It’s probably too much to say Steven Wilson single-handedly saved prog rock for the 21st century. Any musical movement is multi-faceted. And a genre as varied as prog rock has too many vectors and penumbras to say any one man or group was responsible for keeping it from fading into complete obscurity. But still… it’s pretty true.
Buy Steven Wilson: Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall 4K UHDSteven Wilson, through his solo project turned band Porcupine Tree, made music in the modes of progressive predecessors. Pink Floyd and King Crimson would be the touchstones. But, in keeping faith with these rock forebears, Porcupine Tree did not just repeat the past. They kept progressing into new musical forms with the foundations of rock music.
After more than a decade of creating progressive rock with Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson decided he wanted to forge a solo identity… which all sounded a lot like Porcupine Tree, but with different (and always excellent) musicians.
Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall was filed on the tour for Steven Wilson’s fifth solo album, To the Bone. This was a departure from his previous albums. Those were most reminiscent of ’70s prog rock, with extended song structures and experimental sounds. To The Bone was consciously influenced by ’80s art rock, like Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel.
In Steven Wilson’s earlier solo tours, he mostly stayed away from playing Porcupine Tree songs. Here at the Albert Hall, about a third of the songs are from his earlier band. The rest are from his solo albums, and almost the entirety of To the Bone is performed as well.
I’ve been a Porcupine Tree and Steven Wilson fan for a couple of decades. I was interested in the departure from his long form prog rock that To the Bone represented. However, when I first heard the album, I was underwhelmed. These live renditions, however, moved me into being thoroughly positive towards the album. The parallels with Peter Gabriel, particularly his early ’80s albums (there were four of them, each called Peter Gabriel), are more pronounced in these live performances than on the album.
The band is nothing short of incredible. It’s a testament to how much noise five boys can make, with drums, keys, two guitars, and a bass. And occasionally there’s a girl. On a few songs Steven is joined by Israeli singer Ninet Tayeb. Her voice is pretty and soulful on “Pariah” and “Blank Tapes” and searing on the hard rocker “People Who Eat Darkness.”
This 4K UHD release is not the first time this concert has come to video. It was first released in 2018 in a set with Blu-ray, DVD, and two CDs. This new release is just the 4K video, which looks incredible. The concert had an interesting visual approach where there was a screen behind the band, for videos, and a transparent screen in front where overlays were projected. For one tune, a holographic dancer was projected on top of the entire band. It’s a fascinating visual experience, sometimes with constant flashing lights.
Concerts are generally shot in dark rooms with spotlights, so it is inevitable that the footage is going to be pretty grainy. What I liked about the filmmaking of Home Invasion is that it occasionally indulged in video tricks, like overlaying frames from the projected videos or cutting up the frame into multiple video tracks, but it doesn’t do it too often.
It’s a tasteful and interesting rendition of a fantastic concert by an oddball artist. If the words, “wow, that was a fantastic synthesizer solo” work for you, get this video. If the words “cross Pink Floyd with King Crimson” mean anything to you, take a listen. I, already a fan, absolutely loved it, and think several of the songs better on this live recording than on the album.
Steven Wilson: Home Invasion: Live at The Royal Albert Hall has been released by Universal Music Group. Extras include a behind-the-scenes video (9 min) and three rehearsal tunes: “Routine”, “Hand Cannot Erase”, and “Heartattack in a Layby”.
