Classical Composer Reacts to The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) by Steven Wilson

[@metricdeep8856]

Doug is the best ear on KZbin. I can't imagine having his talent. Much appreciated Doug!

[@Siggy152]

"You were just meant to be temporary while i waited for gold" is such a chilling lyric completely counteracting the uplifting music.

[@0oDaan12o0]

Those words struck me on the first listen when I just came from a bad relationship. It's been over 10 years and they still hit home every time.

[@dv1860]

The Watchmaker has the best lyrics of the album imo

[@OROZUK]

Marco is an example of a drummer who is so crisp and precise that his contribution might be taken for granted. His work supports the song so well. He’s busy but doesn’t get in the way and he makes it sound easy. I’ve seen him live many times, first with Mike Keneally and then the Aristocrats. He’s always excellent!

[@offroaders123]

Great comment hear, fellow Marco listener!!! Have you checked out his solo catalog? Really have been loving diving into that the last few years, much to figure out with it.

[@lkeslinke]

One day I feel it’s Hand.Cannot.Erase, is Steven Best Solo Album and Than On Some Other Days, I Feel it’s The Raven That Refused To Sing! Both Are Classics From a Genius of Modern Progressive Rock!

[@cameronshorkey843]

I go back and forth, too. Both albums are total perfection.

[@pgstancil]

Great reaction, Doug! This album is absolutely among my SW favorites! Thanks so much for spending such incredible quality time with it!

[@BrightSideOfDeath]

One of the best albums ever. In my top ten, its simply perfect from zero second to the last. Master piece. Great reaction, Doug.

[@JacobRobergeQC]

My favorite album of all-time, I doubt anything will ever top it

[@user-br2gi8kh5s]

This album has some amazing tracks on it. I'd also check out Home Invasion / Regret #9 by Steven Wilson if you haven't, it's probably his best song outside of Porcupine Tree and Guthrie Govan has an amazing guitar solo on it.

[@galebe135]

In general a full album reaction to Hand Cannot Erase would be awesome to see

[@DoumdaDoum]

The album is right there behind him

[@Bsbsdrake]

Oh my god regret #9 is incredible

[@Arrow2theACL]

@@galebe135 If anyone is interested, Doug reacted to Hand. Cannot. Erase. on his Patreon.

[@user-br2gi8kh5s]

@@DoumdaDoum Doesn't mean he's heard it though

[@maximiliano.diego2023]

LOVE that final analysis from The Raven, I hadn't thought of it that way. One of my all time fav songs. TY.

[@vman365]

Probably the first Steven Wilson album that I fell in love with. Great stuff. "Drive Home" is a classic and my favorite. Govan's guitar work is on another level. "Luminol" and "The Holy Drinker" are out of this world as well. I'm not slighting the rest of the album. It's loaded with great music!! You may need to dip deeper into his catalogue, Doug. Hard core fans will bitch and moan that some of his later albums are too "poppy" or "dance" related but they're great as well. Great job Doug! Long time listener!! Love the work you do.

[@chrisb.2178]

Totally agree. Like the Prog as well as the "poppy" stuff. Though some hate "To the Bone" I think it is a great example of how Pop should sound nowadays and how good it can be if it is done by a musical genius like SW.

[@vman365]

@@chrisb.2178 "To The Bone" is a phenomenal album!! I love that one! The change of direction really came on "The Future Bites". Some tracks were very "dance/disco"...whatever it's called now. Especially "Personal Shopper"....which I LOVE!!! I really love the spoken word piece in the middle of the song by Elton John. LOL But that album has got some great songs on it. "Eminent Sleaze" and "12 Things I Forgot" (very pop oriented yet excellent) are just 2 of my faves from that record. Again, fans bitched about it but I loved it. Just saying....

[@duanesmith1523]

Steven Wilson is a genius. I love all his projects from Porcupine Tree, No Man, Blackfield, Bass Communion and Storm Corrosion. He just has it. I love his love for dark music. It makes me happy

[@fredwds5178]

The title track is exquisite in its stark simplicity. Steven captured perfection. It is his greatest work to date. An amazing song.

