VOYAGE 34
Porcupine Tree
•Heavy Prog
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Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, released in 1992 Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Voyage 34 - Phases 1 / 2 (30:04) - Steven Wilson / all and to useful_idiot for the last updates Edit this entry |
Buy PORCUPINE TREE Voyage 34 Music
![]() | Voyage 34 KSCOPE 2017 | $11.98 $6.85 (used) |
![]() | Voyage 34 the Complete Trip Remastered Delerium Records 2000 | $47.99 $20.75 (used) |
![]() | Voyage 34 the Complete Trip by Porcupine Tree Delerium Records | $170.41 |
![]() | Voyage 34 by Porcupine Tree Snapper Classics UK | $41.88 |

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PORCUPINE TREE Voyage 34 ratings distribution
(111 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(32%)
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(34%)
Good, but non-essential (26%)
Collectors/fans only (7%)
Poor. Only for completionists (1%)
PORCUPINE TREE Voyage 34 reviews
Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings
Collaborators/Experts Reviews
PROG REVIEWER

PROG REVIEWER

The Pink Floyd riff is obvious. It's deliberate. I just wish Pink Floyd had managed to make something this good around that riff.
To me, this is what prog's about. OK, it doesn't fit into any convenient pigeonhole, and there are no lyrics, just samples. But it's out there. It's PT's Topographic Oceans you love it or hate it. I love Topographic Oceans and I love this.
If you like a concept. If you are prepared to chuck all that song stuff out the window for a short while then this is an essential album. If not, well this album is to be avoided.
PROG REVIEWER

Publishers don't always get it right, but in this case they did. 'Up the Downstair' is a masterpiece of psych/space-rock, and 'Staircase Infinities' is well worth a listen. 'Voyage 34', however, isn't quite in the same league. In fact, it doesn't sit easily with the rest of their 1992/3 material, despite the obvious drug references they have in common.
'Voyage 34' documents an LSD trip gone wrong. It is very nearly a documentary set to music. It's difficult to work out the editorial slant here: does WILSON approve of LSD, does he disapprove, or is he being suitably enigmatic? It matters to me: I spent much of my teenage years drug-free but a spotter for my experimenting friends, and have my own opinion on the matter. Normally this would not be an issue: how often do you reject an album because of the lyrics? In this case, however, with the music serving as a soundtrack to the story, the story matters.
The music isn't really up to much. More than anything else he's written, this is WILSON's closest brush with pure trance. Trance, when done well, is invigorating, and is a close cousin to space rock. Done poorly, however (as it mostly is), it's simply boring. This is somewhere between the two. Making it less palatable is his fingering the PINK FLOYD riff from 'Run Like Hell' as his main theme for Part 1. This doesn't sit well with me: I adored the sample-theft of the late 80s and early 90s (KLF were geniuses), but only when the 'liberated' samples were used creatively. This is not.
Half an hour, then, of background music. Not what you want PORCUPINE TREE for.
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Originally intended to be included on the "Up the downstair" album, this 30 minute piece was omitted from that collection and released instead as a 12" single. The track was split in half due to the limitations of vinyl, this becoming "parts 1 and 2".
While primarily a lengthy instrumental work firmly rooted in the psychedelic sounds of Pink Floyd, the various motifs which make up the piece are interrupted by dispassionate narration. This tells the unfolding tale of an LSD trip by someone called Brian, his experiences being increasingly disturbing.
Musically, this is essentially a vehicle for Steve Wilson to put together some fine lead guitar work in a succession of riffs and occasional solos. Part 2 is less dynamic and thus less effective than side one, the emphasis being more towards the after effects. The narrative becomes increasingly troubled, and the music more ambient with trance overtones.
While "Voyage 34" is now considered to be of its time, I still find it to be a highly enjoyable listen, especially Part 1. Admittedly, it lacks the tightness of modern day Porcupine Tree, but the persistent rhythms and overall ambience are, in their own way, rather alluring.
Incidentally, the title of the "Up the downstairs" album is taken from the narrative of part 1, where "Brian" is devastated to meet himself coming down an up staircase.
PROG REVIEWER

Latest members reviews
Voyage 34 is a brave step into the unknown. Steven Wilson's unique blend of Psychedelic Prog, Trance
and Spoken Word is a swirling love/hate affair that plays out as a pathetic fallacy for a personal LSD trip,
either beautifully relaxing and easy or frustrating, annoying and scary. Although the
... (read more)
Report this review (#170143) | Posted by TheRocinanteKid | Wednesday, May 7, 2008 | Review Permanlink
This was the first porcupine tree album I bought and it nearly put me off them entirely.
To begin with, as a fan of pink floyd 'phase 1' was annoying with a riff identical to on the
wall, the major problem though was lack of substance beyond that, thre wasn't much else
but this repeating ri
... (read more)
Report this review (#77027) | Posted by | Wednesday, May 3, 2006 | Review Permanlink
"Voyage 34" was the first composition which consisted in a set of extense (nearly 20
minutes) nearly instrumental pieces. Although, speaking of this kind of album, I prefer "The
Sky Moves Sideways", here we also find an exquisite taste of spacy music. We find a kind
of space trip, LSD influenc
... (read more)
Report this review (#56247) | Posted by shyman | Monday, November 14, 2005 | Review Permanlink
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