June 12, 2001 - Recordings

A week after my last release and a year since "Lightbulb Sun", Porcupine Tree released a compilation album titled "Recordings" on June 12, 2001. Most of this album is B-sides from both the "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun" sessions but there are a few songs that were recorded new for this album. Let's check out some old/new Porcupine Tree!

The album kicks off with one of the new songs, the 10 and a half minute "Buying New Soul". It's got a space-y and cool opening with some light keyboards by Richard Barbieri and we hear some cello or something like it that sounds really dark and cool. Steven Wilson eventually comes in with some light guitar, Colin Edwin plays some cool slow bass and Chris Maitland adds a light drum beat. Wilson sings a slow verse that matches the mood nicely and the slightly louder chorus sounds pretty good as well with Wilson singing nicely. Barbieri comes in and out with some cool piano and things are slow, but very smooth and solid. Maitland steps things up eventually with some nice louder drums and then the song seems to fade away... only for some more trippy, space-y music to continue and they hit reset and do it all again! Wilson delivers a really epic guitar solo that sounds great and then the song seems like it might end once again, but the space-y music perseveres, all the way until the end of the song. A very interesting opener! Up next is another new song called "Access Denied" and Barbieri plays a catchy piano riff to keep the pace and Wilson sings a catchy verse overtop. Maitland adds a catchy drum beat, Edwin provides some cool bass and this is a pop-y but cool main riff. Things drop off into a nice psychedelic part with some trippy keyboards and Wilson even plays some hammered dulcimer that sounds interesting indeed! A soft acoustic riff comes out of nowhere, then this somehow turns back into the pop-y main riff! They do it all over again and it's a great mix of different riffs that combines for a pretty cool song! Track 3 is a B-side off their last album and it's titled "Cure For Optimism". It has a very quiet opening with Barbieri playing some music box keyboards that sound pretty trippy. After almost two minutes Wilson comes in with some acoustic guitar and Barbieri switches to some epic piano as Wilson sings an epic verse to complete this epic and cool new riff. This pretty much sums up the rest of the song, but it was certainly still good even though it was just the two of them. The next two songs are also "Lightbulb Sun" b-sides, starting with "Untitled". It's very slow and space-y and has some more cello-esque stuff by Edwin that sounds pretty epic dark mixed with all the space-y keyboards by Barbieri. Maitland eventually comes in with a light drum beat and Wilson adds some space-y guitar to complete this very psychedelic riff. This whole near nine minute track is instrumental and the longer it goes on, the more trippy and cool Wilson's guitar gets. They return to the quiet opening part to end things as they began, but the whole middle section with the trippy guitar was cool. Track 5 is "Disappear" and Wilson leads the way with a pretty cool light guitar riff and he sings a smooth and solid verse overtop. Maitland adds a catchy drum beat, Edwin provides some cool bass and things sound very smooth and almost like a single; I'm shocked this one didn't make the original cut! It sounds pretty good to me! A pretty picturesque P-Tree single if you ask me! Up next is our first "Stupid Dream" b-side, "Ambulance Chasing", and Maitland plays some loud, epic drums to keep the pace while Barbieri plays some trippy keyboards, including some Hammond organ. They shift into a catchy new riff very smoothly as Wilson plays some space-y guitar and Edwin plays some pretty cool bass. Barbieri takes the lead with some super trippy and cool keyboards that are Pink Floyd-esque and things sound pretty sweet! Then it's Wilson's turn to take the lead and he plays some really epic and pretty sweet guitar. They quiet things down for a trippy finish and this was definitely a great song! Track 7 is the final "Lightbulb Sun" b-side, titled "In Formaldehyde", and Wilson leads the way with a smooth guitar riff and some nice vocals overtop. Barbieri adds some trippy keyboards and Edein's bass sounds good as well in this space-y and cool main riff. I can see why this was left off the album, as they don't stray far from the space-y main drag, but I still like it and Wilson delivers a slow and epic guitar solo that fits the mood perfectly. The next track is "Even Less (Full Version)" and as the name suggests it's a longer version of the same song that's off "Stupid Dream". The first seven minutes or so are the same as the "Stupid Dream" version, but things don't end there this time! Out of the fading song emerges some quiet noises that take us to an entirely new section and Maitland plays some pretty cool drums while Barbieri continues to add trippy and psychedelic keyboards. Edwin adds a catchy bass riff and then Wilson completes things by syncing up with him with the same loud riff on guitar. Wilson then goes off on a distorted guitar solo that sounds pretty epic and sweet! They segue smoothly somehow from here back to the main riff and this full version is even better than the cool original I would argue! There's some nice flute at the end of the song as well as they calmly being things to a finish. The final song on the album is a new one called "Oceans Have No Memory" and it's an instrumental to close out the album! Wilson plays some cool light guitar and Barbieri plays some nice complimentary piano in this quiet but very smooth main riff. It's a slow space-y way to finish things off and you can see why this one only made the compilation album; it's solid but nothing too crazy.

That is the end of "Recordings" and I thought it was a pretty cool compilation album! Even Porcupine Tree's b-sides are still cool and there were some songs that were definitely a-side worthy as well! It's hard to rank this album next to their studio albums, but for a compilation album it's certainly a good one! I look forward to P-Tree's next new studio album!