Customer Reviews

Stars Die

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I stumbled on Porcupine Tree (PT) by accident a few years ago with "Stupid Dream" and "Lightbulb Sun". "In Absentia" is still at the top of my list for favorite CD's from 2002. It seems like I continue to go backwards in collecting more and more of PT's collection. This "STARS DIE" will not disappoint even the slightest of PT fans. More incredible trippy space music for the head (more "spacey" music here, as compared to the more progressive rock & pop releases of the late 90's and 2000's). While this double-disc release pulls a majority of the (already) released songs from "On The Sunday Of Life" (Radioactive Toy, Nostalgia Factory, Nine Cats, And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun), "Up The Downstair" (Fade Away, Synesthesia, Up The Downstair), and "Signify" (Dark Matter, Sever, Every Home Is Wired, Waiting)... there is so much more to it than just a collection of songs from early "Delerium" releases. On "STARS DIE", there are 4 songs that have previously been unreleased on any PT album. There are another 4 rarities that have been released only as EP "singles". Plus, new variations (mixes) of 3 familiar tunes. Worthwhile ever for the hardcore Porcupine Tree fan - you bet it is! Sound production, as always, is outstandingly crisp. There are several music jams here... whether it be light and airy, or hard driving rock guitar driven... check out "Nostalgia Factory", "Voyage 34", "Up The Downstair", "The Sound Of No One Listening", "Signify II", or "Fuse The Sky" (this one would make Yanni or even Kenny G proud). With "STARS DIE: THE DELERIUM YEARS '91-'97", Steve Wilson and Porcupine Tree deliver 21 songs on 2 discs with 71+ minutes per disc; a neat slim line cd box; colorful see-thru cd holders; a FANtastic 40-page booklet with all kinds of pictures, history, stories and interviews from the band members. Read what was going on in some of the sessions, or why a song was or wasn't picked to be on an album, etc. Good stuff any way you slice it.

With the release of the brilliant "In Abstentia", there will be a desire to go back into the PTree catalog to become further acquainted with this outstanding band. "Stars Die" is the perfect place to begin as it contains sort of the best of the very early PTree music. As a collection, the songs work well. Like all Ptree albums, you don't just listen to a song or two but rather let them play through, each song/album growing in intensity and beauty upon each listen. For those new to the band and looking for instant rewards, look no further than "The Sky Moved Sideways" and "Dark Matter". They will knock you down with pleasure. "Dark Matter" in fact, has become a crowd favorite as those familiar with PTree's live shows will attest. This is a magnifient collection to get you started backward in the world of the very forward Porcupine Tree. If "In Abstentia" has blown you away, there's much more to be had. You will be delighted with the whole package of "Stars Die"

Generally "best of" compilations are useless to me, but _Stars Die_ is a wonderful exception. The early years of Steven Wilson's band is compiled here equally with classics, singles, rarities, and delicious new mixes of old favorites of the band's brilliant psychotropic spacey music. Anyone who has been timid about ordering this because they think, "Well I have the actual _albums_ on Delerium"...you're missing out. There's some essential goodies here, like the psychedelic acid-pop of "Men of Wood", "Fuse the Sky" (a dizzy, watery remix of "The Sky Moves Sideways part I"), the odd-time lightning-rock of "Signify II", the mellow acoustic cool-down "Phantoms", and -- BEST OF ALL -- "Stars Die", by far one of the most beautiful Porcupine Tree songs EVER. It's up there with "Trains", "Buying New Soul", and "The Sky Moves Sideways" in terms of sheer aural sexx-sauce goodness. The packaging is also delicious. The booklet is exemplary: 40 pages, full-color, full of great photos and fascinating band history and song commentary. So yeah, go buy it, whether you're a big fan or just getting into them. Of course, if you are one of the ultra-hardcore Porcupine Tree fans who has all the rare singles and b-sides, you won't have much use for this except for the amazing booklet.

When I stumble across a CD by a band that leaves my ear thirsting more (in this case IN ABSENTIA), I like going back to explore the band's discography all the while knowing that usually the most recent release is the best. Although IN ABSENTIA is a hard CD to top for sheer enjoyment, STARS DIE comes close. This is the best 'box set' I've ever seen. A nice little package that represents eight years of a developing band that doesn't sound like an old shoddy recording of rehashed tunes stewn together for a 'best of' compilation. If you're just picking up on PORCUPINE TREE and you want to go back and witness their evolution, STARS DIE is simply perfect. Great band, great sound, great CD. Excellent.

This is a really awesome collection from one of the smartest and most eclectic rock bands ever to record music. Their earlier material was more psychadelic rock, sort of like Pink Floyd. And there later stuff was more experimental prog rock, like a compination of Opeth, Dream Theater, Theatre of Tragedy, Pink Floyd, Rush, and Genesis. I kknow that sounds like a lot, but really shows its eclectic side of aweseomness. Now If you have ever Porcupine Tree album, you still need this. This has some new mixes of certain track and unreleased material. As well as a huge booklet of interveiws a biography and some really awesome pictures and art. And its a pretty cool case too.

Do yourself a favour and get this really cool box from a really talented band.

For those who are just discovering this phenomenal band, you are in for quite a treat. Stars Die is the perfect place to start if you have heard Deadwing or In Absentia, and want to hear more of the band's earlier works. Not only that, but the set works quite well as an album itself. I own all of the early works, but still listen to my Stars Die set quite a bit, as I like the way the tracks flow from one to another.

Most importantly though, it was recently announced on the band's website that this version of the Stars Die box set is going out of print soon. Snapper UK will be replacing it with a new digipack version. The new digipack will include the same audio material. (with the exception of Up the Downstair and Fadeaway, which will be replaced with the new versions found on the 2004 remaster of Up the Downstair) However, the new version will not include the lengthy history of the band found in the booklet in this version. If you are in any way interested, I highly recommend that you purchase this version now.

