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Steven Wilson band - The raven that refused to sing (and other stories)

13K views 171 replies 36 participants last post by  marcuslaw 
#1 ·
The prolific Mr. Wilson has a new album in the making with his solo work band. Does he ever sleep? The first track is twelve minutes long and there are others nearly as long. Hope that it continues in the KC-influenced vein that was the brilliant GAYD. Interesting that he got Alan Parsons to engineer this. Is he trying to incorporate DSOTM effects into it? He is the most interesting rock musician around today!


"The new album by Steven Wilson and band “The Raven that Refused to Sing (and other stories)” will be released on Kscope on 25th February.  The album was written between January-July and recorded in Los Angeles in September with Steven’s current band line up of Guthrie Govan – lead guitar, Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Marco Minnemann – drums, Adam Holzman – keyboards, Theo Travis – saxophone / flute and engineered by legendary producer/engineer Alan Parsons.


The 6 tracks on the album are based on stories of the supernatural and the deluxe 4 disc edition comes in the form of a 128 page hardback book containing lyrics and ghost stories, illustrated by Hajo Mueller. There will also be stand alone double vinyl, CD and Blu-Ray editions.  Pre-orders for the limited deluxe edition will start soon, while the tour to promote the album starts on 1st March in Europe, and will continue throughout the rest of the year visiting many other countries, with many dates yet to be announced.


Track listing:

1.  Luminol (12.10)

2.  Drive Home (7.37)

3.  The Holy Drinker (10.13)

4.  The Pin Drop (5.03)

5.  The Watchmaker (11.43)

6.  The Raven that Refused to Sing (7.57)"
 
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#28 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehun  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/0_50#post_23014356


Just got mine from Amazon, single BR edition, plays just fine, but it does default to the stereo track instead of the MCH. I had to turn on my tv to select the MCH track. This is something was not the case with Grace for drowning. Not a big deal but it's annoying.

I got my first listen to the Blu-ray today. I also thought it odd that it defaults to the stereo layer.


Just like Grace for Drowning, I'm sure this will take a few listens to appreciate it. Seems quite a bit different than his previous two solo releases.
 
#29 ·
I've had several listens to the Raven That Refused to Sing Blu-ray start to finish and I must say I am very pleased with it. I do like most of SW's work (solo, PT, etc.) so I may have a bias (but definitely had high expectations, especially after Grace For Drowning and Get All You Deserve)....


As expected the sound quality is excellent and the surround mix is also very good - Steven Wilson simply gets it. The band he's assembled, and with Parsons in on the project, the sound is very detailed, very dynamic and they were definitely able to capture that 70's sound where desired. It has something for every prog-rock fan including some nice flute, vintage keyboard sounds, old school guitar sounds - it covers the gamut. And you can definitely hear and feel the jazz influence throughout.


The first track Luminol is a 12-minute musical journey - wow! It will test the dynamics of your system. And it continues with strong efforts throughout the album - The Holy Drinker and The Watchmaker are also 10+ minute efforts.


This is definitely reference quality and something that many will want to listen to - not just because you want to show off your system or listen to something that sounds good - but because it's good music that draws you in.


For me personally, this is one that will be in heavy rotation for a long time. YMMV


...this was also posted in the Recent Hi-Rez purchases thread.
 
#30 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by scolumbo  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories#post_23019151


I got my first listen to the Blu-ray today. I also thought it odd that it defaults to the stereo layer.


Just like Grace for Drowning, I'm sure this will take a few listens to appreciate it. Seems quite a bit different than his previous two solo releases.

I agree, it is different from his previous solo releases. I think it's just an extension/expansion of what his latest band created while touring (Get All You Deserve concert Blu-ray). I think why I like it so much is that it is somewhat of a 70's throwback soundwise in certain respects and has a definite jazz influence - music I really enjoy.
 
#31 ·
I played some clips from each song on the Raven and I liked what I heard. I'll be ordering it in the near future for sure
.


Bill
 
#32 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bfreedma  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories#post_23008203


Just received my Deluxe set from Burning Shed Saturday. Really nice package.


Unfortunately, the BR is unreadable, generating an "Unknown Disc" error on my OPPO 93 and not accessible on my other BR devices. Not a huge crisis, as the DVD-A has the content I want in the short term. I've sent email to Burning Shed requesting a replacement.