[@sidecardog5244]

Neck and neck with Hand Cannot Erase as the best modern prog album of the twenty first century, so far. The album that restored my faith in prog and got me through the pandemic.

[@sebulban]

I would add Ayreon - Human Equation and Dream Theater- metropolis part two Scenes from a memory for that list. Phenomenal albums

[@nectarinedreams7208]

@@sebulban Metropolis is the previous century haha, but yeah it's up there with the best of the modern era

[@sebulban]

@ I know, but it is so close with its late October 99 release date that I always count it in 😂

[@Vu1canR4veN]

Absolutely spot on here. HCE genuinely changed my life. I think I listened to it every day for almost a year when it came out. Went to see them live during that tour and still the best gig I've ever been to, incredible.

[@Spritofjazz]

I enjoy when musicians reacting not only give their opinions but also explain what’s going on musically with the track because they’re talented enough to hear it all. Kudos friend

[@Arrow2theACL]

The back half of Luminol with those weird cords always put a smile on my face and now I see I am not alone in my thoughts. I had no idea what made it so unique, thanks for explaining Doug.

[@AndyGrouch]

Incredible analysis Doug. That's why I love your videos. You bring meaning to these songs.

[@keithlommatsch1233]

I started listening to Steven Wilson during the pandemic and haven't stopped since. Porcupine Tree or solo. He has single handedly saved me from my own repetitive playlist!

[@tonys2899]

Yay, i cant wait to watch! One of my favorite albums ever!

[@horusabedcampillogervacio9430]

Finally! Definitely my fav SW album, so touching, melodic and dark.

[@SphericalHang]

Great album! What a line-up of musicians too!

[@aeynosarturii8053]

Raven is one of the best written and produced albums ever created. The line up is an all star cast, and damn do they perform. The writing is deeply emotive, energetic, and full of hooks that pull you in. Quality of the highest level through out.

[@sonicart1808]

Sublime album.... hearing Guthries guitar solo on "Drive Home" is as close to musical heaven as I've ever heard,.....another great analysis Doug Thank You.

[@jamesk1560]

The intro for your Channel is sooo beautiful. I LOVE the harmonized voices

[@Hope-cm8fb]

Thank You so much🥹💙✨ Steven is underrated musician. Who knows than knows but many people don't know how incredible Steven is🥹🍀🌿💚

[@pattardn]

Mr. Wilson is the greatest composer of the 21st Century. "The Watchmaker" is probably his most beautiful piece here.

[@robcroft5930]

Great analysis Doug! An important album in my life - had a lot to do with my son becoming a prog fan. In 2016 we drove 2 hours to Toronto in a blinding snowstorm to see Steven live at Massey Hall. Since then we have spent much quality father/son time enjoying prog. This year we drove to Buffalo to see our favourite band Big Big Train together. Thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories!

[@tommygrant6275]

A true masterpiece of an album. Steven has a great documentary of them recording it on youtube that I have watched too many times

[@domidg5023]

Tout simplement mon album préféré de SW, tout est parfait..

[@klistarf]

Nice work, Doug. Absolutely adore this album, as i have since not too long after it was first released. Great analysis, as ever - you made me smile/chuckle, but continue to impress me with your knowledge of all things music. Thanks for 'reacting' to this, such an incredibly special album. Best wishes, Doug. Keep up the good work 🤟🏻😎

[@Cringelord_Actual]

you really need to do Hand Cannot Erase, the full album!

[@Arrow2theACL]

If you are interested, Doug reacted to Hand. Cannot. Erase. on his Patreon.

[@Cringelord_Actual]

@@Arrow2theACL hmm tempted but Im more interested in his thoughts on the final 3 songs and the first one

[@rockodilechannel3509]

It's interesting to listen to your recount of SW's inspirations for the songs on this album. I had always just listened to the beautiful music and never gave the stories they are about any thought. So thanks for doing the homework for us.

