The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)

I’m picky when it comes to music, but this album stands out where no other has. This album has amazing lyrics, outstanding instrumentals, and dark, thought provoking stories. Six chilling songs, each with it’s own tale, are masterpieces that stand independently from each other but when listening to the entire album, flow smoothly and gracefully. I recommend listening to this album when alone at home or long drives (especially at night). These are my thoughts on each song The Raven that Refused to Sing A heartbreaking story about a man that lost his sister at a young age. The strong but somber instrumentals combined with Wilson’s tone and lyrics make the title track a work of art. The Pin Drop With an abundance of lyrics in a somewhat short time span still gives this song all that it needs to fit the theme of this album. Luminol A breathtaking song about a street performer that performs every day but gets no recognition who dies, but his ghost continues his routine as if he didn’t exist to begin with. With intense instrumentals and deep lyrics, this song stands out as my second favorite song in the entire album. The Holy Drinker While similar to Luminol, this song stands out in its own way and should not be overlooked for any reason Drive Home My favorite song. Not just of this album, but my favorite song. Period. Thrilling, paced, heartbreaking, perfect in every way. The Watchmaker A chilling song about a watchmaker that married a woman for convenience rather than love and kills her after 50 years, only for her to return from the dead and take the man with her. A truly unique song.

Steven Wilson is one of the most interesting proggressive rock and avant garde artists around today, and this is perhaps his best work so far. The entire album is made up of live recordings which were engineered to perfection by Alan Parsons, who is renowned for his work on Dark Side of the Moon and various Beatles albums. The album is filled with dazzling performances from all musicians involved. Theo Travis provides some excellent solos with woodwind instruments on the mostly instrumental prog fusion opener. Drive Home is reminiscent of the beautiful harmonic and lyrical expression of the early Genesis records. Guthrie Govan really shines on this piece with a creative and very lyrical guitar solo that really showcases his sonic genuis. The Holy Drinker is an excursion into heavier prog that features some noteworthy keyboard playing from former Miles Davis sideman Adam Holzman and affords plenty of opportunity for drummer Marco Minnemann to shine. The wilder guitar and wind instrument soloing sections are well balanced by the more ambient, atmospheric interludes. The flute solo on the Watchmaker accompanied by the acoustic guitar and piano is simply delightful, as are the vocal harmonies towards the end of the song. The album shifts to a very somber mood for the title track that concludes the album, with the content of the lyrics expressing a man's grief over the death of his sister. Steven Wilson's vocals really convey the emotion well and the instrumental performances are quite powerful. This is a very dark, but never depressing album, with interesting story telling and brilliant arrangements that make for an eminently enjoyable album.