SCHOOLYARD GHOSTS

The art of nostalgic melancholia as practiced by BOWNESS and WILSON.

Looking back at childhood is a common thread in the creative arts: from music to art to literature, there's a fascination with what we've left behind on becoming adults. 'Schoolyard Ghosts' is a compelling addition to this genre.

It's fascinating to compare BOWNESS' lyrics to those of WILSON, his collaborator in NO-MAN, on PORCUPINE TREE's album 'Fear of a Blank Planet'. Here we reflect on 'loving arms and cowboy guns/mothers holding wayward sons', and are told to 'take a taxi through the snow/tell them you love them/Don't let go'. On 'Fear of a Blank Planet', however, parents are held up to ridicule: 'My mother is a bitch/My father gave up ever trying to talk to me', and 'When my mother and father/gave me their problems/I accepted them all'. Here 'kids shout in summer rain', while there '[kids are] stoned in the mall again'. Thus BOWNESS offers a less nihilistic and more positive view of childhood than does WILSON. In fact, the pills WILSON bemoans on PORCUPINE TREE's recent release are in BOWNESS' world reserved for adults: 'The schoolyard ghosts, the playtime fears/You take your pills, they disappear.'

However, what resonates with the listener to this NO-MAN album is, as with all their albums, the atmosphere. Be it a discordant bell in 'Pigeon Drummer' or a simple upward tone by tone progression in 'All Sweet Things', the placement of sound - the mix, the arrangements - is all-important. Stripped of their adornment, these are simple BOWNESS ballads. However, the essence of NO-MAN is STEVEN WILSON's arrangements, evoking an atmosphere of contemplation, of reflection and nostalgia, a bitter-sweet looking back to a past fondly remembered but full of mistakes and regret.

That said, these compositions and arrangements are a step back from the sensational 'Together We're Stranger', NO-MAN's previous album. At their best (Flowermouth, Together We're Stranger) NO-MAN produce some of the most heart-achingly beautiful music on the planet. This album - by design, I'm certain - draws back from the delicious electronic ambience of those albums, using instead strings, acoustic guitars, flutes, and a variety of other analogue instruments. The effect is less blissfully dreamy and more organic, but perhaps a little less satisfying.

There are oddly contrary moments here: the strange samples in the opening track that cut across the atmosphere of perhaps the album's outstanding track (and the way the track comes to an abrupt end a la DREAM THEATER's 'Pull Me Under'), and PAT MASTOLETTO's savage drums on 'Pigeon Drummer' are but two examples. But there are moments of pure NO-MAN exaltation: part 3 of the epic 'Truenorth' is float-away glorious, as is the culmination of 'All Sweet Things'. 'Wherever There is Light' offers an achingly beautiful insight into Jane, a woman on the outside looking in: 'wherever there is light/she follows.' I cannot stop myself crying as the mellotron and flute combine to create such sadness. The theme is continued in 'Song of the Surf', WILSON's trademark desolate aural landscapes dovetailing with BOWNESS' bleak lyrics. No man does it as good as this. The album concludes with the ultimate look back: 'You'd kill for that feeling once again'.

The bonus material is excellent: a DVD with a surround sound version of the album and videos of three songs, and a bonus CD with alternate takes of some of the tracks.

Though without the full progressive feel of their previous album, this record's shimmering beauty is yet another landmark, perhaps the most satisfying nostalgia trip since BOARDS OF CANADA's 'Music Has the Right to Children'. Connoisseurs of beauty and ambience (of the sort latter-day TALK TALK offered) ought to acquire this, and much of NO-MAN's back catalogue, forthwith.

