Steven Wilson The Raven That Refused To Sing

Over the past decade, Steven Wilson's (Porcupine Tree) relationship with prog rock has grown increasingly intimate. He previewed a killer new band on the live album Get All You Deserve - woodwind/multi-instrumentalist Theo Travis, keyboardist Adam Holzman, session bass and stick player Nick Beggs, drummer Marco Minnemann, and guitarist Guthrie Govan - put a diverse, sophisticated face on Wilson's 21st century brand of the genre. The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories is their first studio outing. Wilson was also able to coax Alan Parsons out of semi-retirement to co-produce and engineer the effort, and he fully committed: the album's crystalline, detailed sound and spacious ambience reflect some of his best work behind the boards…

The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) is the third solo album by British musician Steven Wilson, released by Kscope Music Records on 25 February 2013. Each track on the album is based on a story of the supernatural. Alan Parsons, who had previously been involved in the creation of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon was responsible for engineering the album.

Over the years, trying to determine what is true "prog rock" and what is not has become an increasingly tricky proposition. In the early '70s, it was easy - any band that performed "suites" that extended across entire album sides and dressed in capes and/or cloaks was a dead giveaway. However, when the early '80s rolled around, most former prog rockers trimmed out the fat from their compositions (and exchanged their medieval wear and kimonos for what looked like sports coats). Ever since, there have been bands that have aligned themselves to either of the aforementioned prog rock approaches. But along came Porcupine Tree, who somehow have found a way to incorporate both into their 2009 effort, The Incident. Set up similarly to Rush's 1978 classic, Hemispheres, The Incident is comprised of a single long song - the title track - that features many different movements…

"Drive Home" is one of the notable cuts on Steven Wilson's (Porcupine Tree) brilliant The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories, an album that redefined prog for the 21st century. The song's gorgeous meld of Pink Floyd's nocturnal atmospherics, the Moody Blues' melodic majesty, sprawling guitar solos, and Alan Parsons' crystalline production made it a standout track. This audio collection uses the single edit as its title track and leadoff. The set also includes an orchestral version of "The Raven That Refused to Sing" and the song "The Birthday Party" (which was previously only featured on the deluxe book edition of the Raven album). "The Holy Drinker," "Insurgentes," "The Watchmaker," and a live "The Raven That Refused To Sing" are all killer readings taken from a concert in Frankfurt.

At the end of March 2018, Steven Wilson played a sell-out three night residency at one of the world’s most iconic venues: London’s Royal Albert Hall. The three Albert Hall shows saw Steven and his virtuoso band present the songs from To The Bone and many more from a deep dive into his extensive back catalogue as part of visually and sonically immersive experience. There, brain-twisting visuals met expansive 4D sound, making this most traditional of English venues feel like it was hosting a very different kind of Prom – more communion than concert. It wasn’t surprising that the Sun described the gig as “one of the best shows of the year – and it’s only March”.

Steven Wilson fans have been primed for The Future Bites since he released To the Bone in 2017. That record, and the preceding 4½ EP, were deliberately "pop" responses to his three-album dalliance with prog – Raven That Refused to Sing, Hand. Cannot. Erase, and Grace for Drowning. In contrast to the above, The Future Bites is a slick exercise in Wilson's oft-articulated love of synth pop and electronic music. It's a loose concept set about the treachery that rampant consumerism foists upon the world, and the danger a technological society imposes on personal identity…