Review: Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing And Other Stories (2013)

Artist: Steven Wilson
Album: The Raven That Refused To Sing And Other Stories
Year: 2013
Label: Kscope

Review: Diego Camargo

Rate:

Thoughts: With The Raven That Refused To Sing And Other Stories (2013) I decided to finish my hate affair with this musician. I don't like Steven Wilson's music, period. I tried far too much with many Porcupine Tree albums and now in his solo carrer. And that will not change with The Raven That Refused To Sing And Other Stories (2013), his new album.

What everyone else seems to praise in his music I find annoying, derivative, boring and very, very average. And I'm still trying to understand why he's considered a great mind in the ‘New Days Of Progressive Rock’. And if he is, we're definitely screwed.

To begin with, I find his voice annoying and his composing dull most of the time and all seem to be too derivative. Everything was done before... and better.

I must admit that Nick Beggs, the bass player (and mind behind the band Lifesigns), is someone to pay attention to, especially on the first part of 'Luminol', the opening track. But soon his playing is buried under Wilson's music. There's a bunch of nice flutes here and there, but Wilson ruined it with lots of ridiculous keyboards and a fake drum sound. And they call him 'genious of sound', I still wonder why!

The opening track is the only exception of good moments in The Raven That Refused To Sing And Other Stories (2013)  And it's quite obvious that Steven Wilson wrote this album while he was doing the 5.1 versions of King Crimson albums, that's for sure, cause it's almost a copy of their work, as with others of his albums. Solo, with Porcupine Tree or whatever he records.

There are some nice moments here and there, but all in all the album is so... empty. There's nothing IN it. It's only an empty shell, it's only... posing. All for show.
It's like Wilson was sitting with his notebook making a list while recording:
- Mellotron - checked
- Minimum 10 minutes lenght - checked
- Late 60's atmosphere - checked
- More mellotron - checked
- Epic ending - checked

A VERY average album, and of course will not change my mind about Steven Wilson. A forever average Joe in Prog World to me.

But you cannot argue with one thing, Wilson is an amazing... seller. He'll sell his fans an empty box and they’ll buy with a big smile on their faces.