Signify

Porcupine Tree

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 30, 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Madfish Records UK
• ASIN: B0002FR07O
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #130,207 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Signify + Insignificance = Another must have Porcupine Tree release, August 18, 2006

By	R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE BAND: Steve Wilson (lead vocals, guitars, mellotron, keyboards, samplers & tapes), Richard Barbieri (keyboards, synthesizers & sequencers), Colin Edwin (bass), Chris Maitland (drums & percussion).

THE DISC(S): Originally released in 1997, this revised and remastered foldout digi-pak 2-disc set released in 2004. 22 songs clocking in at approximately 108 minutes (the original 12-track album is disc-1 at approximately 62 minutes, and the 2nd (bonus) disc titled "Insignificance" at approximately 46 minutes). Included with the discs is a 6-page booklet containing songs titles/credits, song lyrics, musicians, and odd pictures. The "Insignificance" disc is a selection of Wilson demos that includes several tracks that were not recorded for the final "Signify" album, as well as formative versions of some that were. Label - Snapper Music.

COMMENTS: This was my first disc from Porcupine Tree. I like it a ton, but it's definitely not my favorite (favorites include "In Absentia", "Stupid Dream", Lightbulb Sun" and "Deadwing"), but absolutely essential in their catalog of must-have albums. Some great songs here... the best in my opinion are the "Sleep Of No Dreaming" (dark, moody, wonderful), the opening jam "Signify", "Waiting Phase 1" followed by the instrumental "Waiting Phase 2", and the 8 minute album closer "Dark Matter". More than other recent Tree albums, "Signify" features many (6) instrumentals. Some being minute-and-a-half synthesizer experiments, while others being full blown 6-7 minute jams... the best being "Intermediate Jesus", "Idiot Prayer" and the title track. The soft acoustic "Every Home Is Wired" is a gem of a song too (with futuristic words from Wilson about the home PC). The bonus disc is a nice addition. It contains a few different takes (demos) of songs included on disc-1, as well as new material not previously released. Two excellent instrumentals with "Neural Rust" and Dark Origins". And, the two best songs with vocals being "Wake As Gun I" and "Sever Tomorrow". This disc made me go out and buy the rest of their material... several years ago, this turned out to be a great discovery for me - since 2002 Porcupine Tree has been my favorite band. I rate "Signify" as PT's first essential disc. Look for the digi-pak (4.5 stars).

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the finest album from the '90s I heard, September 28, 2006

By	BENJAMIN MILER (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

1996's Signify was Porcupine Tree's final studio album for Delerium, they recorded a live album in '97 for the label called Coma Divine Live, before moving on to Snapper. I have not heard Stupid Dream or anything they did afterwards, that means that so far, I have to say Signify is by far the finest album Porcupine Tree had ever done, certainly for the Delerium label. I first heard of Porcupine Tree back in 1996 when a mail order catalog described them as a "laid back Ozric Tentacles". In 1997, I bought The Sky Moves Sideways and was amazed. The Ozric Tentacles comparison was basically only valid during the more techno moments of the group, the Pink Floyd comparison was much more valid. The tone of their music was much darker and more sinister than anything the Ozrics could come up with. Steven Wilson admitted the Pink Floyd influence in his music with Porcupine Tree, but later found it an albatross around his neck, since he wanted their music to move on beyond that, like their more recent releases.

Signify was certainly PT at the top of their game. While only half the cuts on The Sky Moves Sideways featured a complete band (as the band was assembled halfway through making that album), Signify had much greater band interaction. This album is stuffed with lots of great songs like "The Sleep of No Dreaming", "Waiting Phase One", "Sever", "Every Home is Wired" and "Dark Matter". I really love the vocal arrangements on "Every Home is Wired". In between many of these cuts are some great ambient experiments like "Pagan" and "Intermediate Jesus". I really appreciate how some of the cuts tended to be acoustic, others electic, others electronic, and some of all in some of the cuts. I also liked how the production was modern, but not giving it a sterile feel, too many albums I've heard from the '80s and '90s with a modern production had that very plastic, sterile and synthetic sound to it, Porcupine Tree avoided that. Same for Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri's use of keyboards, most of them digital, but done in the most tasteful way, I usually criticize the use of digital synths because too many of them use the most synthetic sounds, but not Porcupine Tree. These keyboards created a wonderful atmospheric backdrop to go with the music. The entire Signify CD never fails to amaze me every time I listen to it, it's not only my favorite Porcupine Tree CD, it's by far the finest album I've ever heard from the 1990s.

And I own the digipak reissue that includes a second CD, a 1997 disc called Insignificance, which was originally only available through a Porcupine Tree newsletter called Transmission. These were 1995-1996 outtakes from the Signify sessions. About 80% material is stuff found nowhere else, with alternate versions of "Signify", "Waiting" and "Sever". Plus you get a totally acoustic version of "Nine Cats", which originally appeared on the 1991 cassette The Nostalgia Factory (and of course On the Sunday of Life). Honestly I prefer the version off On the Sunday of Life, because the combination of acoustic and electric. Many of these other cuts are excellent, although a couple pieces, like "Dark Origins" sounds like half-finished demos. This is truly nice stuff to have.

If you came through Porcupine Tree through albums like Stupid Dream, Lightbulb Sun, In Absentia, and Deadwing, and want to dig deeper in their catalog, Signify is a great place to start!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This two-CD edition is excellent!, May 17, 2005

By	John W. Evans (La Grande, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved everything about the original release of "Signify"... the cover art; the lush, dense sound; the songwriting and musical performance. Songs like "Waiting" and "Sever" are classics in my book. Steven Wilson is a virtuoso guitarist with a great voice and incredible writing and arranging skills, Richard Barbieri holds things together with his keyboard textures, Colin Edwin is as steady a bassist as one will find anywhere, and the band's original drummer Chris Maitland is technically gifted on the drums but definitely not to the point of not allowing emotions to come through in his playing.

So why would a reissue be so much better than the original release? I'm not an audiophile, but this remaster actually does sound a bit cleaner, maybe less "dark" in places, maybe due to the remastering, and that's fine... but for me, this was the drawing card: included here is a second CD of 10 demos by Wilson, recorded during the time of "Signify"! And while these demos don't sound quite like a fully fleshed-out band, they do sound very, very good. He does a nice version of "Nine Cats", which appeared on "On The Sunday Of Life", an early PT effort performed by Wilson. Other songs include demos of "Sever" and "Waiting", and if you listen carefully to the other seven demos, you might notice sections of these songs that were eventually used on "Signify".

All in all, the package offers the original album as well as some very listenable insights into its making. For fans of Porcupine Tree, this is not to be missed. For newcomers, there is a lot here to enjoy if you like good musicians playing and singing good, inventive music. Check it out!