Porcupine Tree – The Incident

Honestly?.... it's one of the worst PT albums.

Time Flies is a great song, but it's just a pink Floyd Dogs cover. Fact. The whole 50 minute 'song' thing it's wrapped in, doesn't make sense, since its components are actually complete, individualized tracks. Compare this with say Transatlantic's Whirlwind or Sleep's Jerusalem - those are giant songs with multiple parts - this isn't, so I dunno why it pretends to be. The tracks aren't just sonically disted, but stylistically too - one track will be metal, next one will be 60s style pop or prog-rock, it's like they couldn't figure out what this album is supposed to be, couldn't find its own voice - the hallmarks of an unfinished work.

None of the component tracks are memorable either, save for Time Flies, and the overarching concept is also very weak, and doesn't do much to tie the tracks together, beyond their sonic discontinuity/stylistic dissimilarity. I reading that it was a 25-odd min track that just kept growing - now I know I don't need to tell Wilson this, but once you have sufficient material, you need to begin a trimming process. Less really is more. Lest you end up with these unnecessary musical barnacles weighing the whole thing down and it again becomes unfinished.

If anyone reading this feels the urge to scratch the PT huge-track itch, just give Moonloop 40'00" version another spin and thank me later.

Or listen to Green Carnation's track, even the crap part in that still fits in as an interlude. Or Mike Oldfield Amarok, what a naturally flowing classic. Or EOS 'Crimson' with its lovely storytelling. Flaming Lips 6-hour song which feels like a gigantic 3-minute pop song. Man I could talk about this 1-big-song thing all day but I better stop - suffice it to say if anyone thinks this is what an album-length song should sound like, they've never actually heard one.

Disc 2's songs are all excellent though; they should have instead released an EP with Time Flies and the tracks from disc 2 and it would've been for the better.

Luckily P/T/C/C was a welcome return to form, and Wilson's solo stuff has been consistently magnificent in the interim. I'm glad this didn't end up being their epitaph, cuz it's uh...pretty crap.

Dont understand the hate for this one, one of my all time favorite albums.

Does any one know how much this sold for,when first released?

Another match for all those people who like to listen to stories. Sound and quality at it´s highest level. It´s truly an INCIDENT!!