Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997:Porcupine Tree

Artist: Porcupine Tree

Date Released: March 25, 2002

Label: Delerium

Produced By: Steven Wilson

Tracklisting: Disc One
 * 1) Radioactive Toy (10:10)
 * 2) Nine Cats (3:51)
 * 3) And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun (4:02)
 * 4) The Nostalgia Factory (7:33)
 * 5) Voyage 34: Phase I (12:54)
 * 6) Synesthesia (Extended Version) (7:54)
 * 7) Phantoms (3:14)
 * 8) Up The Downstair (10:09)
 * 9) Fadeaway (6:16)
 * 10) Rainy Taxi (6:52)

Disc Two
 * 1) Stars Die (5:06)
 * 2) The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One) (18:37)
 * 3) Men Of Wood (3:35)
 * 4) Waiting (4:29)
 * 5) The Sound Of No-One Listening (8:13)
 * 6) Colourflow In Mind (3:49)
 * 7) Fuse The Sky (4:33)
 * 8) Signify II (6:04)
 * 9) Every Home Is Wired (5:13)
 * 10) Sever (5:33)
 * 11) Dark Matter (8:12)

Review: Porcupine Tree: Stars Die: The Delerium Years- 1991- 1997

Porcupine Tree are an oddity. From the humble beginnings of frontman Steven Wilson where he played everything on the first cassette releases. Porcupine Tree have emerged as one of the more commercially successful progressive groups.

Stars Die, the latest release from the band is a comprehensive 2CD set that looks into the world of Porcupine Tree and their tenure with Delerium Records. Spanning four albums and 2 EP's, the set is geared for the PT novice, but also has a few nice surprises for the long term "Tree Freak."

The set opens with the classic "Radioactive Toy." A long time concert favorite, the track is the most enduring from their debut Delerium release "On The Sunday Of Life." Other "Sunday Of Life" tracks featured here is the beautiful "Nine Cats," "And The Swallows Dance Above The Sun" and "The Nostalgia Factory."

Voyage 34, the 30:04 opus about an LSD trip gone bad is up next, though only the 12 minute phase one. The complete Voyage 34 was re-released in 2001 as Voyage 34- "The Complete Trip" which clocks in a little over 63 minutes. It is interesting to note that Voyage 34 charted well (number 19) in the UK Indie charts when it was first released in 1992.

The extended version of "Synesthesia" from the brilliant Up The Downstair album is up next. One of my favorite PT tracks, the song is about war, death and what awaits us on the other side.

Moving through the rest of the album, "Phantoms," "Men Of Wood," "Colourflow In Mind" and "Fuse The Sky" are just a few of the Internet Only tracks that are released here for the first time. While "The Sound Of No-One Listening" is on the vinyl version of Signify.

The packaging is first rate, donning the original "Stars Die" EP cover from 1994. The package comes complete with a 40 page color booklet with pictures and commentary from the band members.

It's no secret that Porcupine Tree are one of my personal favorites of the day. Seeing them at NEARfest 2001, and the stellar performance they gave, as well as making and distributing T-shirts in honor of their performance made it a trip to remember for many years to come.

If you are still unfamiliar with Porcupine Tree's back catalog, I strongly suggest you pick this up, plant it in your player for a few days, then watch as your PT collection begins to grow.