I didn't discuss the lyrics at all in this video, as I was concentrating on the harmonic structure. Now that I have read them and heard the song, the "melancholy" section I noted makes perfect sense. The writer is reminiscing of a summer love, brought in and out by train. I live near a major train line, and I often wonder about the people whisking by, who they are, and where they are headed. Great song!
Great observation! I've listened to this song hundreds of times, but never thought of it that way - I always thought of it as his way of building an esoteric recollection of a childhood memory, in a sense.
Nice, then listen to Milton Nascimento Encontros e Despedidas ruclips.net/video/_ESx_gAvODU/видео.html A wonderful song about 'the station' with a beautiful harmony. :)
The lyrics on the album (besides Sound of Muzak, which is about the recording industry) form a collection of short stories about serial killers, including this song which deals with a summer love as you mentioned, but one the main character wanted to last forever. It's the trigger for the darker themes on the album, such as on 'Strip the Soul' where the main character murders his entire family and stores their bodies in the floor and in the walls, but keeps their bones. In Absentia sounds beautiful and melancholic, symphonic at times, but it deals with some seriously fucked up topics!
Hi mate. I know you've done Opeth reaction videos before which were awesome. I thought that you would be interested to know that Steven Wilson produced 3 of their albums. Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Damnation. I would love to see you do a reaction video to Deliverance. Cheers. Keep up the cool vids 👍
That's awesome Doug (and that Trains and "The Sound of Muzak" are my fave tracks on this one, being the 1st time I heard Porky Tree). I often think the same about those on Trains, and I have been one of those folks going to various destinations. One of these days I'll have to listen to a playlist I created here at my page about "Trains" while on a trip, and sit-back and let it all soak in.
The "little background stuff" that lends PT tracks so much depth and atmosphere - that would be the magic of Richard Barbieri. Often overlooked between the genius of Steven Wilson, the wizardry of Gavin Harrison and the ever-smiling rock solid foundation Colin Edwin provides on bass, but nonetheless a key element of what makes PT such an amazing band.
@TheAsphys666 - thanks for adding this. Barbieri deserves a ton of credit for the atmosphere and color he adds to PT songs. He's the first to admit he's not a flashy keyboardist like Rudess or many of the prog virtuosos, but knows his strength lies in doing what he does here, much of it with older analog synths.
Yes, this video kind of fails as analysis because it's so rushed but that piano marries to the track really well for something that is neither mixed or processed properly.
Arriving Somewhere but not Here is my favorite Porcupine Tree song. It’s so atmospheric and beautiful. I would highly recommend that song if you haven’t heard it.
If you are looking for more Porcupine Tree songs to react to, I would suggest Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. Easily one of Steven's most intense and emotional songs (and that's saying something!).
Anesthitize, Live in Tilburg is an absolute MUST. Such an amazing version, and your response would be incredible. Love your channel, thank you so much!🤘🤘
Doug, one of the things I’ve always loved about P/T is the way they have a sort of “cool down” to end many of their songs. Never a fade out or drum crashing Grand finale which always seems sort of awkward or lazy to me like they can’t figure out how to end the song. Trains is a good example with the banjo and hand clapping to sort of let you breath again after they’ve just rocked your world. I think it’s a great example of SW’s attention to detail like you were saying about the little things in the background that opens up the song and makes it sound orchestral. I’m happy to see you really appreciate PT and SW’s music. I’ve been a fan for many years and it’s delightful to see the look on your face as you discover all the little nuances that come together to form a great song. I’m not a musician so it’s fun to watch the little things you pick out, notes, chords etc in a given song (that’s an A minor, that’s an F) that I don’t know about. I’ve learned a lot about music watching you analyze the songs. Thanks🙏
I’m learning a lot from your reactions, thank you. If you don’t know much of Porcupine Tree’s material, their masterpiece is “Anesthetize” and the live version is definitely the one to see; it doesn’t have Alex Lifeson’s solo from the record, but it has one of the great rock drumming performances by Gavin Harrison.
Jethro Tull was a forerunner of playing acoustic guitar in the foreground while the heavier stuff was mixed down in the background. It gives great texture and depth to the songs.
"clapping instead of drums" i was in the crowd in 2005 when they filmed this song in Chicago for their live DVD. the entire audience clapped. it was magical!
Don't worry about the "playing over it part". I think it's important as a musician to not only listen, but feel the music. I thought that it added a little special something for us who heard the song like a million times by now. Please don't be afraid of it. If I can recommend something by PT it would be "My Ashes" or "Arriving somewhere but not here"
I still remember the day we discovered one of my sons had perfect pitch. I was tuning one of my guitars (using a tuner) and he told me I had gotten the a-string wrong. He was nine or 10 years old. We had just had our piano tuned, so we walked over to it and found he was dead on. Many years later, he’s now studying music composition and mandolin at Belmont in the commercial music program. I discovered porcupine tree about two years ago and went on a Steve Wilson bender the past two years
Porcupine Tree : "Anesthetize" from the "Fear of a Blank Planet"; "Blackest Eyes" (In Absentia) Doug, the vocals in Anesthetize will blow you away.. the most unorthodox way to blend and rhyme lyrics.. it's a three-part song, and it's brilliant.
One of my absolute favorite songs. Also one of the songs that inspired me to pick up a guitar and learn it a bit. Used to be my favorite song to play drums to a long time ago when I still played drums.
3 года назад+16
"Arriving somewhere but no here" and "heartattack in a Layby" ;-).
