Jimmy Higgins
Contributor
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2001
- Messages
- 50,465
- Basic Beliefs
- Calvinistic Atheist
Well, Steven Wilson has released a new project with once again a lot of people selling it pretty high, like the Harmony Codex. And much like the Harmony Codex, this just doesn't seem to bill what was being sold. Smushing five or six tracks into a 20 minute single MP3 doesn't make it a 20 minute suite.
The Overview is supposed to be about the overwhelming essence of space. And in no way do I really get that feeling in the music. Additionally, the music feels real hollow, repetitive, themes previously used. Some is good, some is adequate, but at no point do I feel like I'm listening to two individual tracks instead of one side of a tape. The spoken word on The Overview is just so wrong. That feels like it should be on the screen instead, as the music tries to convey the vastness it speaks of, something I don't think the music ever comes close to doing, which sucks because that is the whole point.
I really like Wilson as an artist and will shell out the bigger bucks for the larger release. And the 3 disc set comes with an orchestrated Objects Outlive Us. And that version of the track is fulfilling and I really really like it! At points, the orchestra feels a little stuffed in, but overall, it gives the track something it desperately needs, more dimension! I find it interesting that some really like this album, but not since To The Bone. Others loved Codex and this, but hated To The Bone.
Personally, I would prefer that Wilson get back to the collaboration with other artists and create a product more like Hand Cannot Erase instead of The Incident. When he tries to do too much, the whole product is usually underwhelming. You get tracks like Orchestral Objects and The Invisible Tightrope, but it comes with baggage, and prior to The Future Bites (and excluding The Incident), almost none of his albums had any baggage.
The Overview is supposed to be about the overwhelming essence of space. And in no way do I really get that feeling in the music. Additionally, the music feels real hollow, repetitive, themes previously used. Some is good, some is adequate, but at no point do I feel like I'm listening to two individual tracks instead of one side of a tape. The spoken word on The Overview is just so wrong. That feels like it should be on the screen instead, as the music tries to convey the vastness it speaks of, something I don't think the music ever comes close to doing, which sucks because that is the whole point.
I really like Wilson as an artist and will shell out the bigger bucks for the larger release. And the 3 disc set comes with an orchestrated Objects Outlive Us. And that version of the track is fulfilling and I really really like it! At points, the orchestra feels a little stuffed in, but overall, it gives the track something it desperately needs, more dimension! I find it interesting that some really like this album, but not since To The Bone. Others loved Codex and this, but hated To The Bone.
Personally, I would prefer that Wilson get back to the collaboration with other artists and create a product more like Hand Cannot Erase instead of The Incident. When he tries to do too much, the whole product is usually underwhelming. You get tracks like Orchestral Objects and The Invisible Tightrope, but it comes with baggage, and prior to The Future Bites (and excluding The Incident), almost none of his albums had any baggage.