabulous surround disc.

https://burningshed.com/pt_foabp_dvda

Also "The Incident" DVD-A at the same price.
https://burningshed.com/dvd/pt_theincident_dvd-a

 

[mandrix]

Just picked this up and another PT who's title escapes me now (early onset or just old age??) and hoping for time to listen soon!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Does anyone care to comment on the quality/content of this Porcupine Tree Japanese Import? https://burningshed.com/porcupine-tree_octane-twisted-japanese-version_2cd dvd-v

 

[EHughes]

My favorite PT album, in case you couldn't tell by my avatar.
This one is a solid 10 for me.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Pardon the shameless plug for one of my favorite bands. If you like PT, you may want to try some later day Marillion. Many PT fans also sit in the Marillion camp. Their albums "Marbles" and "Brave" in particular offer what I consider the same type quality and musicianship as PT albeit not as heavy as PT's last few albums. They will even give you a free sampler at http://www.marillion.com/music/racket/crash.htm

The ONLY bad thing I can say about them is that they have not embraced 5.1

They sure have now though!!!!!

 

[The56Kid]

I will lay my cards out right at the start. I think this album is dreadful, and is amongst the worst albums I own. Although it stands alone as an album which actually annoys me.

The surround sound mix is as you'd expect from Wilson. Professionally done, immersive, and the rest. The package it comes in is pretty good as well. So no complaints there. The problem I have with it is the music. The undercurrent which existed in earlier songs such as "Piano Lessons", "Four Chords That Made A Million" and "The Sound of Muszak" comes fully to the fore in the title track. Which, bluntly, sounds like a man in his late 30s railing against the tunes the then current "yoof" were listening to. "They sound like Pearl Jam, Their clothes are all black, The music is crap" he opines like someone indignantly waggling a pipe. Of course, I could be missing the point and I'm simply not clever enough to see they are being ironic; PT condemning yet simultaneously pursuing the exact same black clothed demographic. But I suspect there's nothing ironic about it, as evidenced by the decision to call a 17 minute long dirge "Anesthetize"

So 2 for the surround mix, 1 for the packaging and a big fat zero for the music.

I apologize in advance as I’m pretty tolerant of most views, but this one really kicked me where it hurts.

I know it’s been 4 years since your post and hopefully you’ve changed your mind, but to condemn an album’s music and mix because of the lyrical content is asinine at best. Incredible music and mix at that. A ‘2’ for the mix? Put down the crack pipe, my friend.

I type this as I crank it and realized I hadn’t voted yet. Man, IMO, this is as easy a 10 as they come if you’re into the finer aspects of the surround game and love music.

 

[Beefalo]

I will lay my cards out right at the start. I think this album is dreadful, and is amongst the worst albums I own. Although it stands alone as an album which actually annoys me.

The surround sound mix is as you'd expect from Wilson. Professionally done, immersive, and the rest. The package it comes in is pretty good as well. So no complaints there. The problem I have with it is the music. The undercurrent which existed in earlier songs such as "Piano Lessons", "Four Chords That Made A Million" and "The Sound of Muszak" comes fully to the fore in the title track. Which, bluntly, sounds like a man in his late 30s railing against the tunes the then current "yoof" were listening to. "They sound like Pearl Jam, Their clothes are all black, The music is crap" he opines like someone indignantly waggling a pipe. Of course, I could be missing the point and I'm simply not clever enough to see they are being ironic; PT condemning yet simultaneously pursuing the exact same black clothed demographic. But I suspect there's nothing ironic about it, as evidenced by the decision to call a 17 minute long dirge "Anesthetize"

So 2 for the surround mix, 1 for the packaging and a big fat zero for the music.

Ouch !

 

[sjcorne]

I don't feel as strongly as @Sixtyten, but I still struggle with this one to the point where I've decided to refrain from voting. I love the two melodic ballad-type tracks ("My Ashes", "Sentimental"), but the rest is just too dark and heavy for me most of the time. "Way Out Of Here" is so dynamic that I can't listen to it without constantly adjusting the volume on my amp. I like the beginning and ending segments of "Anesthetize", but the lengthy middle section ("the dust in my soul...") doesn't do much for me. I actually split that track into three gapless pieces when I ripped the disc and I think the last three or so minutes ("water so warm...") works quite well as its own song. Heresy, I know...

The 'concept' of the album is interesting and maybe a bit ahead of its time, but I agree that the lyrics are kind of preachy and at times just plain weak (the title track stands out to me in that regard). It's hardly a deal-breaker though, for me anyway.

The surround mix is typical Wilson - mostly static, but very effective (particularly the 'drum throne' effect with the overheads and toms pushed out toward the rears). Highlights on the main album include the toms all over the room at the beginning of "Anesthetize" and the nightmarish keyboard sound gradually rising from the rears in "My Ashes". It's also quite a bit of fun to solo the center on "Anesthetize" and hear Alex's Lifeson guitar solo unaccompanied.

As has been pointed out upthread, the Nil Recurring songs are mixed a bit more aggressively than the main album - the breakdown in "Normal" ("wish I was old and a little...") with all the voices coming from different speakers sounds incredible.

I also think that the live performance of the entire album on the Anesthetize Blu-Ray concert is actually more powerful than the studio version! Obviously it's not as discrete, but still really impressive surround for a live recording. I wish SW let John Wesley sing the chorus to "My Ashes" on the studio version as well.

"My Ashes":

"Normal":

 

[GOS]

And, if you don't like dark....then this will rub the wrong way...I think. Personally, I am fascinated with dark subject matter. I think (no, I know) this album and this mix is an absolute stunner. I simply cannot get enough of this. For me, a few beers, maybe a joint, crank this thing up and it simply is astounding.

This isn't directed at anyone's post at all. Just commenting relative to some conversations over time. I have no idea what I voted...but I must have voted at least a 9.

 

[edisonbaggins]

For me, a few beers, maybe a joint, crank...

Lay off the crank, my friend!