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

post #1 of 95
12/12/12 at 8:45am
Thread Starter 
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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post #2 of 95
12/12/12 at 1:27pm
Very much looking forward to this release!
cool.gif
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post #3 of 95
12/13/12 at 7:57pm
It will be a pre-order for me, as soon as it shows up at Burning Shed.
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post #4 of 95
12/20/12 at 7:29pm
Pre-orders are now up at Burning Shed: https://www.burningshed.com/store/stevenwilson/collection/65/
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post #5 of 95
12/23/12 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
Too many choices, and the deluxe version is very pricey. I would have liked to see a 2 CD + BD version priced at about the vinyl offering. As of now I will probably go for the stand-alone BD and seek to rip the audio tracks for iTunes (or download them). Don't see any advantage in pre-ordering at this time; no special deal from BS like the DVD included with the Octane Twisted 2 CDs.
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post #6 of 95
12/23/12 at 11:59pm
And I was looking forward to a DVD-A version with lossless surround. I don't have a BD player and although one can get a player at a decent price nowadays, I would need a display too, which would double the cost and there's no room for another display in my listening room frown.gif
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post #7 of 95
12/24/12 at 2:25am
Thread Starter 
I hear you. But SW appears to have moved on to BD for lossless audio; which is why I upgraded my system to include a BD player along with a DVD-A/SACD player and a receiver that connects to all of them via HDMI. For BD audio disks, however, many default to lossless DTS HD Master Audio automatically on pressing play, and you don't really need a display. In fact, the display can be static and distracting and I often turn it off after making the selection - which sometimes cause the audio to change to lossy DTS or DD 5.1, but that is a whole other story.
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post #8 of 95
12/24/12 at 8:02am
Agreed that BD is the future now. And the sound quality from them via TrueHD or DTS-MA lossless is great.

Any cheap BR player is enough. Just use a good processor/receiver and you're set.
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post #9 of 95
12/24/12 at 10:30am
Yeah, I am still considering buying a BD player. I suppose that the decoding of DTS-MA is done within the player and a multichannel PCM stream is transmitted to the receiver via HDMI (I have a Marantz SR7001 receiver)
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post #10 of 95
2/18/13 at 8:33am
Got my notice from Burning Shed this morning - The Deluxe box set I preordered has posted and is on the way.
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post #11 of 95
2/18/13 at 3:25pm
I've just been getting into Porcupine Tree lately, (yeah, what took me so long .eek.gif) and haven't even begun looking at his later work. You guys have any preferences on his albums? Does anything stand out or are they all good? For that matter, which PT albums do you prefer.? So far, I'm loving everything I hear, but there's a lot to get through.

Any advice?
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post #12 of 95
2/18/13 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ti-triodes View Post

I've just been getting into Porcupine Tree lately, (yeah, what took me so long .eek.gif) and haven't even begun looking at his later work. You guys have any preferences on his albums? Does anything stand out or are they all good? For that matter, which PT albums do you prefer.? So far, I'm loving everything I hear, but there's a lot to get through.

Any advice?

I would suggest you start with Deadwing and In Absentia for Porcupine Tree. For his solo work you can't go wrong with either releases although I prefer Insurgentes.
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post #13 of 95
2/20/13 at 3:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gillcup View Post

I would suggest you start with Deadwing and In Absentia for Porcupine Tree. For his solo work you can't go wrong with either releases although I prefer Insurgentes.


Thanks for the tips. I see the DVD-A's for Deadwing and In Absentia are commanding insane prices. eek.gif
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post #14 of 95
2/20/13 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ti-triodes View Post

Thanks for the tips. I see the DVD-A's for Deadwing and In Absentia are commanding insane prices. eek.gif

Unfortunately, they are currently out of print. I was fortunate to have purchased them when they first came out. The surround mixes are outstanding. Hopefully, they will come back in print at some point and prices will come down.
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post #15 of 95
2/21/13 at 11:05am
Here are a few PT discs I found on eBay, a few of them new under $20 (Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream). If you scroll down you'll see Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident new for $33, which is fairly reasonable.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Music-/11233/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=porcupine+tree+dvd&_sop=15
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post #16 of 95
2/21/13 at 12:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ti-triodes View Post

Thanks for the tips. I see the DVD-A's for Deadwing and In Absentia are commanding insane prices. eek.gif

I'm not sure but I thought I read that SW might be doing all of the PT DVD-A titles on Bluray audio. I'll look to see if I can find a link that discusses that subject.