An interesting, atmospheric, even ambient album, but by no means the masterpiece some believe it to be. Bowness's voice is fragile and wistful, but he tends to sing all on the one level, with no highs or lows. The songs likewise also seem to be on one level, not much variation here. The sort of music you have to be in the mood for. Late at night, with the lights low, or off, if you're in contemplative mood, this is ideal. If you're thinking of playing something on a bright, sunny, summer's day, this isn't for you. Feeling optimistic? Happy? Go and listen to something else. Feeling depressed? This is for you! I'm not knocking it. the production is up to the usual Wilson standards, and his stamp is all over it. I much prefer his 'proper' band though, PT. This has its niche, its place however, in people's collections. Certainly not the worse thing I've ever heard, nor the best. Enjoyable in small doses.

Steven Wilson must be a busy man. Following on shortly from recent Porcupine Tree and Blackfield releases, this is another product of his partnership with Tim Bowness. It's certainly a beautifully packaged CD, the grey cover fitting in nicely with the title of the CD and the melancholy feel of the music inside. Those of you looking for PT-style guitar epics will be disappointed here, this is quiet, atmospheric music in the vein of David Sylvian or later Talk Talk. It is music that demands to be listened to, preferably on headphones. It is not the sort of music to play in the background, or on your iPod whilst walking down the high street but set aside the best part of an hour, sit down in a quiet room without interruptions and prepare to be hugely rewarded by this CD.

Wilson himself contributes much of the instrumentation, along with other prog luminaries such as Theo Travis (who seems to be taking over from Jimmy Hastings as the prog wind player of choice) and Pat Mastelotto. Fellow PT-ers Colin Edwin and Gavin Harrison also feature. The special edition has a DVD with a 5.1 mix of the CD and 3 videos, shot in cover matching black, white and grey. Wonderful stuff.

Well, the man's name circulates more every year and I have attempted to enjoy his work in various projects and collaborations, but, well... more Wilson, more middle-of-the-road atmospheric rock with arch lyrics. Go on, tell me I'm wrong. ;P

Schoolyard Ghosts is epic where epic is a synonym for slow, emotional where emotional is a synonym for predictable, formulaic, suffuse with a constant numb echo and, over all, crushingly dull. When the mist parts to reveal songs with a little thrust and power to them (Pigeon Drummer has a stomping bridge) they are almost misleadingly effective, no matter if you actually *like* them, since both enjoyment and repulsion are valid and valuable experiences compared to listening to the first two sleepwalking songs all the way through.

The scary thing is that No-Man must have enjoyed assembling this CD since most songs on it have the signs of being played with passion and conviction but, at least for me, this just doesn't translate into either a positive or a negative. I don't think the lyrics are all that successful in plying the emotions either - perhaps I am simply too guarded against their style but I don't think they've attempted to reach me. This is a long way from absolute music yet it is too self-absorbed to contain much with which you can identify.

Look into this CD if your collection is missing a set of lullabies for the musically unexperimental or if you need to anaesthetise someone at short notice and lack the drugs. If, however, you'd rather load your shelves with albums of worthwhile music, then skip this album.

Nice atmospheric 'ambient rock', but nothing to rave about. Even more, some tracks scream 'late TALK TALK!', at least they wish to be treated that way, but no. While TALKies were making Pop music using extraordinary harmonies and chord progressions, NO-MAN makes extraordinary Pop music by using pretty simple and predictable hooks. Good for Pop, nothing for Prog. OK, leave alone 'Prog-not Prog' sentiment; I just didn't like the whole album. It flows moody and may bore you to sleep - yes, this is me, a Post-Rock Collab, saying this! Guys tried hard to free their music from any rough edges and finally shape it in a some kind of a sphere, without any kind of detail to stick to. You like it while it's playing - you forget it the very next second you turned it off. Prog for supermarkets; Ambient for elevators; background Rock. 2 stars, because of 'Truenorth' mainly, where mr.Wilson's hand is felt the most

I haven't known before this duo featuring the PORCUPINE TREE frontman Steven Wilson and singer Tim Bowness, nor have I really listened to their other projects. So I probably was freer from expectations than the previous reviewers, many of whom clearly were somehow disappointed, while several others rave about this album. I'm somewhere in between. This is peaceful, nearly-narcotic, ambient-ish rock nothing to rave about, but who says it should be raved about? I was gladly surprised about the beauty of this music. I would compare it to DAVID SYLVIAN in its elegant melancholia, only perhaps slightly more unmemorable in compositions, and of course Bowness, a very nice voice himself, can't beat Sylvian's vocals.

