On the Sunday of Life (Dig)

Porcupine Tree | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 27, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Snapper Classics UK
• ASIN: B0002N4ZEM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,174 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Japanese paper sleeves version of Porcupine Tree's full-length. Part of a ten album Porcupine Tree mini-LP sleeve series featuring the albums 'ON The Sunday Of Life,' 'Up The Downstairs,' 'The Sky Moves Sideways,' 'Signify,' 'Coma Divine,' 'Metatonia,' 'Stupid Dream,' 'Voyage 34: The Comlete Trip,' 'Lightbulb Sun,' & 'Star Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997.' Victor. 2008. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, May 19, 2006

By 

Jeffrey D. Elsenheimer "Still hip after all t... (Lake Hamilton,FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On the Sunday of Life (Dig) (Audio CD)

The reason I chose the title for this review is, if this was your first glimpse into this immensely talented, super- intelligent group, it may detract from what was to come. But I feel that this collection gets undeserved poorer ratings. You have to keep in mind that these songs were only meant to be demos from a fictitious group of musicians (almost a tongue- in- cheek joke, if you will.) Sure they are what you would call "humble beginnings" but there are some really cool songs on here. The ones you personally dislike can always be skipped (I thank God daily for CD's!!!)I personally am glad to own this collection of tunes. It's somewhat like sharing in the journey of one of the greatest (IMHO) rock bands ever! But, I would start out with some of the band's more recent additions: In Absentia, Deadwing or Lightbulb Sun to break you in. To be honest, some of the songs on the above mentioned took a LITTLE time to grow on me, but most I loved instantly. I haven't been this excited about a band in many years ,but this wouldn't be a good place to start your journey. It's kinda like with any of the great bands I like (Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Yes,) I started out with the more current offerings at the time and went back through their catalog to see how far they had progressed. You will be amazed.....

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Early experimental album from Steve Wilson, October 11, 2005

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: On the Sunday of Life (Dig) (Audio CD)

This album highlights Steve Wilson (the mastermind behind PT) in his infant years. Released in July 1991... "On The Sunday Of Life" defies categorization; but I will say that's a strange kind of listen - reminiscent of those early and awkward days of Pink Floyd or the Moody Blues in the late 1960's before they became popular. There are 18 tracks here... clocking in at approximately 74 minutes (lengths of tracks range from 27 seconds to 10+ minutes). The reissued digi-pack (Sept 2004) from Snapper is beautifully done (band pictures and lyrics included, with crisp digitally remastered sound). Music, accompanied with sound effects - ranging from rain, ocean surf, various mumblings, backward recordings, and helicopters. There are a handful of songs here that are downright beautiful... "Radioactive Toy", "Nine Cats", "Nostalgia Factory" and "The Swallows Dance Above Ther Sun" - all of which you will also find on their "Stars Die - The Delerium Years 1991-97" release. The songs from "On The Sunday Of Life" work well in a studio recording, but you won't find any of these but 1 song ("Radioactive Toy" - a crowd favorite) on any PT "live" release to date. "Jupiter Island" and "Linton Samuel Dawson" are perhaps the worst songs in PT's entire catalog (my opinion only). It's just a shame that this album opens up with one of them (well almost, track 2). I will go as far as stating that this is a nice, if not weird, glimpse into the brains of Porcupine Tree before the band found their commercial feet. Lots of experimentation with a few good songs mixed in. Warning - this is PT before they found their progressive rock sound. "On The Sunday Of Life" is necessary for the Porcupine Tree fan and collector, but by no means their best album to start with. For that, I'd recommend "In Absentia", "Lightbulb Sun", "Signify" or either of their live releases "Coma Divine" or "Warszawa".

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you REALLY like PT, you love this album., June 8, 2005

By 

Self-Destructing Turnip, "progrockeress" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Sunday of Life (Dig) (Audio CD)

Okay. So it has no moments of fully plugged in neoprog metal. So it has some of the most whacked-out lyrics in the history of music. So listening to it is pretty akin to witnessing a supertalented musical genius lose his mind and feel absolutely no shame for it. Back in 1991, when this CD first came out, Steven Wilson was a much more adventurous guy. His careless creative abandon allowed him to completely invalidate the opinions of others, and thus he's as free as can be throughout the duration of these 18 tracks. In this way, this is probably the finest album he's ever released under the Porcupine Tree name, and I'm not saying this just to earn brownie points as a "true fan." I'm saying it because if you don't like OTSOL, you really don't know that much about this band (i.e., you only have Deadwing and maybe IA), and you definitely don't appreciate the intricacies of SW's talents.

Just look at the personas he delves into in the course of only about 75 minutes. He ranges from a cheeky Herman's Hermits-type '60s-psych-rock cheeseball in "Jupiter (NOT JUNIPER) Island" to a disenchanted commentator on Cold War politics in "Radioactive Toy." He even tries his super-evil alien shoes on with the hilarious "Space Transmission." The music is equally varied. "Linton Samuel Dawson" is Rush being maliciously raped by a drum machine, which of course makes it amazing. "And The Swallows Dance Around The Sun" is a beguiling, hypnotic little trancey number, pretty characteristic of PT's early days. "Nine Cats" is absolutely gorgeous, echoey and charming. And the epic closer "It Will Rain For A Million Years," which is about as prog as you can possibly get without actually being Yes, should logically appeal to EVERY fan of this band.

I say this with all honesty: OTSOL is an incredible record, and I recommend it to PT fans and fans of psych/prog/astoundingly original music. Just don't think you'll get a "Shallow" riff here, because you're definitely not going to find one.