That was the song that got me into Porcupine Tree. Love watching you explain the theory behind what the average listener like me just says, 'ya that sounds cool' too
Mr. Wilson is impossibly killer. The first time I encountered PT was in the early 90's on an ambient compilation album that had a version of Voyage 34 Part 3 sans voice samples. Thought they were an electronic ambient band as a result, so was a bit of a surprise to discover they were a prog rock band. Whilst V34 is probably still my most favourite from Wilson I've not heard an album I've not been daft about.
You called out Steven’s engineering abilities. If you have access to a Dolby Atmos set up, definitely check out his new solo album “The Future Bites” on Blu-ray. It also has hi res mixes in different formats such as stereo and 5.1, but the Atmos mix will blow your mind.
Huh, this popped into my head while watching. When you pointed out the clapping in reference in to the chorus, it made me think of the sound a train makes riding on the tracks...
I said on the Foo Fighters video, but I'll repeat: I really like this piano approach to explain how the song structure. I tried to do this myself with songs I like - using a virtual keyboard though - and for my surprise I could find some notes and riffs. Still don't get much of key signatures, scales and chords, but it's something.
This is the song I've most recently learned how to play on the drums, so I've been listening to it in an entirely different way. Thank you for the opportunity to hear it in a new, fresh way! I LOVE what you did with the ending. Beautiful.
I’ve been watching your reactions for a while and really enjoy them, especially that you cover a lot of Prog, this is the second time I’ve watched this reaction to “Trains”. Lots of spot on comments, I’ve always called the time change solo a ‘banjo waltz’, and counted it in 3/4, you mentioned 6/8 quickly in passing.
That was a beautiful reaction with the piano accompaniment. Your gift of understanding music is on a level I find enviable. It’s interesting to hear you break these things on that level. I have what I consider to be a fairly developed ear so I can appreciate when others can attach terminologies to the things I’m hearing. That type of understanding leads to being able to play with the most incredible musicians around and that to me is one of the most ultimate conversations to have with another human being. Great content, try your ear on some Allan Holdsworth for something completely unique. A song like “Looking Glass” should peak some interest. Keep em coming!
Thanks for doing Porcupine Tree stuff. Some suggestions for further analysis : Arriving somewhere but not here, The start of something beautiful, Anesthetize, Fear of a blank planet (the song from the same name album). Live versions of them are also amazing. I’m sure others have good suggestions too.
The piano addition sounded most lovely! Btw, I'd like to suggest something for a reaction, that I think you'll like. It's a British band Earthside, playing cinematic progressive metal, mostly, instrumental, but the song i'm suggesting features Lajon Witherspoon on vocals (clean and beautiful) & Moscow Studio Symphony Orchestra. The song is called Mob Mentality. They don't have a huge fanbase like some other bands you've reviewed, so they really appreciate any exposure and are generally just nice guys who make beautiful music.
Great choice of track (Porcupine Tree are awesome) and compliments on your nailing the accompaniment! Trains appears to be a straightforward song, but there's a lot going on there (the production is also superb). Really enjoying your musical explorations.
In terms of Steven's solo work, I'd love to see you react to _Salvaging_ from his first solo record. Total journey of a track, jampacked with intricacies. Another standout track from _In Absentia_ I think you'd really enjoy is _Collapse The Light Into Earth._ In case you've not heard it yet. Would also make for a great reaction video.
Other Porcupine Tree songs you might consider: - Start of something beautiful - Cheating the polygraph - Gravity eyelids - What happens now? And yes, Arriving Somewhere and Anesthetize :-) I bet it takes a lot of effort to make each of these videos, I appreciate your sharing this, Doug! Be well!
There are few people that can ever take Porcupine Tree to a new level of awesome. You sir hold that title. The piano work made the hair on my arms stand up. Sounded great!
I might also recommend the guitar solo from Voyage 34 phase 2. The entire thing is a 30 minute space rock trance so focusing on the solo would probably be best. Its one of my favourite Porcupine Tree moments. Also "Angel gets caught in the Beauty Trap" from Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness project No-Man. No-Man is ridiculously underrated even among Wilson fans. It was one of his first projects and it has a early Trip-Hop, Lounge and disco sound that is hard to categorize. "Kiss me stupid" is also wonderful. As is "Days in the trees" And the Mick Karn basslines of Sweetheart Raw (EP version especially) is also very good. The soundscapes in No-Man are highly developed and has a creepy upsetting quality that contrasts with the cheesy croony vocals. They really are a hidden gem (the early stuff especially) and the soundscapes keep blowing me away on repeated listens. There is a sense of this beautiful and even embarassingly cheesy exterior contrasting with the really twisted psychedelic soundscapes. This contrast of darkness, horror with light or even precious cuteness is kind of a hallmark of Steven Wilson's music. Even Trains paints this idyllic picture but when you dig into the lyrics. Its heavily implied to be about cousin on cousin incest between two minors.
