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| Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip |
 Released: 1992/1993/2000 Label: Delerium Cat. No.: Delec CD 074 Total Time: 62:14 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, June 2000 Well, I'm not quite sure what to make of Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip. I can tell you that the music is trippy and heavily Pink Floyd influenced…Pink Floyd crossed with Future Sound Of London might be a better description. I don't use the word trippy lightly, either. The album, which is a collection of two E.Ps that were released in 1992 and 1993, is the musical equivalent of an LSD trip - or at least it purports to be. Having never tried LSD myself, I'll just take their word for it. On the one hand, the music without the talkative bits would be an interesting musical journey. With the narration and testimonials, it becomes much weirder, and suggests a subtext, a message. Okay, more than suggests I suppose, and I suspect the message isn't meant to be an anti-drug message, but more a let-people-be-free-to-experiment message. I've been told that the talkative bits are from an anti-drug film, selectively chosen for the release "to make their own disquieting points," as it says in the booklet. But setting the message aside, lets just look at the music. When I say Pink Floyd, what do I mean? Anyone who is already familiar with Porcupine Tree has some idea, but for those that don't, here's what I hear. Extended, soaring guitar leads a la David Gilmour with spacey arrangements. The music is open and freeflowing, carrying you along from the first musical note to the last and then some. My first couple of listens I was so relaxed and absorbed, I drifted off into a half doze - aware of the music, but also becoming part of the music - creative thoughts flowed. As the music undulated, so did the images my subconscious generated. To reach the end of the disk and feel that you've been somehow transported, that you've been on a journey, can be (and was) a liberating experience. Now, verbal parts seeped into there, too, shaping my thoughts. What the voyage of the title refers to is an extended LSD trip of the "protagonist" Brian, his 34th. Of course, more recently, Porcupine Tree aren't as Floyd-like (though I've yet to hear their most recent, Lightbulb Sun). This edition of Porcupine Tree is essentially Steve Wilson, though Richard Barbieri provides synths to "Phase IV." More about Voyage 34: Track Listing: Phase I (12:54) / Phase II (17:24) / Phase III (19:24) / Phase IV (13:42) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.porcupinetree.com or www.snappermusic.com/porcupinetree/ Discography
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