I had a copy including a bonus DVD. For most part it's a so called audio-DVD playing the same music accompanied with a still photograph, but it also features three videos. 'All Sweet Things' and an abbreviation of 'Truenorth' are black-and-white arthouse videos with a pleasant slow pace, showing the playing and nightly views of the streets etc. What I instantly was charmed by was the colour video of 'Wherever There Is Light'. It shows only nature (trees, plants, sky) in a wonderful hazy sunlight and sunset. It is really far from a typical pop music video, and for that very reason it is one of the loveliest I've ever seen. The album is enjoyable (well, 'Pigeon Drummer' has more experimental playing which I'm not fond of) but perhaps a bit too monotonous for the 53 minutes. I like it enough for 3½ stars.

Handsomely crafted, emotive, and lush with genuine beauty, Schoolyard Ghosts encapsulates everything No-Man fans should expect from this rare duo in a package eager for discovery by new listeners.

Songs here are mostly mid-length with much variety, but all drift with gentle ease and ambiance. Browness' smooth voice croons out a few memorable melodies, but in general sticks to melancholy serenades. His voice isn't for everyone, but for those seeking something relaxing will be greatly rewarded. Similar to the excellent Together We're Stranger, Schoolyard Ghosts abandons pop-sensibilities seen in the group's early work for more mature, thoughtful compositions. Somewhat repetitive, but rewarding after multiple listens simply for the sake of discovering the many layers of music hidden in the ambiance. Returning fans will notice lots of new sounds and experimentation as well.

For No-Man neophytes looking this way via interest in Steven Wilson, then this album is a good starting place. His instrumental work shines throughout as well-- for me exceeding the artistry he's been demonstrating lately with Porcupine Tree (just don't expect any solos).

As a fan of the heavy-stuff, music like is essential to round out my musical palette. It's perfect for relaxing, thinking, romancing, etc., and a good place to investigate the group. Expect plenty of gentle, smooth sounds.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 4 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

First, I'll break order of review by bringing third song here. Switching between noise and calm parts can be good sometimes. But as shown in Pigeon Drummer, I'm almost afraid of these loud passages, because it's acceleration from 0-100 in half of a second. It's simply too sudden, too unnatural and one don't have time to prepare for it. OK, let's get back.

As I understand this, it's some kind concept album about childhood memories, some of them are bad and that there's Steven Wilson involved (big three of "involving names in prog, Portnoy, Wilson and Stolt) and of course, I was interested. This is my first No-Man album, so I can't compare (except few similarities with PT), but I don't like it. It's more like feeling. But fortunately, the terrible experience of Pigeon doesn't happen again. Except this one, this album contains only calm songs. Really calm, like almost totally dead. Some may call it atmospheric and indeed, it has some kind of feeling shining from it (can sound actually shine?), but it's really not my cup of tea. I want more, or at least anything going on.

Very slow music, playing with sounds, because even I was able to overcome evil Drummer, I found nothing on other side, or almost nothing, except few good ideas (such as in Truenorth). Which is sad, because first two songs are quite good.

So 4(-), one strange suggestion, try to play games like F.E.A.R. 2 or Condemned the Criminal Origins, where abandoned school at night, full of (let's say) demons location appears. And guess what, I get the same feeling when listening this. It's story about past and yes, "Pigeon Drummer" is terrible song with "evil" sound, but it's all part of the play. I have to say that it took me long, long time to overcome this and enjoy this album

It's hard to believe it's been 5 years since their last album "Together We're Stranger". Of course Steven Wilson is a very busy man isn't he. As usual you can expect lots of atmosphere and melancholic moods.The lyrics are significant on this album (Tim Bowness wrote them all), they are a big reason why I like this record so much. Even the albums title and the picture on the cover made me think back. I have some good memories and bad during the 12 or so years of school, i'm mostly just glad that part of my life is over, although I wish I was as alive now as I was back then.

