Stars Die

Excellent two disc set by an early Porcupine Tree. As usual the musicianship displayed here is absolute perfection. CD1 gives us music from 1991-93 and is slightly different from later PT recordings. There's more of a spacey feel to this music compared to discs like "Deadwing" and "In Absentia," but that doesn't matter because of the quality of the music being played here. I really like the first track "Radioactive Toy" a super addition to the PT canon. "Nostalgia Factory" has some interesting treated vocals and "Voyage 34-Phase One" is a very, well, trippy number and is the longest cut on Disc One. Being trippy it describes an LSD experience. Ahh, the good ol' days! "Synesthesia (extended version)" and "Phantoms" are two previously unreleased songs. A very positive thing as any "new" PT is a very welcome development. "Up The Downstair" like "Voyage..." would be used as album titles in a few years, both nice versions. Overall this first disc is extremely satisfying.CD2 is comprised of music from the years 1994-97. This disc gives us three songs which make their first appearance on an album, the beautiful "Stars Die," "Colourflow in Mind" and "Fuse the Sky." These three were only available on a single/ep. Also two tracks are provided here that are previously unreleased, "Man of Wood" and "Signify II." As I stated any "new" PT is welcomed with open arms, however I was slightly underwhelmed by "Man of Wood." It did have some interesting vocals though. The superior musicianship continues and Steven Wilson's vocals on both discs are absolutely fabulous as is his guitar. And Colin Edwin is his usual steady self. Disc two continues in a somewhat similar vein of disc one giving the listener a version of a song which later would become an album title, "The Sky Moves Sideways-phase one." This cut is a beautiful 18 minutes 37 seconds long. Love those long tracks! Overall this is a welcome and essential collection every PT fan should own.

Still don't get the name, but that's all right. The set here is quite inclusive and it charts well the trajectory of this band from a solo excursion by Steve Wilson into a working quartet. The renewed interest in the back catalogue spurred Wilson into re-mastering, and in some cases enhancing, his oeuvre. It's well worth it. Having come on to this band only recently, I'm glad to have picked this up. There are a lot of rarities on these discs that serve the reputation PT has built well. I like all of them.For the future, both in concert and on compilation, I sincerely hope "Radioactive Toy" disappears. It is a juvenile Pink Floyd knock off that might have been OK at 3 minutes, but in its current renditions wears out its welcome quickly and repeatedly. It is a dumb song with a banal lyric. Wilson needs to get past it."Stars Die" is nearly the best track on this set, along with "Sever" and his 18 minute opus. But all of it works superbly. Once PT becomes a 4 piece, and in concert 5 piece, band, there is a dramatic jump forward in sophistication and dynamics. Wilson's writing expands as well. So all in all, this is an informative as well as entertaining retrospective.Still I'd take the WARSAW live disc, In Absentia, and Deadwing over all. Those three are ones you can hnag your credibility on for all time.

I only discovered this band a couple years ago thru digital streaming. They have been around for years. Just glad I found them. People miss out on so much great music staying main stream.

I learned about Porcupine Tree just recently. I was given a copy of In Absentia by on of my brothers and I just can not get enough of them. I started to want to learn more about the band and decided to give this compilationa try.Now that I own other PT releases I find this double CD and excecelent starting point summarizing early material from Steve Wilson's Porcupine Tree early work. The song selection is adecuate as well as the booklet. I say this as not only are they satisfying but they encourage the listener to research the original albums... and for a Prog band that seems to be now becoming more popular this CD is an excelent opportunity for new fans as it shows how the bands sound has eveolved over the years.