Speaking of Steven Wilson, he produced and saved the recording of the double album Deliverance & Damnation which the label split into two separate releases. The overlying concept was Deliverance being the hard side of Opeth and Damnation being the soft side of Opeth (no extreme metal or growling whatsoever, instead going for a very melancholic prog style with ballads). The most tragic story beyond the at the time in-band issues and troubled recording sessions is when Mikaels grandmother was killed in a car accident while they were recording both albums: "Damnation was recorded during the same trouble-plagued sessions at Nacksving Studios and Studio Fredman. The majority of the recording of both albums was done, save for most of the Damnation vocals. For those parts, Åkerfeldt flew down to Wilson's studio No Man's Land in the UK, just a day after his grandmother's funeral." It's a beautiful album with some amazing tracks inspired by 70'ies prog (inspired, not recreated). They made heavy use of mellotrons as well. "Loudwire listed Damnation as the second best album of 2003. Mike Portnoy, ex-drummer for Dream Theater, put the album on his list of best albums of 2003." I'd love to see a reaction to the first track off their album named Windowpane: ruclips.net/video/bSpqLqC7U6g/видео.html ...or the song "Death Whispered a Lullaby" with lyrics by Steven Wilson which has some of Opeth's trademark quirks: ruclips.net/video/sAuL3AszIiE/видео.html The instrumentation, the vocals, the mood, the chord/root note progressions are beautiful, showing just how these people aren't bound to a set formula.
The Porcupine Tree songs I would like to see you react to: 1. Arriving Somewhere but not Here 2. Fear of a Blank Planet 3. Hate Song 4. Anesthetize 5. Russia on Ice
Hey Doug! Cheers from Brazil. Just found your channel recently and I am loving it. Your indepth analysis of the Heavy Metal songs so far is really captivating and my favorite videos. As a Brazilian Heavy metal and Classic Music fan I'd Like to call you attention to some Metal pieces that are some of my favorites. And it would be a real delight to watch you review any of them when you have the time. Angra is a Brazilian Heavy metal band that made some really interesting musical pieces in the begining of their career by combining heavy metal with typical brazilian rythms. Some of which one would not imagine would work so well together. Part of which was definitely because of André Mattos (The original Lead Vocalist) musical back ground. Andre Had an amazing voice, reach and skill, he sadly past in 2019. From Angra I recommend: Carolina IV - With Andre's Vocals Then moving on a little to the future of the band and with new lead vocals By Edu Falaschi: Hunter's and Prey - (There is an English version and a Portuguese version of this song) I'll leave the rest of the exploring of this brazilian band to your own taste, but before I end my already long comment on your video I'd like to move away from Brazil to recomend one last song (and probably my favorite), which is: Ghost in the moon - By avantasia. A really nice song with many interesting elements and a captivating story that involves some fantasy and mystery. Hope you can check these songs out. Stay safe.
Thank you for this, was awesome to hear with the piano, wonderfull work. As a PT fan, there are many songs to..."Lightbulb Sun" would be awesome...or "Routine" from SW.
Listening to Porcupine is addictive. It takes you on journeys to other places world times moods. I cannot stop travelling. I am addicted to this sound.
Found your channel through the Harvest video, was hoping for a little more breakdown of the chords in the chorus! Maybe some other screen recording software would let you pause and resume? Anyways, hit that subscribe button real fast, pretty excited to spend all day watching your other videos :D
The next song? All of them? Such a great band. I was fortunate to see them live a few times. Anesthesia is always recommended by them, but I'd try Open Car or Deadwing.
Fantastic content Doug, I love your insight. I am younger than you and I have much less theoretical knowledge, being a mostly self-taught player and songwriter, however it's so amazing to find out that I do so many of the same things you do (in regard to finding notes quickly through relative pitch and sometimes just being like "that sounds like an A"). And your playing is great, really expands on what's there in the track. I'm here to stay, cheers!
I wholeheartedly approve of this format. I knew you were knowledgeable and had a great ear, but instead of just talking about things, when you are demonstrating your thoughts "sonically" with an instrument at hand it's so much better, and even you "interrupting" a given song by playing chords, sequences of certain intervals or whatever is immensely useful for us less educated but aspiring musicians. Huge thumbs up from me, from Sweden. For me, this particular song by Steven is one I've known for at least a decade, every little part of it, and it's not particularly complicated to begin with. Yet hearing your perspective still immediately taught me something, just like that.
Great again!! I like so much Porcupine Tree! In this video you answered one question I asked earlier today while watching other video. So you don't have perfect pitch but a very good relative pitch. Well done!! I have to start practicing to "catch the chords" like you do. I have a good relative pitch and I study solfege but I have a hard time figuring out the chords on the fly like this. Well, great job again!
Thank you!! This was so amazing. I too found Porcupine Tree because I first found Steven Wilson! I suggest Anesthetize for your next song (it's wild! And so complicated). Dark Matter is great too!
"...they're little things but..they make the track just sound atmospheric, it opens it up, all this background stuff its really amazing" Yeah you've nailed exactly what makes Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson's extended universe special. Whenever it approaches a dull moment the aliveness the ambience brings always makes up for it.
Yeah, I'm a "musical illiterate" (I can't read sheet music) but I was lucky enough to have had a jazz-cat for a guitar teacher when I started out, and he imparted on me a knowledge of chord/scale relationship that has helped me immensely ever since.
in the period when my father passed away i listened a lot to porcupine tree and now this band reminds me a lot of him. In the beginning it was difficult but now all that is left is missing him. Listen to Time Flies and Anesthetize
Fun fact: Steven Wilson has worked a lot with Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. They have a project together called Storm Corrosion. I'm going to have to suggest again that you listen to something from Epica. My recommendations are Kingdom of Heaven, The Phantom Agony, or Cry for the Moon.
I think Trains might be the only song I prefer studio over live. Probably partly because the of the banjo part not being playing live and clapping left out.
From porcupine tree I would suggest "Arriving somewhere but not here", "Anesthetize", "The sound of muzak" and "The start of something beautiful". Even if you can't do a react of all them just listen to them, they are great ones!
