THE RAVEN THAT REFUSED TO SING (AND OTHER STORIES)

This album, like many others by Steven Wilson, has received glowing reviews from his fans praising it as a perfect masterpiece and very harsh negative reviews from those who are not fans of Wilson. I myself enjoy a great deal of Wilson's music, although I would certainly hesitate to crown him the the king of modern prog as many have. As such, I believe that this album is certainly a very competent and enjoyable piece of modern prog, but it is not an essential masterpiece. I believe that most fans of prog will enjoy this record and some may even love it enough to consider it a personal favorite, but it does not truly innovate or amaze in a way deserving of a five star rating.

The album can essentially be broken into two parts- the pieces over ten minutes and those under ten minutes. The longer tracks generally bear resemblance to early King Crimson, involving heavy, jazzy instrumentation with slower interludes making use of keyboards and vocal harmonies. The Mellotron is present throughout. While these longer tracks certainly show their influences, they are still original and unique enough to be interesting and engaging listens.

The shorter tracks, "Drive Home," "The Pin Drop," and "The Raven Who Refused to Sing" are mellower, more melancholic pieces. "The Pin Drop" is a guitar-driven ballad while the other two are more orchestral and narrative pieces. The latter two are very well done, with "Drive Home" including a very well done guitar solo and "The Raven Who Refused to Sing" building around a single simple melody and reaching a truly beautiful climax. "The Pin Drop," while by no means a bad song, is the most forgettable, average song on the record for me.

The production on the album is exceptionally well done, as is to be expected from Wilson. I am not a musician, and so cannot speak as to the exact quality of the instrumentation used, but everything seemed very well balanced and arranged to my ears. The lyrics, while not terrible, are nothing special. They are largely just typical, melancholic Steven Wilson fare.

On the whole, I would certainly recommend that most prog fans listen to this, as I believe most will find something here to enjoy. The album is by no means a masterpiece, but it is a fine piece of modern prog.