[@tafelkleedgewichtje]

One of the best albums ever made! Thanks Doug for your insight

[@CaseyHowdenPhoto]

The section in Luminol with the epic mellotron (that has the melodic minor leading in) is very Cardiacs esque and I know they're amongst Steven's big influences. Their music is full of unexpected and theatrical chord changes like that section, they're also quite whimsical! The track "Dirty Boy" off the album "Sing To God" would be a great react/analysis. Really enjoyed this, thank you for the effort you put into sharing your insight and knowledge :)

[@LuizGustavoGregorio]

Have been listening to this album for about 10 years now, still one of the best things I have ever listened to. The last song, The Raven that Refused to Sing still bring tears to my eyes.

[@AndyGrouch]

Drive Home is one of my all time favourite tracks. It works in every possible mood your in.

[@Ledones]

That's the album of my life, for a lot of reasons.

[@Jorduan100]

What a timeless classic, this album seems to posses the power to turn all the emotions up to 11. Really enjoyed your reaction to the songs you listened to for the first time. The mid section in the Watchmaker is a real tearjerker for sure, the power of the vocals without any lyrics is incredible.ALSO - that bass part in the first change in Raven is heavenly.

[@jamespetitt7013]

Thanks for shining a light on this lyric, melodic and harmonic masterpiece. Shout out too to Jess Cope's animation.

[@WayneKitching]

That melody in the title track is from a German song named "Leih mir die flügel" which means. "lend me your wings." He is addressing his sister who he believes is an angel.

[@flyingh0gfish]

I hear echos of Genesis in The Watchmaker and other pieces both solo and with Porcupine Tree. Absolutely sublime music.

[@Jesusspop]

Excellent job Doug! Now you must do Hand Cannot Erase !

[@scifimonkey3]

Cannot add enough thumbs up!👍👍👍…………..

[@Arrow2theACL]

For anyone interested, Doug reacted to Hand. Cannot. Erase. on his Patreon.

[@sleven8013]

In my top 20 albums of ALL TIME. Amazing through and through.

[@kcrimsoniano]

You need to check the previous album. Grace for drowning is a must, an exquisite dark and jazzy prog rock album

[@Heatmizer42]

I love drive home! That Guthrie Govan solo at the end of the song gives me chills.

[@kevjak51]

Thanks for this Doug, Steven Wilson is a genius considering he says he doesn't know what chords he's playing, read his book its very good read its called 'The Limited Edition of One'. you would enjoy listening to the New Frost Album 'Life In The Wires', its also amazing.

[@djtonyromero4663]

The holy drinker is my 2nd favorite track behind Raven...one of my all time fav albums 😊

[@chrisiliopoulos]

Drive Home is easily one of the most beautiful and gut-wrenching songs ever created...

[@Decoder7447]

What a Journey, Thank you !

[@aurinrakkun8589]

The Watchmaker is one of my absolute favorite songs Steven ever wrote. The first part especially has very obvious early Genesis influence.

[@HazardGoat]

The Watchmaker is the most Genesis song not made by Genesis.

[@sebulban]

Interesting. What song would be the equivalent?

[@danielhudson3592]

@@sebulban I've always felt the same way. Maybe not a single particular song, but in the way the very early Genesis shows were presented, with just acoustic guitars and then slowly building up the instrumentation until the finale, The Knife. The rest of the album was always guess the influence. Luminol was Yes and King Crimson, Drive Home-Pink Floyd.

[@morningfog532]

@@sebulbanmajor “Cinema Show” vibes.

[@aurinrakkun8589]

Thanks to Anthony Phillips, Mike Rutherford really had a love of doing unconventional things with his 12 string in the early days. One reason they never did a full version of The Cinema Show during their reunions is Mike forgot how his 12-string was tuned! He could’ve asked Martin from The Musical Box though, he probably knows.

[@mattolsziewski7164]

Need to do Hand Cannot Erase! This is my favorite type of video. I love a full album reaction!