I just got my "Stars Die...",right after "In Absentia".The last one is better,but You have to understand,how far PT went from Delerium years.I am glad they got away from sounding like Pink Floyd and King Krimson and went beyond that.Steve Wilson and His band are still very young people and i am sure,they just in the beginning of what they can achieve,Steve is a great talent,intelligent and well aducated in art of music.I am happy to discover this band for myself(and for everybody i know,they all love PT ,after i introduced PT to them).If you want people to listen to really good and talented music,educate them.It is sad,that so many are mistaken Madonna,Michael Jackson and such as somebody who has any idea,of what music is.Irena

This album covers the best of Porcupine Tree under a fairly obscure label named Delirium. Because the cuts are sifted from a lot of material, the overall quality is good. I particularly like the title cut, Stars Die, which is the first cut on disc 2.In fact, if you came to Porcupine Tree via In Absentia (a great album, by the way), you'll probably like disc 2 more than disc 1. The early material on disc 1 is more psychedelic, and I wouldn't really call it progressive.But be aware that this album, even disc 2, is considerable more subdued than In Absentia. If you really liked In Absentia, you should give this one a try, but be aware that Porcupine Tree has come a long way.

We need not miss Pink Floyd. We have their brilliant body of work. No one can take their place. But with a band like Porcupine Tree putting out genius level work time after time, I don't see why so many people complain that the best rock has already been done. If you've not heard this band, start out with this collection. And then buy everything they've done. Make your stereo smile. This band should be one of the biggest on Earth. Get in on the secret.

A great 2 CD compilation of their first four albums, plus singles, rarities and demos.A fantastic introduction to Porcupine Tree but be warned after listening to this you will want to buy all 10 of their studio albums and 5 Steven Wilson solo albums as well!A definite, five star, highly recommended purchase.

Saw porcupine tree live in a small club. Probablyabout 50 people present. Loved them ever since. This is a great starting point . To find out what they are like. Good. Not dear so great value. Totally recommended

Really enjoy this PT compilation outing, contemporary prog at its best. Lots of highlights on this double cd set, too many to single out but voyage 34 is an interesting take on a bad LSD trip. Worthy addition to your collection.

I don't often buy compilations but there was enough unreleased or remixed material here to grab my attention. This completes my PT back catalogue and it doesn't disappoint. If you've only been introduced to PT through their more recent albums such as Deadwing or Fear of a Blank Planet then grab this (and Up the Downstair)and enjoy it. I wish there were more innovative & original bands like PT around and Steve Wilson has got to be one of the most hard working guys in the music industry.

Not having heard of Porcupine Tree I took a chance and glad I did this album is haunting and beautiful with some superb performances from Steve Wilson. Very entertaining, stunning quality.

Great album, well remixed by Steven Wilson. First time hearing porcupine tree excellent ideas. And great music.

WARNING...you'll be late for work if you have this playing in the car on the way...I just couldn't manage to come to a stop until a track had finished!!!

Having only recently stumbled upon the brilliant Porcupine Tree I decided that this would be the first album I would buy, so I could get a good overview of their work. What a great choice I made! Well worth the money and I now cannot wait to get the rest of the albums.

Brilliant album by a brilliant band a must for serious music fans.

brilliant must for all psychedelic/metal fans

Great music

I discovered Porcupine Tree in 2005, having heard a few of their tracks on Internet radio station Radio Paradise. My first buy was the excellent In Absentia, followed by their not-quite-so-good (in my opinion) new release, Deadwing.However, I have actually ended up playing Stars Die more than either of these. What you have here is two-and-a-half hours of amazing, beautiful music from a hugely talented - and criminally overlooked - British prog rock band.If you haven't heard PT before, their sound is hard to define, but within my (admittedly fairly limited) musical experience it falls somewhere between Pink Floyd and King Crimson. CD1 in this two-CD set contains some of their earliest recordings. There is some very weird stuff indeed here - probably the Floyd influence at its strongest - but overall it's great listening. I slightly prefer CD2, however, which is a shade more melodic to my ears. Hardly a day has gone by since I bought this album a couple of months ago when I haven't played this.If you haven't heard Porcupine Tree before, this album (or In Absentia) would be a great introduction to the band. Buy it. If you enjoy intelligent, melodic rock music, you'll love it!

Ideal present very quick delivery

Brilliant!!!!!

Pure gold.