GRACE FOR DROWNING

My LP player is on my left and i'm trying to figure out which of these amazing albums should i review first. There are some magnificent albums there from Classical Prog world to Jazz and to UK underground rock scene. But, it's always good luck when you start your reviews with a personal favourite. So i chose the album that i listened the most in the past 2-3 months. It's Mr. Steven Wilson's second solo album- Grace for Drowning. I usually prefer doing song by song analysis so i'll be continuing that tradition and start reviewing this magnificent album.

DISC ONE

Grace for Drowning: Song opens up with an amazing vocal harmony that sets the mood to a Wilsonian-scale and prepares us for a great musical journey. The little piano melody that accompanies the vocals are chilling yet beautiful. If you listen to this song and do not get into mood then this album is clearly not for you. Essential mood-setter 8/10

Sectarian: This is sadly my least favourite piece from the record. The problem with it is that it is so genericly progressive that we can call it prog-by-numbers, it clearly rips-off King Crimson but it fails to incorporate Steven Wilson elements to it which the usually does. Even so, the technicality is amazing and all musicians clearly enjoy what they are doing. The flute work of Theo Travis is especially great and we can see the influences of it in the next album (The Raven That Refused to Sing). This song sometimes resembles the amazing Holy Drinker from The Raven yet it does not have the same haunting feeling that it had. A filler for an amazing album and i think a practice for the Holy Drinker 6/10

Deform to Form a Star: This one is the first song that i listened from this album and it is definitely one of the best of Mr. Wilson. It is a classic Steven Wilson ballad like Drive Home from Raven or Trains from In Absentia. And that aspect is what makes this song amazing. This is Wilson doing what he doe the best. Creating a ballad that is haunting, beautiful and magnificent at the same time. Starting from the little piano entrance the song slowly builds-up to the mellotron part and finally leading to a beautiful ending section where Wilson uses his soft vocal tone. As a classic SW ballad, this song works as a break from the prog-based songs and gives the listener a little taste of melancholy. And that's why it works perfectly in the context of the album. 9/10

No Part of Me: Back to Prog. Yay! I love this song. This 5-minute prog rocker is unpredictable in the first listen and a joy in the continuing listens. It starts off as a classic Wilson ballad with a "cute" keyboard melody and melancholic vocals and you think like "Alright so this is another SW ballad how cool"? but then the distorted guitar riff kicks in along with a delicious bassline and then the song gets a looot more interesting. And it becomes more unpredictable as the song goes and ends in a great yet softer note leading to another short ballad. 10/10

Postcard: This is yet another good piano driven ballad with mild mellotron use (cause it's a prog album) and classic yet great vocal melodies from Wilson himself. There is not much to write about it actually but it's a joy to listen and prepares you for darker courses that the album will get. 9/10

Raider Prelude: I have no idea why this song is even in this album? It is clearly a filler and what's left from the actual "Raider II"? It's a nice atmospheric piece and a bit darker than previous so it actually sets the mood for the darker more proggier songs. Aka Black The Remainder Dog. 7/10

Black The Remainder Dog: This one can be alternatively called Sectarian 2.0. This song is a chilling King Crimsonesque prog epic clocking around 9 minutes. Beginning with an amazing keyboard melody it is obvious that this song will be a lot darker than the previous songs. Then the vocals come in and finally the flutes and the sax. Theo Travis definitely excels himself in this album and this song -along with Raider II- is where he shines the most. Black the Remainder Dog is much better than Sectarian because although having clear influences from Robert Fripp's music, this song knows to separate influencing from ripping-off. Mixing haunting Steven Wilson atmosphere with a King Crimson progressive approach, "The Dog" closes the first disc with a great impact. 9/10

DISC TWO

Raider II: The epic of the album. Steven Wilson's 23 minute magnum opus. Raider II. I love how this song is in a way a better version of King Crimson's Lizard. What "Lizard" lacked was melodic coherence and some sort of an emotion to engage the listener. Raider closes those gaps and creates a great epic. Beginning from the atmospheric introduction, the build-up to the distorted guitar section with disjointed vocal harmonies makes a great first impression. After some generic technical proggie instrumental sections and classic melancholic Steven Wilson parts, around 14 minutes? the flute section kicks in. And oooh the joy! I cannot stress enough how much i enjoy Theo Travis in this album and he just makes the best use of Sax and Flute in this section and until the end. This flute/sax duo gets accompanied by great musicianship from other actors and just when you thought the song ended on a high note. Boom. The atmospheric bass part? gives you the chills and possibly the song that defines Steven Wilson for me. 10/10

Belle De Jour: Opening the last side of the record, Belle de Jour is a beautiful piano driven instrumental that makes you nothing but smile. The tonal contrast it bears with the next song Index is also makes it work as a good opener to the D Side and parallels the title track in terms of tone and function. 8/10

Index: My favourite short song from the album and ironically it is the most imaginative and different one. Index is marginally different from the other songs in the album and that's why it works perfectly in the album. It is just a shock in the face. Although majority of the album relied on classic prog instruments, Index uses electronic music perfectly and sets a dark and shocking tone. Vocal melodies is as always amazing and the chorus is arguably his best in the record. 10/10

Track One: This one is a "cute" song like The Postcard but it has more proggy vibes going on and it is a far superior song than it. As the song progresses Steven Wilson's guitar gets a more bluesy vibe and turns the cute ballad into a guitar show with a cool solo. A great song nonetheless. 9/10

Like Dust I Have Cleared From My Eyes: I'm not sure about this song. I love the opening lyrical part where Wilson's great vocals slowly turns into a guitar solo and gives the impression of a classic good Steven Wilson song. Yet the second atmopsheric part just seems unnecessary to me and puts me off a bit before the disc ends. It is a good song though a weak closer and i mostly can't even finish the song. 8/10

Overall, this is one of my all-time favourite records and made me enjoy Steven Wilson's work even more. A great nod to King Crimson with Steven Wilsonesque melancholy. A true masterpiece of modern progressive music.

8.6/10