Just acquired the Steve Wilson curated 4-disc box set called Intrigue: Steve Wilson Presents progressive sounds in UK alternative music 1979-89.
I'm really not the biggest fan of Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson for some reason, though I've tried. I found that I kinda go for things more along the lines of The Future Bites rather than Signify. I do respect the dude though, I find him better at behind the scenes stuff like this and his remix/remaster jobs. This 4-disc set is a nifty collection of a lot of the artier stuff from the 80's which often falls under the post-punk, indie, new wave or art rock/pop umbrella, and I suppose assembled for those who felt that the 80's was all Cindy Lauper and George Michael (nothing wrong with Cindy Lauper or George Michael, mind you) or those who doubt there were any creative or 'progressive' things going on during that era.
There is only one track each from the likes of some of the obvious entries: Wire, Magazine, XTC, David Sylvian, Joy Division, Peter Hammill, PIL, Ultravox, Stranglers, etc. All UK artists. He's even got Robert Fripp League Of Gentlemen on there.
There's also lesser talked about stuff: In Camera, Dali's Car, This Heat, Crispy Ambulance (wotta name - it horrifies me), Swell Maps, Cardiacs, A Certain Ratio, tons of stuff. This box set is generally artier acts and songs and doesn't really go into the more Duran Duran type stuff. It's an intriguing, uncompromising, often edgy listen, but brings me back to the vibe of the college kid run record shop back in the day. Of course with any collection, why this track and not that one? That's inevitable with any various artist collection. My only gripe is why didn't he include anything from The Flying Lizards - that stuff is artier that anything else here. Those albums and singles warped my mind and I have yet to recover. Wilson does explain why he didn't include anything from Talk Talk, Blue Nile or Random Hold, but does offer 'further listening' suggestions. He also didn't include anything 'neo-prog', save for Twelfth Night. Wilson deemed these artists (Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Pendragon etc) as more 'retro' and suggested someone do a separate 'neo-prog' collection (one step ahead of him, I made a 5-disc CD-R one for myself).
All in all it's a decent collection. Look it up and check it out. Arty, edgy, post-punk. All of the acts are from the UK. Sound quality is very good. It flows well, great set. Glad I bought it. Check it out if you like any of this sort of stuff or are curious.
I'm really not the biggest fan of Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson for some reason, though I've tried. I found that I kinda go for things more along the lines of The Future Bites rather than Signify. I do respect the dude though, I find him better at behind the scenes stuff like this and his remix/remaster jobs. This 4-disc set is a nifty collection of a lot of the artier stuff from the 80's which often falls under the post-punk, indie, new wave or art rock/pop umbrella, and I suppose assembled for those who felt that the 80's was all Cindy Lauper and George Michael (nothing wrong with Cindy Lauper or George Michael, mind you) or those who doubt there were any creative or 'progressive' things going on during that era.
There is only one track each from the likes of some of the obvious entries: Wire, Magazine, XTC, David Sylvian, Joy Division, Peter Hammill, PIL, Ultravox, Stranglers, etc. All UK artists. He's even got Robert Fripp League Of Gentlemen on there.
There's also lesser talked about stuff: In Camera, Dali's Car, This Heat, Crispy Ambulance (wotta name - it horrifies me), Swell Maps, Cardiacs, A Certain Ratio, tons of stuff. This box set is generally artier acts and songs and doesn't really go into the more Duran Duran type stuff. It's an intriguing, uncompromising, often edgy listen, but brings me back to the vibe of the college kid run record shop back in the day. Of course with any collection, why this track and not that one? That's inevitable with any various artist collection. My only gripe is why didn't he include anything from The Flying Lizards - that stuff is artier that anything else here. Those albums and singles warped my mind and I have yet to recover. Wilson does explain why he didn't include anything from Talk Talk, Blue Nile or Random Hold, but does offer 'further listening' suggestions. He also didn't include anything 'neo-prog', save for Twelfth Night. Wilson deemed these artists (Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Pendragon etc) as more 'retro' and suggested someone do a separate 'neo-prog' collection (one step ahead of him, I made a 5-disc CD-R one for myself).
All in all it's a decent collection. Look it up and check it out. Arty, edgy, post-punk. All of the acts are from the UK. Sound quality is very good. It flows well, great set. Glad I bought it. Check it out if you like any of this sort of stuff or are curious.
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