Steven Wilson

To The Bone (caroline international)

Neo-Prog’s finest delivers knockout fifth solo album Hailed by its creator as an affectionate nod towards the progressive pop and rock albums he enjoyed during his formative years, including works by Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Tears For Fears and Talk Talk, To The Bone is all that and more. Not being one for repeating himself in his solo work, Steven Wilson steers this album towards more commercial territory and shuns the extended instrumental workouts of the past – only one track, the dark and brooding Detonation clocks in at over nine minutes, the rest of the album featuring shorter and more concise works. During its course, the album also tips its hat to the prog masters of yore with trace elements of Floyd (To The Bone), Crimson (Refuge) and Genesis (The Same Asylum As Before) woven into the fabric of the sumptuous arrangements. But it’s always done in a respectful way – almost like Mr Wilson is offering fans of prog’s golden 1970s reign some kind of sanctuary within his own music.

Unlike the previous solo albums, Steven plays a lot of the instruments himself, rather than calling on the services of his touring band. So no Guthrie Govan or Dave Kilminster fretwork here – although the latter stringsman turns up on a couple of tracks performing backing vocals. Instead, co-producer Paul Stacey provides the fireworks with a show-stopping solo on Refuge and David Kollar steps up to the mark on Detonation, all other guitar work being performed by SW.

Despite being aimed at a more mainstream marketplace, To The Bone succeeds on all levels as the fifth chapter in a remarkable solo career. The arrangements are consistently sublime and the production is impeccable throughout. On release, the CD instantly topped many of the album charts across Europe, its success well deserved. We now await, eagerly, the ex-Porcupine Tree man’s live shows next year! [DM] Standout track: Pariah For fans of: Porcupine Tree, Genesis, Yes