One of my all time favorites. This is like the "Watchtower" progression, there's a G in there... as we know, a very emotive progression. So, in C it's going from the VIm to the 5, then the IV, then back again. Very atmospheric treatment. And yes, that is a banjo with clapping. Wilson's amazing use of timbre.
PT has several long tracks over ten minutes in length, and it's hard to find faults in any of them. PT material from 2002 onward, in which drummer Gavin Harrison jumps on board, is some of the best in their catalog. To me, the absolute best is "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here". "Anesthetize" is seventeen minutes in length, but is a close second place, and that song is a trip. I've seen Steven Wilson three times in concert, and he played "Arriving Somewhere" in the third show, purely epic. Cheers from Philly!
Did you know, that Steven Wilson produced an Opeth album? I think it was Ghost Revaries. And Mikael Åkerfeldt also produced some Porcupine Tree. Can't recall if it was an album or just the song called She's Moved On (as a bonus track on one of their albums) 😁
If you like this song give these a try: Time Flies Arriving Somewhere But Not Here Anesthetize Normal Way Out of Here Even Less (Full Version from RECORDINGS album) There's so many good ones TBH!! PT is one of my favorite bands of all time ad I'm so happy you got around to them. Cool stuff.
Cool song, Steven Wilson is a genius. Porcupine Tree are amazing live & their live sound is crystal clear. Definitely check out 'Hatesong' live from the Arriving Somewhere... dvd, it's an incredible performance.
Hoo boy - if you loved Raven you will adore Routine. I'm no expert but it's one of the most interesting compositions I've heard in modern music, and it's sooo beautiful.
Agree, but Routine is really a heavy song, and it's *about something*. It goes beyond compositional analysis. It's a song where you almost have to sit and watch the video and be overwhelmed by the emotional content of it and not sit there and pick apart the compositional structure, or you're missing the entire point. (I grant that compositionally it's outstanding, but I think it needs to be appreciated emotionally first.) Even Steven himself said the most rewarding thing about the song for him was being able to make a song where when he played it live he would see people weeping in the audience. It's powerful stuff, and really that's what elevates music beyond mere composition. ALL music is chord progression and rhythm, so after awhile, honestly who cares if its F and A#, the question is DOES IT MOVE YOU OR NOT? I'd challenge Doug to react to it in those terms.
@@ReplicantSeven I agree. He could do a video similar to the Raven one where he does an analysis after getting to know the song and its meaning first. On a side note, I heard the song on its own before seeing the video, and it was almost more effective to me as a first listen. Something about having no visual reinforcement of the lyrical content made it hit harder to me - it felt a little more ambiguous and lonely, and you can focus entirely on the music. Now that I know the song, it enables me to fully appreciate the video every time I watch it. What I'm trying to say is it may be dividing his attention too much to watch the music video first. That's my experience with powerful music videos anyway.
Exhaustive list : Arriving Somewhere bit not Here - Start of Something Beautiful - Lazarus - Blackest Eyes - Sound of Muzsak - Piano Lessons, and all his stuff with Blackfield as well :3
I didn't discuss the lyrics at all in this video, as I was concentrating on the harmonic structure. Now that I have read them and heard the song, the "melancholy" section I noted makes perfect sense. The writer is reminiscing of a summer love, brought in and out by train. I live near a major train line, and I often wonder about the people whisking by, who they are, and where they are headed. Great song!
Great observation! I've listened to this song hundreds of times, but never thought of it that way - I always thought of it as his way of building an esoteric recollection of a childhood memory, in a sense.
Nice, then listen to Milton Nascimento Encontros e Despedidas
ruclips.net/video/_ESx_gAvODU/видео.html
A wonderful song about 'the station' with a beautiful harmony.
:)
The lyrics on the album (besides Sound of Muzak, which is about the recording industry) form a collection of short stories about serial killers, including this song which deals with a summer love as you mentioned, but one the main character wanted to last forever. It's the trigger for the darker themes on the album, such as on 'Strip the Soul' where the main character murders his entire family and stores their bodies in the floor and in the walls, but keeps their bones. In Absentia sounds beautiful and melancholic, symphonic at times, but it deals with some seriously fucked up topics!
Hi mate.
I know you've done Opeth reaction videos before which were awesome.
I thought that you would be interested to know that Steven Wilson produced 3 of their albums.
Blackwater Park, Deliverance and Damnation.
I would love to see you do a reaction video to Deliverance.
Cheers. Keep up the cool vids 👍
That's awesome Doug (and that Trains and "The Sound of Muzak" are my fave tracks on this one, being the 1st time I heard Porky Tree). I often think the same about those on Trains, and I have been one of those folks going to various destinations. One of these days I'll have to listen to a playlist I created here at my page about "Trains" while on a trip, and sit-back and let it all soak in.
Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize
- PLEASE VOTE!
Yep.
What happens now, dark matter, arriving somewhere but not here to name a few more
Yes please
Live in Tilburg as well! It's sounds just as good as the studio version and you also get to see the band perform!
How could I not?!
The "little background stuff" that lends PT tracks so much depth and atmosphere - that would be the magic of Richard Barbieri. Often overlooked between the genius of Steven Wilson, the wizardry of Gavin Harrison and the ever-smiling rock solid foundation Colin Edwin provides on bass, but nonetheless a key element of what makes PT such an amazing band.
Indeed. Steven often called Richard the band's "secret weapon."
Similarities with the underecognition and lack of credit given to the late, great Richard Wright in PF, I think.
