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The Pineapple Thief - Where We Stood CD (album) cover

WHERE WE STOOD

The Pineapple Thief

Crossover Prog


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Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars 4.5 stars. It's pretty funny that every track from the previous studio album "Your Wilderness" is on here except for "Where We Stood" which of course is the name of this live recording. I have to say that "Your Wilderness" continues to blow me away to this day. I rated it as the second best studio album of 2016 but man one day it might get bumped up to number one. My favourite PINEAPPLE THIEF album for sure and it sure didn't hurt having Gavin Harrison(PORCUPINE TREE, KING CRIMSON) playing drums on it. Thankfully he's playing on this live album, it was one of the first things I checked out before spinning it. Darran Charles(GODSTICKS) adds extra guitar as he did on "Your Wilderness".

This was recorded live at the London Islington Assembly Hall on February 11/17. It was interesting to hear the three tracks off of "Magnolia" because it's the only studio album from this band I don't own, although the only two tracks that didn't do much for me are from that particular record. My top four tracks are from "Your Wilderness" and I have to say that a few times I kept this in my stereo instead of moving on to the other two cds I was listening to last week simply because I couldn't get enough. So much emotion on this album for me and take away the two tracks from "Magnolia" that don't do much for me then this is a five star album.

I'm not going to go track by track since I've reviewed all these songs except for the three from "Magnolia". By the way the one song from that album I did like on here was "The One You Left To Die". By the way Gavin is his usual brilliant self on the kit here, I can't get over the difference he makes to the PINEAPPLE THEIF sound. So lets look at my top four songs.

"Tear You Up" is a fantastic opener. The emotion and the heaviness makes this a great opener to the live set. I can't get enough of this song. "I cannot tear you up, I cannot tear you up." No I can't get rid of you like tearing up a picture and throwing it out. Before I get to the next top four tune I must say that "The One You Left To Die" sounds amazing live. It's that rhythm section really.

"No Man's Land" is an emotional piece that is ballad-like. Picked guitar and vocals much of the time. Bruce sounds incredible vocally on this live recording including the wonderful vocal melodies that are featured prominently on the "Your Wilderness" songs. How good is this 2 1/2 minutes in when it turns more intense and the vocal melodies are beyond fantastic. Check out Gavin during this section. Not worthy! It then kicks into gear. Oh my!

"That Shore" is another laid back beauty filled with emotion and atmosphere. Again I'm sooo moved here. "I throw you a rope and you do what you want with it, cause your face is leaving me. You should never have left this soon, this soon. And I can never forget you washed upon that shore. Just pull up that rope, and that's all that I beg from you." Bruce I hear you man. Been there not so long ago.

"The Final Thing On My Mind" is the longest track at around 10 minutes. Guitar and drums to begin with as it starts to build. Vocals just before a minute. Check out those vocal melodies before 3 minutes that continue and intensify. How many times I've sung these wordless melodies at work and other places. When he stops singing before 4 minutes the crowd cheers. It feels like this song has to breakout soon, so much tension. And instead he starts to sing the lyrics which are causing the water to rise in my eyes. Sometimes words seem so useless. "How did we get to be so cold, how did I let you get so far from me, we got it so wrong, so wrong. How did we get this cold". Then back to those vocal melodies. "Everything you did is a part of me, ripped apart from me" and more wordless melodies. Check out Gavin after 8 minutes. Amazing guitar solo late. Man the crowd absolutely roars when this one ends.

I love this band and have for many years, even when all I could see on this site was negative reviews back in the day. If I could take three studio albums from this band it would be "Your Wilderness", "Someone Here Is Missing" and "Little Man". So yeah they just keep getting better.

Report this review (#1813635)
Posted Monday, October 16, 2017 | Review Permalink
rdtprog
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Heavy, RPI, Symph, JR/F Canterbury Teams
3 stars It was almost 20 years ago that Bruce Soord put this band on the map after his adventure with Vulgar Unicorn. On the recording of the album "Your Wilderness", Bruce hired Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree to fill the sport on the drums. This decision not only changes the style of drumming on the album but also in the writing process. This live concert has the whole album played in a different order with songs from others albums in between. The music of this band is in the style and spirit of the Kscope label, which is a desire to make a new prog style, modern, kind of post-rock metal sometimes atmospheric with some electronic effects that bring a Radiohead influence. The overall sound and atmosphere recall Anathema and Porcupine Tree. It's a good fun to see the unique Gavin Harrison style of drumming on this concert after seeing him recently with King Crimson. In a short 1 hour and 30 minutes concert and many albums on their discography, you can' t get a boring set list here. But I have to say on the other hand, that there is no standout track for me that reach the greatness of my favorite prog rock bands. I can't criticize the honesty and sensibility of the band here that seems to enjoy their music, but sometimes there is some kind of music that doesn't connect perfectly with you. Despite this, I will give a big thank you to Bruce Soord to have produced this big package with an excellent surround sound not only of the concert, but also the whole "Your Wilderness" album with 8 extra tracks, and more extras. Is Bruce following the steps of Steven Wilson by remixing his own albums and albums of others artists?
Report this review (#1820802)
Posted Friday, November 10, 2017 | Review Permalink
5 stars In 2017, KScope released a great live performance, The Pineapple Thief, to coincide with the album "Your Wilderness". It included both tracks from the last album at that time, and compositions written at the beginning of the group's career.

It may seem surprising, but the concert is not inferior to Pink Floyd in its brilliance and sonority - only without unnecessary pompous overload. New and old things played with extraordinary colors, not to mention the recording of a very high level. Mainly thanks to the talents of Bruce Soord, who is amazingly powerful in his live shows. His voice became deeper, more angry, which adds some poignancy to a live performance. The songs began to sound more uncompromising and bright than on some studio recordings. And the drummer Gavin Harrison shows himself in all its glory, who modernized and slightly complicated the old songs of the group, recorded long before he came to this brilliant band. It sounds like it's played in it since the founding of PT, which speaks not only of incredible skill, but also of the ability to get along with people.

They were also joined during the tour by the extraordinary guitarist Darran Charles of Godsticks, which further enhanced The Pineapple Thief's unprecedented power and mastery. Strong, original, high quality or very subtle, or with humor - everything is in the best traditions of the ensemble. Also in the Deluxe edition there is a DVD movie with all the concert pieces. This set deserves attention not only for fans of the genre, but also for a wider audience of rock music lovers.

Report this review (#2477246)
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2020 | Review Permalink

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