Steven Wilson seems to have exchanged his famous band Porcupine Tree for a solo career for good. Everything that makes him a prog icon came together on his second solo album and milestone Grace For Drowning (2011): his love for experimental and drawn-out music as well as strong songs and the influence of the prog classics he remixed by Jethro Tull and King Crimson. After this, Wilson went on tour
… with a backing band of which it is not surprising that it now plays an important role on The Raven That Refused To Sing. Wilson's third has become a real band record with a live feel. None other than Alan Parsons - best known for his Alan Parsons Project but started as a studio engineer for the Beatles and Pink Floyd, among others - acted as co-producer and engineer. An influence of Parsons is perhaps the classic rock that sometimes rears its head, as in the almost drab title piece. In it, Wilson sings more carried than ever. He is full of confidence with such a great team around him. (MR)more