[@TheErazar]

Surprisingly, my most favourite SW's solo album is The Future Bites. It's a departure from his traditional style, but that only makes it more interesting.

[@scifimonkey3]

His second best solo album after ‘Hand cannot erase’

[@lucaanf]

I think "Raven" is better than HCE, but both are masterpieces.

[@aaronaustin7760]

I hear elements of Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever all over this production. Fantastic!

[@sazidhasankhan9144]

Gotta listen to the next album in full too!!

[@VladMatsyuk]

Maybe a couple of weeks ago I thought how cool would that be if you could post a video with this album. And here it is!)

[@lauscho]

Your most listened to song from this album, is one of the most listened to live recording videos on my own personal channel (second to my live video of Periphery playing "Omega" live, a song you should probably cover at some point). I got to see Steven a while ago live and it was breathtaking! One of the best live shows I ever saw. And then, he released the live DVD of that tour and it was not just the same setlist and same lineup, but the same jokes and same banter in the same spots... Ah well it was still a fantastic show, and I get to relive it, verbatim, on the live DVD 😅

[@n4rf645]

I went to the Hand.Cannot.Erase tour and I remember vividly when they played The Watchmaker and before the final spooky part a screen made out of some very light fabric was dropped on top of the audience and they beamed some images on it which made it look like a ghost Eliza was among the audience. It was fucking fantastic.

[@peterdown7015]

To me "Drive Home" is the perfect song. Completely flawless. Guthrie Govan's solo gives me goosebumps every time.

[@VittorioSergi]

ok, now we NEED the entire reaction to hand.cannot.erase

[@vincenthawke8141]

You should do Hand Cannot Erase as well, I know you have it back there! Absolutely love this album

[@Arrow2theACL]

Doug reacted to the full album on his Patreon.

[@Yupppi]

I've enjoyed this album ever since I saw you listen to the title track, at first I just didn't get these slow songs. Now I've been debating about the recent special edition vinyl release that's a bit on the expensive side because I like this album so much. Ohhhhh The Holy Drinker story is so fascinating, didn't know about that. This really makes me think of how I just recently reread Edgar Allan Poe's Bon Bon and Duc de l'Omelette. In the first one the chef is so full of himself that he sells his soul to the devil almost willingly to show that his soul tastes better than other famous souls. The latter is about a duke who plays cards with the devil and wins. Poe's stories were so exciting. The middle section of Watchmaker always makes me think of Ghost. Something like Helvetesfönster (where I think Mikael Åkerfeldt played the acoustic guitar).

[@klausschneider1045]

At 23.35: this appears to be the moment, the E-string slipped off from Guthrie's Guitar. But so what? - this is still one of the most beautiful guitar solos ever. Who needs a second take?

[@ErnestoSeibert]

Guthrie Govan's solo on Drive Home is unreal. Absolute masterpiece.

[@jimkordahl9490]

Doug, I really think you would enjoy Sound of Contact. Dimensionaut is their only album, Simon Collins and group really did something special.

[@philippeplanchon3984]

Awesome genius. Both

[@severehaemorrhage232]

YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!

[@Eskotin]

To me the last song definitely has a happy ending. During the whole song, the "old mans theme" lands on minor and major every other time - hint of hope, loss of hope. At the end Lily's theme and the old mans theme finally match together through some amazing arrangement work and the old mans theme lands on C major three times in a row. So definitely the old man passes away and joins his loved ones.

[@dwightbroemanphotosandart]

Drive Home has to have one the top guitar solos of all time. Yup, I said it. Govan is a beast.

[@paolobattaglia6165]

capolavoro del xx1 secolo. niente di più, niente di meno.

[@chrisblower8868]

I would like to know Doug what you think of The Future Bites. I think it might be a marmite album for some, coming out during lockdown. I just love the bravery of it, particularly after the fantastic proggy albums which came before. The extended digital set is the one to hear I reckon.