"All Sweet Things" is really typical NO-MAN if there is such a thing. Piano and those reserved vocals from Tim early before acoustic guitar joins in. Check out the mellotron choirs before 2 1/2 minutes and later after 3 minutes. Such a sad song though about a person who takes pills to forget the past and also the present. "Beautiful Songs You Should Know" opens with strummed guitar,fretless bass from Colin Edwin, vocals and those guitar soundscapes. Cello 1 1/2 minutes in. Listen to Tim's passion as he sings "I want to give you all the beautiful dreams you can bear". A song about wanting the best for our children. "Pigeon Drummer" is the only let down for me. The bombast that is so loud it really ruins the song in my opinion. Even if it's mean't as a contrast I think they went to far. "Truenorth" is a top three track for me. The first part of it depicts someone who's life and future seem so futile and meaningless. Comparing their life to winter when nothing grows, you just try to survive and endure. The next stanza is so moving as Tim encourages this same person "Take a taxi through the snow, tell them you love them, don't let go". That line about taking the taxi through the snow is so meaningful when compared to the opening stanza. Even the music changes before the second stanza to a more spacey and calming soundscape. Flute from Travis joins in. Acoustic guitar joins in as it's building then Tim sings those powerful words I already mentioned about driving through the snow. Mellotron follows as he sings "You survived yourself, you survived inside the lost world". There is a hopeful and bright ending to this song.

"Wherever There Is Light" is pastoral with pedal steel guitar and acoustic guitar. More emotional lyrics on this track. Flute 1 1/2 minutes in, mellotron follows. Pure emotion after 2 1/2 minutes. A top three track. "Song Of The Surf" is the other top three song for me. I like the PT feel to open with those electric guitar sounds. They are contrasted with a spacey FLOYD vibe before 1 1/2 minutes. The contrast continues. Brilliant track. Lyrically this is painful for me to read. "Hopes drowning in the hurt". "Streaming" is another sad song about the summer days being almost over, of course there is more to these lyrics then the season. Beautiful song. "Mixtaped" is the final track. More fantstic lyrics. Of course it's melancholic. I like the guitar soundscapes before 3 1/2 minutes. It's spacey as vocals almost whisper 5 minutes in "You'd kill for that feeling once again (remember), afloat on the ocean, beyond the pain".

Despite some minor flaws there's way too much here that I like to give it less than 4 stars.

Spreading the depression, one note at a time.

This is what this album really is: the attempt by two talented guys to make us feel forced empathy for them, to make us stand in their shoes and get as depressed as they probably are. I don't know much about Bowness but I have heard pretty much every major release by Steven Wilson's main band (PORCUPINE TREE) and side projects (BLACKFIELD) to understand that his music will never be happy or optimistic.

But at least (and most importantly) his music has always been good, sometimes extremely good. Combining his moods and feelings with energy and passion, Wilson has given me enough good experiences to consider him one of my favorite prog artists. That's why I can't help feeling disappointed about this album.

The mood of the music is always sad, melancholic, nostalgic; most of the time I get the idea of longing, of a person trying to capture something that's gone forever. This wouldn't be bad just by itself, as there are countless examples of absolutely majestic sad music (I have always preferred works written in minor keys, as a matter of fact.) But on this release, what we get is a series of repetitive, ultra-simple, lazy pessimistic songs that only appeal to the weak side of us listeners, but without finesse. The album tries to get us by the brute force of its sadness, without any interesting music to back it up. The melodies, usually a strength of any Wilson-created opus, lack beauty and sad music without beauty is just food for the stomach, not for the soul. The complete absence of energy throughout the album brings it one step closer to boredom. The harmonic work is so run-of-the-mill it sounds mundane, trivial. The atmosphere and magic that Wilson always generates are just turned into aural representations of the pathetic.

