Customer Reviews

Up the Downstair

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maybe Amazon might have corrected their error by the time you read this, but just in case they haven't, please note that "Up The Downstair" does not consist of the 17 tracks above. The tunestack is as follows: 1.What You Are Listening To 2. Synesthesia 3. Monuments Burn Into Moments 4. Always Never 5. Up The Downstair 6. Not Beautiful Anymore 7. Siren 8. Small Fish 9. Burning Sky 10. Fadeaway. Tracks 1, 3 and 7 are short "transitional" passages, while the title track and "Burning Sky" are ten minute epics. The remainder of the album consists of tracks between 3 and 5 minutes in length.

With "Up The Downstair," Porcupine Tree (actually still Steven Wilson at this point. The "band" Porcupine Tree would not evolve until "The Sky Moves Sideways") consolidated their position as one of England's leading post-progressive (not "neo" progressive) rock groups. Their debut album "On The Sunday of Life" had pointed to their influences, notably Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd, but with "Up The Downstair," Porcupine Tree began combining rock's old avant garde with the contemporary sounds of 90's music.

Pink Floyd looms large over this album - but only as a launching pad. Wilson deftly combines techo and dance beats, trance and acid house textures as well as ethnic percussion into his Floydian dreamscapes. Had they received the backing of a major record label, both "Synesthesia" and the title track would have become the ambient/dance classics they deserve to be. "Always Never" is a brilliantly realised song that moves through an array of moods and tempos without a single mis-step. "Not Beautiful Anymore" is an energetic guitar piece with a great vocal sample. The immaculate ballad "Fadeaway" serves as a satisfying closure to the album.

So why only 4 stars? Simply because "Up The Downstair" hardly does justice to the inspiring recording sessions that produced this album. Wilson himself must have realised this, for not long after this album's release, he put out a 30 minute EP titled "Staircase Infinities" which contained music from the same sessions. That EP follows through and completes the ideas pursued on "Up The Downstair." "Staircase Infinities" is now out of print, but those who do manage to track it down will be well rewarded.

"Up The Downstair," released in 1993, certainly established Porcupine Tree as a force to be reckoned with. Since then, Porcupine Tree have investigated a number of new musical avenues, and along with Djam Karet and Ozric Tentacles, the band are one of the brightest hopes for progressive rock as it heads into the 21st century.

Curious musical minds are usually rewarded for their experimentations in exploring new or unfamiliar groups. Such was the classic case with this British wondergroup. Fans of some of the less complicated prog scene will cherish this prize forvever -- not to say that this work is simple, just more accessible. Cuts like "Always Never" & "Fadeaway" are beautiful and emotive pieces that hint at the magnificent isolatory themes of Floyd. A well conceived and complete record, "Up The Downstair" and Porcupine Tree deserve more recognition. Until then, they're a best kept secret. A * * * * * * album.

This CD is the most under rated one in the Porcupine Tree catalog. It features some extremely solid tracks including Synesthesia, Always Never and Fadeaway, in addition to instrumental standouts Burning Sky and the title track. In my opinion, a stronger album than The Sky Moves Sideways.

Although Coma Divine came close, this is still my favorite PT album. A magazine review said it was "as inspired as an Apollo mission". All the more amazing is that Steve Wilson almost single-handedly gave us this disc, from playing to production. The melancholy of Fadeaway has brought tears to my eyes. The soaring instrumental Burning Sky still gives me the chills. Crescendos abound, as do impassioned Floyd-like guitar solos. This music is mesmerizing and enthralling. Earlier PT (On The Sunday of Life and the long-deleted Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape) was wildly uneven. Up The Downstair is well composed, well played, and well produced. Okay, so were subsequent albums. Downstair is just that much more captivating for me. For the uninitiated, this is like "Wish You Were Here" era Pink Floyd infused with a touch of techno/dance and some Rush-like energy. There is, as with most PT music, a definite ebb and flow to the music. Emphasis on synthesizers and guitar. While the "real-sounding" drums and bass are not virtuosic, they are perfect for the compositions. The vocals are muted and the lyrics are "out there", but again that seems perfect. Simply brilliant music. If you don't own any P. Tree, start here. If you like The Sky Moves Sideways and Signify, you will like this.

