Steven Wilson "Grace For Drowning" (18-track Deluxe Version)

This must be European-only because all I can find domestically is a 14-track deluxe edition.  I've done it again, haven't I?  No matter, buy whatever version you can my friends because this is THE NEW STANDARD FOR PROGRESSIVE ROCK!  I could tell that my normal listening environment (automobile) wasn't doing this justice, knowing this is nominated for a Grammy in the Surround Sound category (you laugh, KG, but you'll understand if you follow my advice).  This meant that I had to get Mrs. Rocker out of the house for more than two hours.  She had an overnight visit with friends scheduled and I anxiously awaited the day.  That evening, I properly prepared my ears with a mood enhancer and a rather large glass of TN whiskey, closed the windows and blinds so not to disturb the neighbors, planted myself in the middle of my system, elevated the volume knob and hit "play."  Since I wasn't driving and listening, I hand-wrote notes instead of dictating them.  The following is a verbatim copy of said notations:

track 1)  2 minutes of Beach Boys?

track 2)  Pink Floyd--King Crimson--this is Metal/Jazz/Grunge!--now it's Classical--wow, you really are "in" this record--there are enough vocal hooks to hold you thru the extended musical passages--party favours and LOUD!

(by the way, that was all within a seven-plus minute song)

track 3)  this could be a long Yes tune--deserving of the Grammy nom

track 4)  Art Of Noise--Propaganda--Alan Parsons--Frank Zappa--Led Zeppelin--great production

track 5)  HIT!--rock ballad--could be the Beatles or Klaatu--if you really must, Coldplay
if this album had come out in the 70's, it would be considered a classic today, like The Wall or Tales of Topographic Oceans

I would encourage the occasional smoker to DO SO!

track 7)  Phish--improvisational/avant-garde jazz--Zappa--Crimson--Fripp--Belew--Ozric Tentacles

track 8)  Parsons--Genesis?

track 9)  first one to sound like Porcupine Tree--this would f*#k with classic radio like the Sherinian record--Bodie Palmer, this is for you!



track 10)  somehow still sounds "warm"--this goes from The Wall to some classical/metal hybrid all in 4 minutes

Remember those college days when you were so stoned you were paralyzed?  This record would have been a perfect soundtrack...

track 11)  minor key classical--ah, now we go back to previous passages, yet different--Jethro Tull was never this heavy, nor was Steve Winwood/Traffic--Zappa again

Man, if you ever need a reason to catch a buzz, this is it...

Herbie Hancock--Rick Wakeman--Manfred Mann--whew, finally get to sit down for a minute--now it's the Cure--big finish @ 20 minute mark--but NO, there's three more minutes of this "Dazed & Confused" thing to close--oh, my...

track 12)  this could be a P Tree or Phish slow tune--now it's some sort of David Arkenstone New Age sound

track 14)  more Porcupine Tree

track 15) the Surround in this is incredible--is this what they call Math Rock?--I call it production genius...

track 16)  Jazz/Rock fusion--Tommy Bolin--Zappa--King Crimson--this a pure 6-minute workout!

(btw, Wilson recently completed Surround 5.1 remasters of some of KC's legendary records, hence the influence)

track 17)  "Space, the Final Frontier"

track 18)  demo version of  #11 23-minute opus--this one is more evil sounding--The The--Floyd--Yes--spacey Narada New Age--lazier, less urgent--you'd think listening to two versions of the same 20+ minute song would get old...nope

I am serious...this record is an EVENT, a CLASSIC!