Bill
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post #17 of 95
2/22/13 at 12:16pm
The Kscope newsletter I received says that The Raven will be offered as a FLAC download through Burning Shed starting at midnight tonight.

Regarding the PT DVD-As, I have them all, and I have a hard time deciding my favorites, I really like every one of them, and the surround mixes on each of them are outstanding. Stupid Dream was one of the very first DVD-As I bought, and really started me on the path of becoming not only a huge fan of PT and SW, but surround music in general. I then began buying as many DVD-As and SACDs as I could over the next several years while they were still generally available.

It would be great if they are re-released on Blu-ray, it would give more people a chance to experience these excellent surround mixes. Hopefully, we'll see other OOP DVD-As and SACDs re-released on Blu-ray some day.
Edited by scolumbo - 2/22/13 at 1:25pm
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post #18 of 95
2/24/13 at 3:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by holt7153 View Post

Here are a few PT discs I found on eBay, a few of them new under $20 (Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream). If you scroll down you'll see Fear of a Blank Planet and The Incident new for $33, which is fairly reasonable.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Music-/11233/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=porcupine+tree+dvd&_sop=15



Thanks. I picked up Fear Of A Blank Planet in 5.1 which has superb AQ. Great to see Lightbulb Sun and Stupid Dream are both real cheap so I'll grab them ASAP. My library has Deadwing and In Absentia CD's so I can borrow them and give a cheap listen.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Mac View Post

I'm not sure but I thought I read that SW might be doing all of the PT DVD-A titles on Bluray audio. I'll look to see if I can find a link that discusses that subject.

Bill


I've been doing a lot of reading around the different forums and you're right about SW going BD. He isn't going to be doing any more DVD-A's from what I read. It makes sense, a lot more people have BD players than DVD-A. I also saw he will be doing Deadwing and In Absentia in BD so that's great news. Unfortunately I can't find the link again but it didn't mention any other album.
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post #19 of 95
2/24/13 at 9:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ti-triodes View Post

... I also saw he will be doing Deadwing and In Absentia in BD so that's great news.

Please let this be true! Any idea when we might see these?
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post #20 of 95
2/25/13 at 5:51am
24/96 FLAC download of "the raven...."

https://www.burningshed.com/store/stevenwilson/product/65/4599/
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post #21 of 95
2/25/13 at 6:50am
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.
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post #22 of 95
2/25/13 at 8:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfreedma View Post

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.

Yikes! That is disappointing to hear. I've ordered just the BR disc myself and am looking forward to listening to it. Besides, the deluxe package included a DVD-V and not a DVD-A, I believe.
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post #23 of 95
2/25/13 at 8:23am
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Originally Posted by Nil View Post

Yikes! That is disappointing to hear. I've ordered just the BR disc myself and am looking forward to listening to it. Besides, the deluxe package included a DVD-V and not a DVD-A, I believe.

Correct - it's a DVD-V. Hadn't noticed that.

Hopefully I just received a damaged disc and Burning Shed will replace it quickly. Seems to happen more frequently in these types of sets where the discs are mounted into front and back covers. Please post back when you receive your BR.

As always, the recording/engineering/production from SW is fantastic. IMHO, Both the surround and two channel mixes are demo quality material.
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post #24 of 95
2/25/13 at 1:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bfreedma View Post

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.

I had no problems with the BR disc in my set. I was able to play it on my Oppo 83, and was able to access all the content on the disc. Hopefully it is just a bad disc you received....I'm sure Burning Shed will take care of it for you.
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post #25 of 95
2/25/13 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dislocatedday View Post

I had no problems with the BR disc in my set. I was able to play it on my Oppo 83, and was able to access all the content on the disc. Hopefully it is just a bad disc you received....I'm sure Burning Shed will take care of it for you.

Glad to hear it's working for you and thanks for confirming that there isn't an issue with all of the Blu Rays. I'm sure they will replace my disc - sent them an email yesterday, so need to give them a little time to respond.
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post #26 of 95
2/26/13 at 1:05pm
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.
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post #27 of 95
2/26/13 at 3:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HomerJau View Post

Please let this be true! Any idea when we might see these?



Sorry. There was no date given. Considering how busy SW is these days, it might be a long wait. wink.gif
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post #28 of 95
2/27/13 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by thehun View Post

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.
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post #29 of 95
3/1/13 at 7:16am
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.
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post #30 of 95
3/1/13 at 7:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scolumbo View Post

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.
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