This is a great album. For someone who likes Pink Floyd, you will enjoy this. It is wonderful from beginning to end. The opener 'The music you are listening to...' is a great start to this CD. Followed by 'Synesthesia' and 'Always never', the band plunges into music bliss the way I think The Grateful Dead or other bands may have done in the past. This band has no similarity with the Grateful Dead but the way they meld these songs together only reminds me of the best (who was the Grateful Dead). Songs like Not beautiful anymore and 'Small fish' follow. 'Small fish' goes into 'Burning Sky', which is another 5 star song.

If you like progressive music and/or PF, please give these guys a try. You will be forever pleased.-

I'm a recent discoverer of PT, and as a long-time enthusiast of early Pink Floyd, Steve Wilson has picked up the torch from right about the time where I started questioning where ole' Floyd was headed. Pink wasn't well, but this stuff is the natural evolution of a kind of music that - well - we haven't seen in a couple of decades. Despite that, our younger friends will appreciate this thoughtful Muse - that Crimson Beauty unashamedly exposed on the front cover. Anyone who has ever travelled the true psychedelic path will know what I mean when I say that within this disk lies a goddess. Play it, and she will open the door and step out. Oh, and I missed her so....

I am so grateful to Steve Wilson and the cast of Porcupine Tree for bringing forth the sound-sight oracle that has been missing from modern music for so long. She is always there, but sometimes she's a little hard to find. These guys have found her. She is here. She is now.

I'm not even going to tell you about the various cuts on the disk. They all blend together so well, and only in a way that PT seems to be able to do. Just listen to the whole thing. It's what you'll want to do anyway. I occasionally will listen to just the last cut - "Fadeaway" - because I am in a "goodbye" mood. And it is an excellent piece.

From here, I suggest you move onward to "Staircase Infinities" if you can find it, "Sky moves sideways", and "Signify"

After being first exposed to Porcupine Tree music with Stupid Dream and Signify, I decided to go back and listen to some of Steven Wilson's earlier works, and Up The Downstair was the first. Still at a time in his career where he was basically a one-man band (although future bandmates Colin Edwin and Richard Barbieri contributed a little), Steven Wilson created a terrific album that's spacey, dreamy, and surrealistic. To me, this album sounds like it was inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey and the psychedelic scenes where you're traveling in the monolith.

Up The Downstair is a very good example of Porcupine Tree's pre-band works, and I would definitely recommend it.

4.5 stars. I recently purchased "In Absentia" and was immediately hooked; subsequent reeling and I purchased both "Signify" and this album. Overall, I think "In Absentia" is the best I've heard from them so far. But "Signify" is nearly excellent, and this CD is nearly so as well, but for different reasons. While "Signify" has a definite early-Genesis prog-rock feel to it, this album is certainly and obviously influenced more so by Pink Floyd. It is incredibly spacey with heady ambience and colorful, masterful production. I'm beginning to believe that Steve Wilson is a genius in the studio. What at first listen should seem simplistic and unremarkable is arranged into something surreal and whole, noteworthy and vital. This CD is easy to recommend.

Out of all the pre-Signify releases of PT (the time-frame I consider their original sound much like the Moody Blues had a Classic 7 era), I consider Up the Downstair to be my personal favorite. This album is pre-Chris Maitland as well, they were still using drum samples and synth for most of this album. My favorite cuts are "Synesthesia", "Always Never", "Small Fish", and "Fadeaway" (probably my favorite way PT has EVER ended an album and one of the most beautiful rock songs of ALL time in my opinion).

I discovered PT recently, while listening to Pandora Ice (Camel) channel and Waiting (PT, Signify) came up and I got hooked. Since then I tried to catch up. People say PT is the new PF and I agree. PT gives you the same level of sophistication you get from PF. This album is probably the closest they get. "Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape" is a gem. Well done.