Anyone else with the Deluxe set (or individual BR) having problems? Or did I just get unlucky with a bad disc? Not on a witch hunt, just interested.

First time I've quoted myself...


Burning Shed is replacing the disc. Good customer support and problem resolution.
 
#33 ·
Listened again for the second and third time. Wow, the first track (Luminol) has a little bit of everything. The Watchmaker is really good and might be my favorite track so far along with Luminol. This will definitely get a lot of play over the next few weeks. I agree with others, the SQ is outstanding.


I'm wondering why both 5.1 24/96 PCM and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio is included on the Blu-ray disc. I haven't listened enough to both, but I assume there is no noticeable SQ difference. Aren't virtually all Blu-ray players capable of decoding DTS-HD MA these days?
 
#34 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by scolumbo  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23031573


Listened again for the second and third time. Wow, the first track (Luminol) has a little bit of everything. The Watchmaker is really good and might be my favorite track so far along with Luminol. This will definitely get a lot of play over the next few weeks. I agree with others, the SQ is outstanding.


I'm wondering why both 5.1 24/96 PCM and 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio is included on the Blu-ray disc. I haven't listened enough to both, but I assume there is no noticeable SQ difference. Aren't virtually all Blu-ray players capable of decoding DTS-HD MA these days?
Yes but DTS MA or otherwise , was never part of the required specs. PCM is part of it but there was no requirement to be MCH.
 
#35 ·
After three listens to my BluRay copy, this is indeed a masterpiece.


Audio quality is excellent, and surround mix beyond reproach.


I do find that the DTS-MA track is best, as having the processor decode it results in less jitter, as all audio processing is slaved to the same clock in that scenario.


I like the additional Jazz influence in these compositions. Clearly all the King Crimson mixing had some effect on him.


Steve deserves a Grammy for this album.
 
#37 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by thehun  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23032386


Yes but DTS MA or otherwise , was never part of the required specs. PCM is part of it but there was no requirement to be MCH.

This arrived last weekend and I'm really enjoying it. Interesting thing (if i'm reading it correctly) is that the LPCM is showing an average bitrate of 20 Mbps on my Oppo BDP-103 with the DTS-HD Master showing a bitrate of roughly 13 Mpbs. Can't really discern a difference as both are great, but (if I'm understanding this), would by default the LPCM track be possibly "better" if averaging 20 Mbps ? Just curious..... Can't go wrong either way - awesome recording !!
 
#38 ·
Lossless uses variable bitrates, taking whatever bandwidth that is needed at any given moment. The bitrate should be lower than PCM as data compression is the whole point of such codecs. When decompressed by the receiver, the dts-MA version will be identical to the original PCM.
 
#39 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BIslander  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/0_60#post_23037491


Lossless uses variable bitrates, taking whatever bandwidth that is needed at any given moment. The bitrate should be lower than PCM as data compression is the whole point of such codecs. When decompressed by the receiver, the dts-MA version will be identical to the original PCM.

....just like the way a Zip file (DTS-MA) is smaller ("less bitrate") than the original file (LPCM) but is identical after decompression (decoding).
 
#40 ·
I received my Deluxe edition late last week, listened to the CD first, in the car (went out that night right after getting home), and had a nice isolated listening session for the BD 5.1 mix the next day (or was it the day after?). As others have mentioned, the surround mix is stellar, as always seems to be from Mr. Wilson, and the music itself is quite awesome.


One thing that may be different compared to previous SW solo efforts is that he wrote material that was more difficult to play, stuff that he himself could not pull off in real time, but was within the talents of the band. I've seen it written elsewhere that this borrows from the Frank Zappa method of writing: he has complete artistic control, but doesn't limit himself to his own physical technique, using other, "better", musicians as extensions of his own abilities.


Looking forward to seeing them on tour shortly.


shinksma
 
#41 ·
Bought this as well. Having only been recently acquainted with Steve Wilson and Porcupine Tree, I haven't heard a lot of what he/they have to offer, but for me this is an excellent album. Refreshing to know that some people do care about what they're recording in this day and age.
 