@TheAsphys666 - thanks for adding this. Barbieri deserves a ton of credit for the atmosphere and color he adds to PT songs. He's the first to admit he's not a flashy keyboardist like Rudess or many of the prog virtuosos, but knows his strength lies in doing what he does here, much of it with older analog synths.
@@dust4magnet Yup
The piano over the track was on point. Awesome
Haha! Thought the same toward the end, I was like; "Wow, that sounds nice. Steven would approve" :D.
Yes, this video kind of fails as analysis because it's so rushed but that piano marries to the track really well for something that is neither mixed or processed properly.
@@mvunit3 yeah me too
I kinda wanna hear him do piano covers or arrangements of every one of the songs he examines ❤️
Loved it!
Arriving Somewhere but not Here is my favorite Porcupine Tree song. It’s so atmospheric and beautiful. I would highly recommend that song if you haven’t heard it.
What do you think of Russia On Ice?
Total masterpiece
This whole album is fantastic. The sound of musak is great. It's in 7/4!
Every time I hear it, I count it as 14/8
Dude! When you started playing @ 9:00, that introduced that extra emotion that brings tears to a music lover's eyes, with quickened breath. Thank you.
If you are looking for more Porcupine Tree songs to react to, I would suggest Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. Easily one of Steven's most intense and emotional songs (and that's saying something!).
Don't forget "Anesthetized" :)
But, the LIVE versions of these songs!!
My favorite track from them
Anesthetized is essential, especially for a composer.
Both live versions as well ...Anesthetize and Arriving somehwere ...modern prog masterpieces
Porcupine Tree? There is a whole universe to discover.
Anesthitize, Live in Tilburg is an absolute MUST. Such an amazing version, and your response would be incredible. Love your channel, thank you so much!🤘🤘
Doug, one of the things I’ve always loved about P/T is the way they have a sort of “cool down” to end many of their songs. Never a fade out or drum crashing Grand finale which always seems sort of awkward or lazy to me like they can’t figure out how to end the song.
Trains is a good example with the banjo and hand clapping to sort of let you breath again after they’ve just rocked your world. I think it’s a great example of SW’s attention to detail like you were saying about the little things in the background that opens up the song and makes it sound orchestral.
I’m happy to see you really appreciate PT and SW’s music. I’ve been a fan for many years and it’s delightful to see the look on your face as you discover all the little nuances that come together to form a great song.
I’m not a musician so it’s fun to watch the little things you pick out, notes, chords etc in a given song (that’s an A minor, that’s an F) that I don’t know about. I’ve learned a lot about music watching you analyze the songs. Thanks🙏
I’m learning a lot from your reactions, thank you. If you don’t know much of Porcupine Tree’s material, their masterpiece is “Anesthetize” and the live version is definitely the one to see; it doesn’t have Alex Lifeson’s solo from the record, but it has one of the great rock drumming performances by Gavin Harrison.
Jethro Tull was a forerunner of playing acoustic guitar in the foreground while the heavier stuff was mixed down in the background. It gives great texture and depth to the songs.
That solo always gets me, the way he sells that nine is amazing.
"clapping instead of drums"
i was in the crowd in 2005 when they filmed this song in Chicago for their live DVD. the entire audience clapped. it was magical!
In terms of acoustic, Wilson loves to overdub many layers of identical guitar strums to make it sound incredibly great
I loved Doug's added piano, amazing arrangment with 0 preparation ... what a skill!
First class
Trains is simply one of the best rock and pop songs ever written, not considering how it never charted much.
I don't blame you for wanting to play along. It is spectacular.
Don't worry about the "playing over it part". I think it's important as a musician to not only listen, but feel the music. I thought that it added a little special something for us who heard the song like a million times by now. Please don't be afraid of it.
If I can recommend something by PT it would be "My Ashes" or "Arriving somewhere but not here"
I still remember the day we discovered one of my sons had perfect pitch. I was tuning one of my guitars (using a tuner) and he told me I had gotten the a-string wrong. He was nine or 10 years old. We had just had our piano tuned, so we walked over to it and found he was dead on. Many years later, he’s now studying music composition and mandolin at Belmont in the commercial music program. I discovered porcupine tree about two years ago and went on a Steve Wilson bender the past two years
Trains is one of those songs that feels like it's about half of its actual length
Porcupine Tree : "Anesthetize" from the "Fear of a Blank Planet"; "Blackest Eyes" (In Absentia) Doug, the vocals in Anesthetize will blow you away.. the most unorthodox way to blend and rhyme lyrics.. it's a three-part song, and it's brilliant.
One of my absolute favorite songs. Also one of the songs that inspired me to pick up a guitar and learn it a bit. Used to be my favorite song to play drums to a long time ago when I still played drums.
"Arriving somewhere but no here" and "heartattack in a Layby" ;-).
That was the song that got me into Porcupine Tree. Love watching you explain the theory behind what the average listener like me just says, 'ya that sounds cool' too
Mr. Wilson is impossibly killer. The first time I encountered PT was in the early 90's on an ambient compilation album that had a version of Voyage 34 Part 3 sans voice samples. Thought they were an electronic ambient band as a result, so was a bit of a surprise to discover they were a prog rock band. Whilst V34 is probably still my most favourite from Wilson I've not heard an album I've not been daft about.
You called out Steven’s engineering abilities. If you have access to a Dolby Atmos set up, definitely check out his new solo album “The Future Bites” on Blu-ray. It also has hi res mixes in different formats such as stereo and 5.1, but the Atmos mix will blow your mind.
Huh, this popped into my head while watching. When you pointed out the clapping in reference in to the chorus, it made me think of the sound a train makes riding on the tracks...
