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Being
a fan of Steve Wilson is a very expensive hobby. Just take a look at
http://www.voyage-pt.de/swdisco.html and you see what I mean. Even
the back catalogue of No-man, with all the singles and rarities, has
become impressive.
This
is stuff to listen to, while you’re in your lazy chair, late at night.
With its ambient, experimental soundscapes, it’s ideal music to relax
and dream away with. It’s not a sequel to “Returning Jesus”. The
instrumentation is gentler and even more laid back. For this album,
Steven and Tim have gathered some different musicians around them than
usual. You can compare it with “Carolina Skeletons” from “Returning
Jesus” or even further back in time with “Loveblows and Lovecries – A
Confession” and some early Porcupine Tree. I’m not claiming that they
are repeating themselves, but it’s more about the atmosphere, which
brings you in a trance
The
first four tracks are linked, to form a twenty eight minute piece of
quiet music, with the outstanding voice of Tim Bowness, which has a
David Sylvian sound and feeling. The first track is like a long intro to
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” to slowly grow and change into track two
“All The Blue Changes” in which some percussion joins in. This second
track has a “Flowermouth” atmosphere. It’s a beautiful ballad with lots
of piano, dulcimer and organ. “The City In A Hundred Ways” is a short
ambient, instrumental track.
I
especially like the moments that Steven sings along, to form a perfect
unity with Tim’s voice. The lyrics are a very important part of No-man.
This segue of the first four tracks could have been the soundtrack for a
movie about an important loss in life.
The
last three are more acoustically-oriented. “Photographs In Black And
White” is in my opinion by far the best track of this album. In the
first half, Tim’s vocals are accompanied by Steven on acoustic guitar,
the second part is mainly instrumental and is a marvellous piece of
music with the clarinet of Ben Castle together with Steven’s acoustic
guitar and some keyboards. The next song, “Back When You Were Beautiful”
is a bit more early Porcupine Tree stuff, but once again it’s a ballad
that makes you shiver more and more each time you hear it. “The Break Up
For Real” is a short but very enjoyable track to finish this wonderful
acoustic trilogy.
This
is certainly one of the best or even the best album from No-Man,
although I have to admit, I don’t know every song they made. But it
takes a while to start to appreciate it. At first I preferred “Returning
Jesus”, as I thought there were more real songs on it. But now I’ve
heard “Together We’re Stranger” several times the latter is slowly
taking the upper hand.
If
you like the quieter side of Steven Wilson and you like to start with
No-Man, this is the perfect CD to buy.
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