#44 ·
I just finished listening to the Raven BR as it arrived yesterday. I enjoyed the music very much and the SQ of the 5.1 DTS-MA layer. I especially enjoyed the title track. I think I'll need to listen it a few more times to really get into it. I found the same with Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream which are my favorite PT DVD-As.


Bill
 
#45 ·
I also picked this Blu-ray Audio disc up. I really enjoyed it. Played perfectly on my PS3 (fat version) in both PCM and DTS-MA. The SQ is amazing. This will get a lot of listens. BTW -- Amazon has a nice price on the BR.


My only gripe (and I am probably just being paranoid) is that I wish the images were more dynamic. I have a new Plasma display 65" Panny ST50, and I don't want to risk any burn-in or IR with static images. I know this is an audio-only disk -- but there are images on the screen during play (and since the PS3 does not have a built in display - I need to leave the display on). The images are actually artsy and follow along with the stories in the music. But again -- I just wish they were less static, or you could switch to a screen-saver image.
 
#46 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skrill  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23081245


My only gripe (and I am probably just being paranoid) is that I wish the images were more dynamic. I have a new Plasma display 65" Panny ST50, and I don't want to risk any burn-in or IR with static images. I know this is an audio-only disk -- but there are images on the screen during play (and since the PS3 does not have a built in display - I need to leave the display on). The images are actually artsy and follow along with the stories in the music. But again -- I just wish they were less static, or you could switch to a screen-saver image.

Can you turn off the 65ST50 and still get audio from the PS3? Are you running audio and video through an AVR? If so are there any settings such as "Pure Audio" that you could use so there is no video output from the AVR? I have an Oppo 103 and it has a "Pure Audio" setting that disables all video and leaves a blank screen on my 60GT50.


Bill
 
#47 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac  /t/1444894/steven-wilson-band-the-raven-that-refused-to-sing-and-other-stories/30#post_23081481


Can you turn off the 65ST50 and still get audio from the PS3? Are you running audio and video through an AVR? If so are there any settings such as "Pure Audio" that you could use so there is no video output from the AVR? I have an Oppo 103 and it has a "Pure Audio" setting that disables all video and leaves a blank screen on my 60GT50.


Bill

Bill -- I can do that -- and eventually did do that. But the problem is that because the PS3 has no built in display, I get no track number, time, confirmation of remote command, etc., information.


My setup is actually PS3 (and all other sources) --> DVDO Edge --> Video to ST50 and Audio only to Denon AVR. And it works great. For SACD's and streaming audio sources - I just use the PS3's built in screen saver option for the display (I like the hi-res earth images option). I can still get the info I need -- and have no risk of burn-in. But because the PS3 sees this disk as a BR disk - it wants to output video as well as audio.


Like I said -- I am probably just being paranoid. And it is a minor gripe.
 
#48 ·

So I read a review in sound and vision mag and thought I'd try it out, since they raved about the 5.1 mix.

 

I was floored. This album is amazing, and my first experience with Steven Wilson. My favorite track is 'drive home'.. been stuck in my head for a week now. The surround mix is amazing, as expected given the reviews. 

 

In the last few weeks I've become a SW junkie.. got tickets to his upcoming show, and bought his 2 other solo albums. Both are also good but I think raven is a cut above.. you can definitely follow his artistic progression listening to these 3 albums in order.

 

raven is a masterpiece, get it!
 
#49 ·
This has been my first SW buy and I was blown away. Awesome music all the way through, great musicianship and excellent SQ. I have no BR playback capability so I bought the cd/dvd set and even the dts 96/24 encoded tracks sound great. I have been buying his prog rock 5.1 mixes (JT, KC, ELP) and I thought I should try out his own stuff as well. The Raven is the album of the year for me so far.
 
#50 ·
I have to echo all the kudos here regarding the songwriting and the 5.1 mix/AQ. This is what a modern rock record in 5.1 should sound like, IMHO. Reference material.
 
#51 ·
I just listened to The Raven Bluray for the second time straight through. I guess I'm in the minority here as I'm not really blown away by the music or the overall SQ of 5.1 mix. I'm going to give it a few more spins to see if it grows on me. I much prefer the music and the SQ of PT's Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream when compared to The Raven.


Bill
 
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