I said on the Foo Fighters video, but I'll repeat: I really like this piano approach to explain how the song structure. I tried to do this myself with songs I like - using a virtual keyboard though - and for my surprise I could find some notes and riffs. Still don't get much of key signatures, scales and chords, but it's something.
i honestly want a video of you just jamming on the piano over this song. fits so well
Love Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree. Great to see you at the piano. More of that.
This is the song I've most recently learned how to play on the drums, so I've been listening to it in an entirely different way. Thank you for the opportunity to hear it in a new, fresh way! I LOVE what you did with the ending. Beautiful.
I’ve been watching your reactions for a while and really enjoy them, especially that you cover a lot of Prog, this is the second time I’ve watched this reaction to “Trains”. Lots of spot on comments, I’ve always called the time change solo a ‘banjo waltz’, and counted it in 3/4, you mentioned 6/8 quickly in passing.
That was a beautiful reaction with the piano accompaniment. Your gift of understanding music is on a level I find enviable. It’s interesting to hear you break these things on that level. I have what I consider to be a fairly developed ear so I can appreciate when others can attach terminologies to the things I’m hearing. That type of understanding leads to being able to play with the most incredible musicians around and that to me is one of the most ultimate conversations to have with another human being. Great content, try your ear on some Allan Holdsworth for something completely unique. A song like “Looking Glass” should peak some interest. Keep em coming!
Thanks for doing Porcupine Tree stuff.
Some suggestions for further analysis : Arriving somewhere but not here, The start of something beautiful, Anesthetize, Fear of a blank planet (the song from the same name album). Live versions of them are also amazing.
I’m sure others have good suggestions too.
love the start of something beautiful. there's something about the rhythm that just draws you in.
@@silentobserver2348 Yes !
The piano addition sounded most lovely!
Btw, I'd like to suggest something for a reaction, that I think you'll like. It's a British band Earthside, playing cinematic progressive metal, mostly, instrumental, but the song i'm suggesting features Lajon Witherspoon on vocals (clean and beautiful) & Moscow Studio Symphony Orchestra. The song is called Mob Mentality.
They don't have a huge fanbase like some other bands you've reviewed, so they really appreciate any exposure and are generally just nice guys who make beautiful music.
Great choice of track (Porcupine Tree are awesome) and compliments on your nailing the accompaniment! Trains appears to be a straightforward song, but there's a lot going on there (the production is also superb). Really enjoying your musical explorations.
In terms of Steven's solo work, I'd love to see you react to _Salvaging_ from his first solo record. Total journey of a track, jampacked with intricacies.
Another standout track from _In Absentia_ I think you'd really enjoy is _Collapse The Light Into Earth._ In case you've not heard it yet. Would also make for a great reaction video.
Other Porcupine Tree songs you might consider:
- Start of something beautiful
- Cheating the polygraph
- Gravity eyelids
- What happens now?
And yes, Arriving Somewhere and Anesthetize :-)
I bet it takes a lot of effort to make each of these videos, I appreciate your sharing this, Doug! Be well!
one of my favourite Porcupine Tree songs that is oft overlooked Russia On Ice, from the Lightbulb Sun album
Really well recorded. This song and the whole album as well just sounds amazing.
There are few people that can ever take Porcupine Tree to a new level of awesome. You sir hold that title. The piano work made the hair on my arms stand up. Sounded great!
Beautiful melodies on piano. Bravo Doug. Have a good weekend.
I might also recommend the guitar solo from Voyage 34 phase 2.
The entire thing is a 30 minute space rock trance so focusing on the solo would probably be best. Its one of my favourite Porcupine Tree moments.
Also "Angel gets caught in the Beauty Trap" from Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness project No-Man.
No-Man is ridiculously underrated even among Wilson fans. It was one of his first projects and it has a early Trip-Hop, Lounge and disco sound that is hard to categorize.
"Kiss me stupid" is also wonderful. As is "Days in the trees" And the Mick Karn basslines of Sweetheart Raw (EP version especially) is also very good. The soundscapes in No-Man are highly developed and has a creepy upsetting quality that contrasts with the cheesy croony vocals. They really are a hidden gem (the early stuff especially) and the soundscapes keep blowing me away on repeated listens. There is a sense of this beautiful and even embarassingly cheesy exterior contrasting with the really twisted psychedelic soundscapes.
This contrast of darkness, horror with light or even precious cuteness is kind of a hallmark of Steven Wilson's music.
Even Trains paints this idyllic picture but when you dig into the lyrics. Its heavily implied to be about cousin on cousin incest between two minors.
Just found your channel. Refreshing take on the typical “reaction” video format. Nice job!
Speaking of Steven Wilson, he produced and saved the recording of the double album Deliverance & Damnation which the label split into two separate releases. The overlying concept was Deliverance being the hard side of Opeth and Damnation being the soft side of Opeth (no extreme metal or growling whatsoever, instead going for a very melancholic prog style with ballads). The most tragic story beyond the at the time in-band issues and troubled recording sessions is when Mikaels grandmother was killed in a car accident while they were recording both albums:
"Damnation was recorded during the same trouble-plagued sessions at Nacksving Studios and Studio Fredman. The majority of the recording of both albums was done, save for most of the Damnation vocals. For those parts, Åkerfeldt flew down to Wilson's studio No Man's Land in the UK, just a day after his grandmother's funeral."
It's a beautiful album with some amazing tracks inspired by 70'ies prog (inspired, not recreated). They made heavy use of mellotrons as well. "Loudwire listed Damnation as the second best album of 2003. Mike Portnoy, ex-drummer for Dream Theater, put the album on his list of best albums of 2003."