I was so excited to hear this generally-praised album that the disappointment was stronger than usual for prog records. I know Steven Wilson is a sure bet for me in his other projects, but NO-MAN is NO-MORE for me.

Nice songs are presented here, but they are largely dull, bland, and without any progressive tendencies whatsoever. Tim Bowness isn't as good a singer as Steven Wilson, and so that's a negative right off that bat. Most of the music is pleasant- good for a rainy day, I suppose- but this is not progressive rock in the least (one shouldn't be fooled by the personnel or the track times). It is decent music, but often flavorless, and sometimes very terrible. It hints in the direction Wilson would take Porcupine Tree with The Incident.

"All Sweet Things" Sweet piano and acoustic guitar offers a beautifully strong foundation for a breathy, unsure vocal. The choral Mellotron that eases out of the backdrop is a somberly handsome touch.

"Beautiful Songs You Should Know" Acoustic and tremolo electric guitars continue this gentle trek. Light hand percussion and an obtrusive fretless bass add simple textures. However, the title may as well be, "Beautiful Songs You Won't Remember."

"Pigeon Drummer" Following a minimalistic, eerie introduction, the album takes on a completely different costume, this one menacing and loud initially, but haunting throughout. That heaviness returns in full, however, and it's one of the nastiest things to pour forth from my speakers- a wall of distorted noise. Come to think of it, this all could have been on the dreadfulness that is Insurgentes.

"Truenorth" Light piano begins this lengthy, sleepy track that drags on longer than it reasonably should. One of the melodies and the use of the choral Mellotron are practically the same has that of the opening track. Electronic drums and some other instrumentation enter in toward the end, but by then, this piece has worn out its welcome and sent me to sleep.

"Wherever There Is Light" Gentle clean electric guitar and soft vocals make up this lovely song, with the steel guitar and flute adding so much to the piece in their own subtle ways. Along with the first song, this is one of the more powerful parts of the album.

"Song Of the Surf" Gritty yet soft electric guitar introduce more breathy vocals. In all honesty, both the guitar sound and chord progression sound borrowed from The Mars Volta's "Televators."

"Streaming" More sleep-inducing music, this has electronic percussion and the always breathy, overly-dramatic lead vocal.

"Mixtaped" More tremolo guitar, light static, and soft vocals make up this final track. The grainy electric guitar and pointless drumming is no good. It has a dark jazzy feel, but ultimately goes nowhere.

If there is one Wilson-related album that sounds like a band on auto-pilot it must be No-man's Schoolyard Ghosts. The band continues the sparse atmospheric style of the preceding Together We're Stranger, and even though they delivered an album that is almost equally beautiful and touching, the 'almost' is the key-word here.

All Sweet Things is a fairly standard pop ballad, reminiscent of Nick Drake, David Sylvian and a dozen other No-man songs. The choral mellotron provides sonic pleasure and beautiful dreamy sadness. As usual with Bowness' vocals, he either fully touches me or entirely misses me. On this album he largely misses me with his affected Sylvian stylings. His vocals never offer the tension and turmoil they evoked on Together We're Stranger. The music is fine but routine.

Beautiful Songs You Should Know is a let-down. Boring guitar strumming with hardly noticeable vocal inflection. Pigeon Drummer offers some entirely out of place industrial noise beats. At least something unexpected happens. They last for about a minute and have little ado with the rest of the song, which is a fairly enjoyable atmospheric ballad with a strong closing section. Truenorth sounds like a song that ran away from Talk Talk's last album. Very melancholic post-rock with delicate Nick Drake vocals. Nice but not overtly original or inspired.

Off we go for more cliché balladry on Wherever There Is Light. The arrangement again resorts to choral mellotrons and spacey post-rock violins. The flute tune is short but long enough to irritate with its easy sentimentalism. More Talk Talk on Song of the Surf. the guitar parts work quite well and lay down a thick spacey ambience. Streaming is another unremarkable post-rock-pop song suffering from the increasing weariness that Bowness' vocals have on me on this album. Mixtaped tries to be more Talk Talk then Talk Talk themselves.

