ROCKPALAST

This Porcupine Tree performance was broadcasted on German television and contained some interviews with SW in between the tracks. I already noticed when I recorded "Rockpalast" from TV the sound quality was superb. (like any PT concert). One year after date PT has decided to issue the album as a double download album from the PT downloadstore on www.burningshed.co.uk/ptshop.asp together with great artwork (again) by Lasse Hoile, so you can make your own "homemade" CD legally.

CD 1)

1. Mother and Child Introduction (2:44)

Just an introduction to the show.

2. Open Car (4:45)

Great track from the "Deadwing" album

3. Blackest Eyes (5:37)

From "In Absentia" and also on "XM". This track is almost played on any PT live concert.

4. Lazarus (4:17)

Almost a PT ballad, or like SW said once: "as close as PT could come to a ballad".

5. Futile (6:29)

This track always does GREAT live too! Originally only released on the very rare "Futile EP" and now also available in the PT downloadstore.

6. Mellotron Scratch (7:23)

Another great track from the "Deadwing" album.

7. Mother and Child Divided (5:23)

Previously released on the "Lazarus" CD single and also played often at PT concerts.

8. .3 (6:22)

Track 8. is the song 3. Funny detail is that 3. is also track 8. on "In Absentia" Why isn't it ever track 3. I wonder?

9. So Called Friend (5:13)

Also previously released on the "Lazarus" CD single because it didn't make it to the "Deadwing" album.

CD 2)

1. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here (12:46)

In my opinion the finest track from the "Deadwing" album and maybe even the best PT track ever.

2. Sound of Muzak (5:11)

Great track from "In Absentia" and also performed on the live CD "XM" recorded at the XM studios in Washington.

3. Start of Something Beautiful (7:27)

This is now my second favourite track from the "Deadwing" album. Especially the harmonic ending is beautiful! Whenever I hear the ending it seems like a little bit of heaven. Really warm and atmospheric!

4. Halo (8:36)

Does great at life shows because of the films PT show simultaneously. This also works great for other songs.

5. Radioactive Toy (7:48)

PT classic usually played as the last track of a PT live performance, but in this case 1 but the last.

6. Trains (7:18)

Wow! This is another great song from the "In Absentia" album. I especially like the acoustic intro with just SW on acoustic guitars and later during the song the switch to the heavier guitars accompanied by powerful drum and bass.

Over all a very good PT life performance that is worth downloading. Artwork by Lasse Hoile also really cool!

This double album is from a live performance they did for a German TV broadcast on November 19 / 05. It was during the "Deadwing" tour and the majority of songs are from that album.

"Intro" is almost 3 minutes of a pulsating beat, while synths come in part way through. No introduction or vocals. Strange. "Open Car" opens with heavy riffs. I love the mellow sections. The synths after 2 1/2 minutes are also a highlight. John Wesley does the backup vocals. "Blackest Eyes" is one of my favourite PT songs. I really like the chorus "Swim with me into your blackest eyes". Again the mellower passages both impress and move me. Gavin is great on the drums as well. "Lazarus" is a beautiful song with piano and mellotron. "Futile" is a left over from the "In Absentia" album and it rocks ! The heavy riffs are nasty and Harrison is all over this tune. "Mellotron Scratch" was probably the biggest surprise for me. It just works so well here. Just a gorgeous tune with mellotron of course. There is a brief heavy section before 5 minutes. I like the vocal arrangements after 6 minutes too. "Mother And Child Divided" is a killer instrumental. Gavin is on fire. It settles after 3 minutes but not for long. ".3" has some nice bass as synths come in then drums. Vocals don't arrive until after 3 minutes. Very laid back, I really dig this one. The guitar 4 minutes in so relaxing and enjoyable. "So Called Friend" is from the "Deadwing" sessions. A nice heavy intro as vocals come in. This is a fairly aggressive song that calms down on the chorus. I like the synths 3 1/2 minutes in.

Disc 2 starts with "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" a fan favourite and one of my favs as well. It is spacey to start with then that beautiful melody comes in around the 2 minute mark. It kicks in after 4 minutes. What a ride ! That relentless beat as the guitar plays over top and those spacey synths.This song is magic, or as TonyR says "sublime". "The Sound Of Muzak" is another favourite of mine. In fact i've been playing it periodically around my family trying to win them over to this great band. It's working. Check out the guitar after 2 1/2 minutes that goes on and on, love that part. "The Start Of Something Beautiful" has this melancholic intro. I like the bass. Guitar comes in after 2 minutes as the sound gets fuller. Nice synth work as well. A mournful guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in. I really like the instrumental section before and after 6 minutes. Great song. "Halo" is an infectious tune. I like the synths and the explosion of sound before 4 1/2 minutes. "Radioactive Toy" opens with spacey synths as that beat comes in then vocals. It kicks in rather heavily 2 1/2 minutes. The contrast continues. Love the guitar that goes on and on to end it. "Trains" is the final song of this concert. A fitting way to end it. Before they play it Steven thanks everyone including the opening act OCEANSIZE. Strummed guitar and vocals open the song. "Always the summers are slipping away" is Steven's line before it gets heavier. The contrast continues. The crowd claps along 3 1/2 minutes in.

Thankyou again Martijn (evenless) for sending me this recording. He downloaded it legally from PT's site including the excellent artwork. This is a fitting album for review number 1,500.

A good, but definitely non-essential, live recording.

Rockpalast is (what would be) a 2CD live album, available for download on Porcupine Tree's official website. The recordings are comprised of the band's live performance on German TV, and showcase a fantastic, albeit too similar, setlist.

The highlights are Futile, Radioactive Toy, Mellotron Scratch and .3- 4 killer studio tracks and absolutely stellar live songs. The rest of the setlist is mostly from the Deadwing era, and every track (bar those four) is available on the band's DVD, 'Arriving Somewhere...'

The recording quality is great for a TV broadcast, and sounds wonderful any way you listen to it. The acoustic passages are fantastic, although the band really shines in their heavier sections on this one - the raw, live, metallic sound is brilliant.

The performances are all good, but nothing really amazing. They sound great and the playing is all top notch, but rather pale in comparison with most of the band's other live recordings.

Considering the price, it's a fantastic entry into the later stages of PT, and a good live document, although the band do have much better live albums. The downloads (both FLAC's and 320KBPS MP3's) are very cheap for well over an hour and a half of music.

3 stars; by no means bad, but not their best live recording.

Hailing from a live performance originally broadcast on German television, this hails from the Deadwing tour, coming a month or so after the material captured on the Arriving Somewhere live release. For the most part the setlist concentrates on recent material from In Absentia and Deadwing (and non-album tracks from the same era), though The Start of Something Beautiful and Radioactive Toy pop up to offer something from Up the Downstair and On the Sunday of Life respectively. As one might expect from performances recorded professionally for TV, the sound quality is decent, and overall this is another fine live release, though if you are not a big Porcupine Tree you may find this is a little redundant next to Arriving Somewhere, which draws on a somewhat wider range of their back catalogue at that.