I'd love to see a reaction to the first track off their album named Windowpane: ruclips.net/video/bSpqLqC7U6g/видео.html
...or the song "Death Whispered a Lullaby" with lyrics by Steven Wilson which has some of Opeth's trademark quirks: ruclips.net/video/sAuL3AszIiE/видео.html
The instrumentation, the vocals, the mood, the chord/root note progressions are beautiful, showing just how these people aren't bound to a set formula.
The Porcupine Tree songs I would like to see you react to:
1. Arriving Somewhere but not Here
2. Fear of a Blank Planet
3. Hate Song
4. Anesthetize
5. Russia on Ice
Hey Doug!
Cheers from Brazil.
Just found your channel recently and I am loving it.
Your indepth analysis of the Heavy Metal songs so far is really captivating and my favorite videos.
As a Brazilian Heavy metal and Classic Music fan I'd Like to call you attention to some Metal pieces that are some of my favorites.
And it would be a real delight to watch you review any of them when you have the time.
Angra is a Brazilian Heavy metal band that made some really interesting musical pieces in the begining of their career by combining heavy metal with typical brazilian rythms. Some of which one would not imagine would work so well together.
Part of which was definitely because of André Mattos (The original Lead Vocalist) musical back ground. Andre Had an amazing voice, reach and skill, he sadly past in 2019.
From Angra I recommend:
Carolina IV - With Andre's Vocals
Then moving on a little to the future of the band and with new lead vocals By Edu Falaschi:
Hunter's and Prey - (There is an English version and a Portuguese version of this song)
I'll leave the rest of the exploring of this brazilian band to your own taste, but before I end my already long comment on your video I'd like to move away from Brazil to recomend one last song (and probably my favorite), which is:
Ghost in the moon - By avantasia.
A really nice song with many interesting elements and a captivating story that involves some fantasy and mystery.
Hope you can check these songs out.
Stay safe.
Hey, I'm all for a version of this song where you just add in a full-fledged piano track. The parts where you play along sound awesome!
Thank you for this, was awesome to hear with the piano, wonderfull work. As a PT fan, there are many songs to..."Lightbulb Sun" would be awesome...or "Routine" from SW.
Dope man, so dope!! You are one of my favorite reactors, keep it up my man, thanks!
Thank you For Doing this, I dont recommend anything like others you are doing a Great Job, keep going!
Listening to Porcupine is addictive. It takes you on journeys to other places world times moods. I cannot stop travelling. I am addicted to this sound.
Must listen to Sound of Muzak from Porcupine Tree.....gorgeous vocal harmonies and cool time signature
You're just an amazing talent! Congratulations from Brazil.
As a Porcupine Tree fan, I'd recommend Time Flies, or Luminol from Steven Wilson's solo work.
Found your channel through the Harvest video, was hoping for a little more breakdown of the chords in the chorus! Maybe some other screen recording software would let you pause and resume?
Anyways, hit that subscribe button real fast, pretty excited to spend all day watching your other videos :D
Anesthetize and Arriving Somewhere But Not Here. So many Porcupine Tree songs are great, but from a compositional standpoint, those are the standouts.
The next song? All of them? Such a great band. I was fortunate to see them live a few times. Anesthesia is always recommended by them, but I'd try Open Car or Deadwing.
Fantastic content Doug, I love your insight. I am younger than you and I have much less theoretical knowledge, being a mostly self-taught player and songwriter, however it's so amazing to find out that I do so many of the same things you do (in regard to finding notes quickly through relative pitch and sometimes just being like "that sounds like an A"). And your playing is great, really expands on what's there in the track. I'm here to stay, cheers!
I wholeheartedly approve of this format. I knew you were knowledgeable and had a great ear, but instead of just talking about things, when you are demonstrating your thoughts "sonically" with an instrument at hand it's so much better, and even you "interrupting" a given song by playing chords, sequences of certain intervals or whatever is immensely useful for us less educated but aspiring musicians.
Huge thumbs up from me, from Sweden. For me, this particular song by Steven is one I've known for at least a decade, every little part of it, and it's not particularly complicated to begin with. Yet hearing your perspective still immediately taught me something, just like that.
Great again!! I like so much Porcupine Tree! In this video you answered one question I asked earlier today while watching other video. So you don't have perfect pitch but a very good relative pitch. Well done!! I have to start practicing to "catch the chords" like you do. I have a good relative pitch and I study solfege but I have a hard time figuring out the chords on the fly like this.
Well, great job again!
Im the same regarding relative pitch from 40 plus years of playing guitar and learning my favourite songs by ear ,its great, isn’t it Doug!!!
Thank you!! This was so amazing. I too found Porcupine Tree because I first found Steven Wilson!
I suggest Anesthetize for your next song (it's wild! And so complicated). Dark Matter is great too!
"...they're little things but..they make the track just sound atmospheric, it opens it up, all this background stuff its really amazing"
Yeah you've nailed exactly what makes Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson's extended universe special.
Whenever it approaches a dull moment the aliveness the ambience brings always makes up for it.
Relative pitch, and playing along to songs I've never heard, etc was my party trick in college 😂🤣
Yeah, I'm a "musical illiterate" (I can't read sheet music) but I was lucky enough to have had a jazz-cat for a guitar teacher when I started out, and he imparted on me a knowledge of chord/scale relationship that has helped me immensely ever since.