Not a bad album but too derivative, easy and predictable. Sounds like Wilson with the cruise-control on. Nevertheless it's still pretty good, but not amongst No-man's best work.

Schoolyard tunes

Pleasant (at times), sophisticated ambient pop-rock by Wilson and Bowness. Excluding the experimental electro-influenced Pigeon Drummer, the rest of the album flows in an extremely slow and hypotonic tempo and filled with simple (simpler, simplistic...) tunes.

Acoustic guitars, melodic pianos, keyboards and electronic samples are the main elements of this work. Bowness sings in a constant melancholic (but often indifferent) way through the whole album. If you are looking for diverse compositions and experimentation, you will not find it here. However, there are a few moments where the melodies are strong and can be memorable (e.g. at the end of the opening track) or where the inclusion of instruments like flute can make the difference, at least for a while (Truenorth).

Overall, not an album that would be among my priorities, mainly because of the absence of variety and diversity. Surely, an album to which you can listen and relax. A few good melodies can not make amends for the dominating dull atmosphere and the length of the album (~53min) does not help towards this direction. Fans of Blackfield or bands-alike or slow, melodic, ambient rock might find some interest here, while others are more likely to pass... 2.5 stars.

Beautiful Songs You Should Know?

After waiting 5 years for the boys from Britain to follow up their 2003 gem of music, Schoolyard Ghosts delivers what fans were waiting for on many fronts. First and foremost, new no-man material is here, and as expected, this marks another stylistic change for no-man, opting for darker, piano led ballads with a much more song based structure. The music here is, as mentioned, darker and less optimistic than many previous no-man releases, although one the fans (and newcomers, as I was when I grabbed this album) might just like.

The album is incredibly slow moving and has an an air of hopelesness and depression surrounding each composition. The combination is surprisingly different, combining the noise elements of their previous releases like Wild Opera, the piano/vocal intimacy of Returning Jesus, and the instrumental array of Together We're Stranger. As a unique mixture, this works quite well in many places, such as the killer track on the album Truenorth, a 12 minute movement featuring several mini-compositions of raw beauty, and the small poppy ballad Wherever There Is Light, although is less successful on some of the other tracks, namely Song Of The Surf and Beautiful Songs You Should Know. The real winner on this album, in this reviewer's humble opinion, is the array of other instrumentation used. The tribal drums, the string sections, the flute solos, the violin fills - they all make this album what it is, beautiful modern music.

The music can create a dense range of atmosphere - the pounding Pigeon Drummer immediately brings up a sense of fear, horror and uneasiness, Wherever There Is Light creates a lonely nostalgia and hopelessly in love feel, Mixtape can make the most positive of moods drop into a pessimistic pit. Regardless of the emotion, this album can almost definitely make you feel it.

As with the other no-man albums, this is best enjoyed alone, appropriately loud and with full focus. The 5.1 master is brilliant here, and as many other albums do, best works in surround.

4/5 for this one; incredibly excited for what no-man put out next, and if past behaviour is any indication of the future, it will continue to be filled with wonderful, melancholic works of dream-pop, trip hop and ambient.

Fog is a beautiful thing.

Tim Bowness vocal style is closer to reading poetry than singing as you might typically know it, but you have to admire what a prolific lyricist he is. Sometimes reminds me of Pete Sinfield.

One of the songs that made the biggest impression on me is Pigeon Drummer. Almost out of context for this album. They really went heavy on that one and I guess if you take 'Schoolyard Ghosts' as a theme, this is the bully. The rest of the album is a more mellow affair.

Some beautiful songs you might want to get to know.