If this is not one of the best compilation cds I have, then I'm sorry. I have 17 items of music from PT, and this is just another one of the best.

I only came into knowing of Porcupine Tree as of the summer of 2000. Their music has always stunned me to the point of wanting everything from them, as you will find on my Listmania list on this from my about me area.

Anyone who has wanted to see a little of what the band looks like will be in for a surprise when they see how wonderful a box set this is! The packaging is artful, and the image of the (burning Piano falling from the sky toward a river) is mysterious and unusual. One thing that pleased me lots is the transparent plastic slip-sleeves the which the cds are housed in, inside the box. It's the first time I have seen such original packaging ideas.

Much anticipation was done before the cd arrived on the market.
I always wondered when there would be something compiling all the best songs from the earlier Porcupine Tree music, or something compiling all the hits since the beginning til now.

What is cool is the fact that the package is so light, considering it's got a fully illustrated 40 page booklet inside. I thought the whole shebang would be more heavier than it is in reality. Another nice bite is: there are 21 songs in the collection, which are long and not necessarily all the original versions. There are 3 previously un-released masterpieces here, as well as 3 new remixed versions of songs. There are also single/ep track versions which appear as (first appearance on album) versions.

With that said, here's the tracklist:

Disc A (1991-93)
01-Radioactive Toy 02-Nine Cats 03-And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun 04-Nostalgia Factory 05-Voyage 34 (phase one)
06-Synesthesia (extended version) 07-Phantoms 08-Up the Downstair 09-Fadeaway 10-Rainy Taxi

Disc B (1994-97)
01-Stars Die 02-The Sky Moves Sideways (phase one)
03-Men of Wood 04-Waiting 05-The Sound of No-one Listening

06-Colorflow in Mind 07-Fuse the Sky 08-Signify II
09-Every Home is Wired 10-Sever 11-Dark Matter

There is no favourite album cover for Porcupine Tree, and I think I will scan the cover of "Stars Die". That is for poster art. I am a poster nut, and many of the pics inside are worth looking at and doing something with. That's what makes a collection worth it, other than just the music alone.
Unfortunately, there are no lyrics inside, but a whole lot of stuff all about the band, right from the start. That is about 22 pages just about them. The last 2 or 3 pages tell a little about the songs and how the band felt about doing these songs. Isn't that comforting to know exactly how Steven Wilson felt when he wrote and performed these songs

I urge you to buy this recording and to play it with pride. And to all those who've never heard of Porcupine Tree, why not buy this one. It will give you a great idea of what PT and their music is all about.

Hope my review has helped you.

This is a very nicely packaged 2-CD compilation of the band's early releases on the UK Delerium label. CD1 is mostly Steven Wilson as one-man-band, while CD2 finds the rest of the latter-era members joining up as the tracks progress.

Porcupine Tree's early discography is a daunting, hard-to-find and expensive mess, so even though some good songs might be missing here, it's still a great way to get a ton of the early stuff in one set.

The box and accompanying book are just beautifully done. PT's music pays homage to the Prog greats of the 70's and so does their album art. The hard-cover box is so nice it should be standard for this type of comp. The book is full of great pictures, a history of the band, track notes that are actually accurate, and it even sort-of makes sense of that jumbled discography.

"The Sky Moves Sideways (phase 1)" is just plain awe-inspiring, probably my all-time PT favorite. Required listening for Progheads. Other standouts include "Nostalgia Factory," "Up the Downstair," "Stars Die, "Waiting" and "Signify 2."

I just got my "Stars Die...",right after "In Absentia".The last one is better,but You have to understand,how far PT went from Delerium years.I am glad they got away from sounding like Pink Floyd and King Krimson and went beyond that.Steve Wilson and His band are still very young people and i am sure,they just in the beginning of what they can achieve,Steve is a great talent,intelligent and well aducated in art of music.I am happy to discover this band for myself(and for everybody i know,they all love PT ,after i introduced PT to them).If you want people to listen to really good and talented music,educate them.It is sad,that so many are mistaken Madonna,Michael Jackson and such as somebody who has any idea,of what music is.Irena

Starting with Radioactive Toy from On The Sunday Of Life on Disc A and ending with Dark Matter from the Signify CD on Disc B this excellent collection from Porcupine Tree's Delerium label works cohesively much like the Pink Floyd Echos collection did.

The difference is PT had quite a bit of EP tracks from this era of which many have been included. With a lot of bands non-album tracks are weak, not so on Stars Die. There are 11 tracks from previous album releases (out of 21) and 10 ranging from remixes/hard to find album tracks to unreleased to prior mentioned EP tracks.

The flow of Stars Die works well, much like it was designed to be a complete album which has a disparate yet similar sound. For die hard fans this may not be enough to aquire the album but it's worth mentioning that to purchase the source material for several of these songs would cost more than this album assuming you could find the EPs.

Highlights include Signify 2, a studio EP track that is similar to their live act in expanded form along with Synaesthesia. Hints of the future lie in songs like Colourflow in Mind, another EP track along with Every Home Is Wired from the Signify CD. There are classics as well including The Sky Move Sideways pt 1 and Voyage 32 pt 1.

For the uninitiated this is a good starting point although PT's albums are probably a better place to begin. For those who don't have Porcupine Tree CDs prior to Stupid Dream this is a great place to start.

Unlike many compilations the tracks here do a good job of representing the band. The booklet inside has interesting interviews, biography and comments mostly from the band about each song. There is a lot of music on these two CDs, well over 140 minutes. The only album not represented is Coma Divine, their live album. The performances on Coma Divine were excellent and showed the development of PT from a one man project to band but this is a minor quibble. This set is highly recommended.