@@revylokesh1783 I wish I had that
It's kinda funny that the very first interval you've played made me think "Oh! It's Fear Of A Blank Planet!"
Please make entire version of this song with your piano !
Great choice. Love the channel!!
in the period when my father passed away i listened a lot to porcupine tree and now this band reminds me a lot of him. In the beginning it was difficult but now all that is left is missing him. Listen to Time Flies and Anesthetize
As others have stated, Anesthetize was probably their magnum opus, but I would also suggest Radioactive Toy.
This is legit my favourite song of all time
Fun fact: Steven Wilson has worked a lot with Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth. They have a project together called Storm Corrosion.
I'm going to have to suggest again that you listen to something from Epica. My recommendations are Kingdom of Heaven, The Phantom Agony, or Cry for the Moon.
yes, epica would be great
He should react to Ljudit Innan by Storm Corrosion.
The piano towards the end was sooo beautiful!
Id suggest "Fadeaway" by Porcupine Tree.
Its really beautiful and is very interesting in the ambience departement.
The live version of Anesthetize in Tilburg is quintessential, if you want to dive right into the deep end
I think Trains might be the only song I prefer studio over live. Probably partly because the of the banjo part not being playing live and clapping left out.
From porcupine tree I would suggest "Arriving somewhere but not here", "Anesthetize", "The sound of muzak" and "The start of something beautiful". Even if you can't do a react of all them just listen to them, they are great ones!
One of my all time favorites. This is like the "Watchtower" progression, there's a G in there... as we know, a very emotive progression. So, in C it's going from the VIm to the 5, then the IV, then back again. Very atmospheric treatment. And yes, that is a banjo with clapping. Wilson's amazing use of timbre.
PT has several long tracks over ten minutes in length, and it's hard to find faults in any of them. PT material from 2002 onward, in which drummer Gavin Harrison jumps on board, is some of the best in their catalog. To me, the absolute best is "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here". "Anesthetize" is seventeen minutes in length, but is a close second place, and that song is a trip. I've seen Steven Wilson three times in concert, and he played "Arriving Somewhere" in the third show, purely epic. Cheers from Philly!
Porcupine Tree is one of those bands that sucks you into a new dimension from the moment they play the first note
Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize :)
Steven Wilson is a master of atmospherics and stitching different instruments into his soundscapes.
I wouldn’t mind seeing you do an improve over some tracks more often. Was cool what you did there at the end.
This was amazing! really shows how talented you are. More of this
Excellent. Steven Wilson's solist Drive Home is other of my fav!
Porcupine Tree really needs to be listened to with the live versions. They were the rare band that was better live than in the studio.
Like Marillion .
Anesthetize is my personal favorite from them. The live version is very powerful
Did you know, that Steven Wilson produced an Opeth album? I think it was Ghost Revaries. And Mikael Åkerfeldt also produced some Porcupine Tree. Can't recall if it was an album or just the song called She's Moved On (as a bonus track on one of their albums) 😁
If you like this song give these a try:
Time Flies
Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
Anesthetize
Normal
Way Out of Here
Even Less (Full Version from RECORDINGS album)
There's so many good ones TBH!! PT is one of my favorite bands of all time ad I'm so happy you got around to them. Cool stuff.
Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize - Live in Tilburg. Must see. :)
Cool song, Steven Wilson is a genius. Porcupine Tree are amazing live & their live sound is crystal clear. Definitely check out 'Hatesong' live from the Arriving Somewhere... dvd, it's an incredible performance.
Wow i love Porcupine Tree...and know this song well, you just put another layer on to this track, and made it sound massive....👏👏👏
Hoo boy - if you loved Raven you will adore Routine. I'm no expert but it's one of the most interesting compositions I've heard in modern music, and it's sooo beautiful.
Agree, but Routine is really a heavy song, and it's *about something*. It goes beyond compositional analysis. It's a song where you almost have to sit and watch the video and be overwhelmed by the emotional content of it and not sit there and pick apart the compositional structure, or you're missing the entire point. (I grant that compositionally it's outstanding, but I think it needs to be appreciated emotionally first.) Even Steven himself said the most rewarding thing about the song for him was being able to make a song where when he played it live he would see people weeping in the audience. It's powerful stuff, and really that's what elevates music beyond mere composition. ALL music is chord progression and rhythm, so after awhile, honestly who cares if its F and A#, the question is DOES IT MOVE YOU OR NOT? I'd challenge Doug to react to it in those terms.
@@ReplicantSeven I agree. He could do a video similar to the Raven one where he does an analysis after getting to know the song and its meaning first.
On a side note, I heard the song on its own before seeing the video, and it was almost more effective to me as a first listen. Something about having no visual reinforcement of the lyrical content made it hit harder to me - it felt a little more ambiguous and lonely, and you can focus entirely on the music. Now that I know the song, it enables me to fully appreciate the video every time I watch it.
What I'm trying to say is it may be dividing his attention too much to watch the music video first. That's my experience with powerful music videos anyway.
try Anesthetize. the guitar solo has been played by alex lifeson, Rush
Hi Doug, thanks again, loved the piano! Have you tried 'Way out of here' already? Very emotional song!! Cheers
Awesome. Best music reacts on RUclips!! Keep going there good work. Hugs From Portugal 🇵🇹 (Lisbon)
Great reaction Doug !
One of my favorite bands and favorite songs.
Exhaustive list : Arriving Somewhere bit not Here - Start of Something Beautiful - Lazarus - Blackest Eyes - Sound of Muzsak - Piano Lessons, and all his stuff with Blackfield as well :3