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Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing (and Other Stories) CD (album) cover

THE RAVEN THAT REFUSED TO SING (AND OTHER STORIES)

Steven Wilson

 

Crossover Prog

4.31 | 2369 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

uribreitman
3 stars Wilson's attempts at retro-prog have changed focus in recent years. He started as a Pink Floyd fan, then invented his own sound for Porcupine Tree and recently has gone the King Crimson early 70's route with his solo releases. This one is also heavily inspired by the early British classics, but it doesn't sound more impressive than a clever emulation.

Wilson is a clever producer with a brilliant sound. However, as a lyricist he is far from hitting a mark. On "The Raven..." you have only one important track, "The Watchmaker". It could be a reference to Wilson himself, as he probably feels older over the years. But the other tracks are not that impressive.

Wilson has surrounded himself with good musicians, but none of them has a distinctive personality. It's a shame, since Porcupine Tree had a stronger musical character. "The Raven" feels a bit cold and lonely, with many fans wondering "When will SW bring back the PT group?".

It's not the album of the year, and not Wilson best record to date. He peaked in 2002 ("In Absentia") and again in 2007 ("Fear Of A Blank Planet"), but since then nothing really exciting has come through. So if you ignore the glossy production and slick playing of "The Raven...", you're not left with much. We don't need any more KC clones, even if they're made by celebrities such as Steven Wilson.

uribreitman | 3/5 |

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