This is probably the lowest-keyed No-Man album; and considering these guys that is saying too much. Everyone that went to school; any school; has its own memories; of fears and hopes; and living them among equally fearful and hopeful peers. A lot of "School Memories" snap-shots have been well documented. From Alice Cooper, the "Floyd", Kinks, Marillion and lots and lots of people. So No-Man is no exception. In my opinion this " Schoolyard Ghosts" project; is more inclined towards Tim Bowness aesthetics than Steven Wilsons´s. Of course Steven ripps-off his electric guitar guts; but "it" in a "whole" is darker, intimate (as usual), and yes! "Macabre"; which for Mr. Bowness is like a "kid in a candystore" project. This "macabre" element covers the whole environment of this work. Macabre also; as "School Memories"; we all hold on to;....yet we dont know why we hold them so close. As of course reffered in this "Ghosts" project. Ghosts as in plural as they still appear in the most unexpected and private inner reflections and actions. As if opened-up bruises; that hurt when we remember them. And still; we hold them dearly as if "precious". Someone like Tim can turn this "voyage" in time; into an expandable and solitary experience; as he can only do. Intelligent, provocative lyrics in a vast and empty "Gothic" musical background. That here and there shines some dark gray "sarcastic" lights of hope;.. but not faith. ****4 "Macabre; a rarely visited by NO-MAN land; in a true to life musical conceptual experience" Stars PD: DARK very DARK

The duo of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson (known as No-Man) is an interesting one. Together they have created some unexpected styles with their combination of dance music or atmospheric music that still can easily find itself in a progressive music lovers library because of its uniqueness. No other artist really sounds like this. The problem is, it doesn't always work. But when it does, it is very powerful. 'Schoolyard Ghosts' (released in 2008) is a case where it works quite well in an ambience sense (for the most part). Talk about the melding of beauty and power, this is where it works for the best as the result has generated some extremely emotional and soul-wrenching music that will most likely touch even the hardest of hearts.

It took 5 years for Bowness and Wilson to bring this masterpiece of minimalist beauty together. Their two previous albums, 'Returning Jesus' (2001) and 'Together We're Stranger' (2003), both of which are quite excellent, pretty much paved the way as they hinted towards the sound that would culminate in 'Schoolyard Ghosts'. As soon as you put on this album, you are instantly touched by the extreme beauty of 'All Sweet Things'. It's as if Bowness' airy and unique vocals were made for this style of music, and the instrumentation headed over by Wilson (and several guests in the case of this album) reach straight for the heart of the listener and they don't let go. Lush and heartbreaking, it is an emotional ride that pierces the soul and one of the highlights of the album. This is followed by 'Beautiful Songs You Should Know' which sums up the purpose of the album.

The odd duck in this album is actually a pigeon, 'Pigeon Drummer', that is. This one goes to extremes, literally, and almost makes it sound out of place when it gets loud and distorted. But, Wilson is always one to throw in surprises that will catch you off guard as followers of his other, more unknown projects like 'Bass Communion' and 'I.E.M' will testify. This one will probably not sit well with many listeners as it can go from ambient to extreme without any notice, so be prepared.

The center of this album is made up of two extremely amazing tracks of beauty and emotion; the 12-minute masterpiece 'Truenorth' and what I consider the most beautiful song ever written, 'Wherever There is Light'. Both of these are masterpieces also with the more exploratory track and the heart-rending following track which makes me well up with emotion every time I hear that pedal steel guitar played by guest Bruce Kaphan. That song to me is just beauty beyond words.

The album will continue to stay with the sweet and ambient style as it goes on with 3 more excellent tracks including the more experimental and exploratory 'Mixtaped', and altogether, this makes up one of my most favorite albums ever. The power behind this album is simply beyond description for me, so it is probably best for you to judge for yourself. It might be too laid back for some people or the one strange track might be too abrasive of others, but overall, you can't deny the beauty of the 3 mentioned highlights of the album. To me, this is an absolute masterpiece, and I can't do anything but rate it as such. 5 stars.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard the bonus disc of material on the 2014 deluxe edition, so I don't know how it weighs in with the rest of the album, but for me, the 8 tracks of the original edition give a strong enough statement to merit the perfect rating.