[@freeguitar]

Very good album....⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐....👋👋

[@mickei]

I love that moments you think, yeah I got it and the expression on your face, when the next tone comes ... 😂

[@PeytonDrums05]

LETS GOOOO DOUG!!

[@t3hgir]

Marco on this album is a masterclass in high-level, almost-inimitable drumming...

[@psychofunksoldier02]

The Raven is a beautiful song IMO.

[@gaurdianAQ]

I'd love to see Doug do a reaction to bloodywood, they are an indian folk metal band, often writing songs with very powerful lyrics. They just recently released a new single about the city of Delhi.

[@DavidJones-lz4io]

Luminol is so (certainly to me, in part) an homage to Drama by Yes. Nick is amazing here!

[@trevorwalsh9205]

Yeah, can't get enough of The Holy Drinker and The Watchmaker, among a sea of other excellent songs. But musically, these are peak SW for me.

[@nboeltjes]

FLIP FLIP FLIP!!! The best prog album ever imho

[@samohtski]

Please do Hand Cannot Erase, my favourite Steven Wilson album. I promise you'll love it!

[@Arrow2theACL]

If you are interested. Doug reacted to Hand. Cannot. Erase. on his Patreon.

[@scientificshiv]

It's high time you reviewed Jesus Molina - a Night in Tunisia. You're gonna love it :)

[@thecentralscrutinizer5730]

Yes!!!!!Finally!!!

[@user-br2gi8kh5s]

Actually this is Steven Wilson not Yes, common mistake.

[@thecentralscrutinizer5730]

@@user-br2gi8kh5s no lmao! I was saying Yes finally sum Steven Wilson

[@user-br2gi8kh5s]

@@thecentralscrutinizer5730 I was joking lol 😂

[@thecentralscrutinizer5730]

@@user-br2gi8kh5s no lmao! I was saying Yes finally sum Steven Wilson

[@justinanderson4441]

Check out the orchestral version of the title track, it’s absolutely transcendental.

[@eiskalterEngel86]

Oh i would really like to see him react to Sleep Token - The Summoning! It's such a great Song!

[@hilmarkoerner2603]

whenever I hear Marko on the drums here, I see muppet show's Animal ;), e.g. sections on the holy drinker

[@icemancometh74]

An insanely good album. The Guthrie solo in Drive Home might be a greatest guitar solo of all times...

[@manco828]

The best prog album of the 2010s. Produced by Alan Parsons.

[@jeffswarm2527]

33:49 Keith Emerson enters the studio...

[@intredastingvideos9365]

Shout out to Doug's brother, The Daily Jeffrey, for introducing Doug to Steven Wilson.

[@porflepopnecker4376]

I didn't see or hear this the first time it was posted, but I also didn't watch or listen to it. So this either will or won't be my first time to listen, see, watch, hear, etc. or not.

[@thetelepath8245]

Great stuff! Hand Cannot Erase is just as good, so I would be super excited to see you react to this one in the future as well ;-)

[@Arrow2theACL]

If you are interested, Doug reacted to Hand. Cannot. Erase. on his Patreon.

[@Dzdzydz]

I loved this album with a passion, then when I found out Steven Wilson recorded a collaboration with Mikael Åkerfeldt under the name Storm Corrosion I damn near wet my prog loving pants

[@Dako-li9mn]

Wow

[@ManageNAV]

Doug! If you are interested into something like symphonic metal, try check out Isyana Sarasvati’s “Unlock the Key”

[@Glovali]

You should give Kardashev - Snow Sleep a listen. I bet you will be genuinely surprised.

[@joakimskurk]

So glad you did this one! Hope you one day will do Storm Corrosion as well :)

[@eternalbliss3487]

In my opinion this album, HCE, and To the Bone is SW's best solo album

[@Felipe_AC]

Master, Doug! Could you react to the song "Iconoclast", by Symphony X? It's a masterclass on Power Prog Metal! 🙏

[@pawelec66]

Dig up some old Focus from early 70s. You'd be surprised.