Together We're Stranger

Last updated

Together We're Stranger
Togetherwerestranger.jpg
Studio album by
Released2 September 2003
Recorded2001 to 2003
Genre Post-rock, art rock, ambient
Length47:11 (CD)
53:45 (2-Disc Edition, 2014 Remaster 1-Disc Edition)
Label Snapper Music
Producer Tim Bowness, Steven Wilson
No-Man chronology
Returning Jesus
(2001)
Together We're Stranger
(2003)
Schoolyard Ghosts
(2008)
CD/DVD-A
No-man - togetherwerestranger2007.jpg
Digitally Remastered CD-DVDA
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Classic rock (8/10) [2]
Eastern Daily Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Together We're Stranger is No-Man's fifth studio album released by the Snapper Music label in 2003.

Contents

The first four songs are linked to form a 28-minute suite of continuous music with recurring lyrical and musical themes. The remaining three songs feature acoustic guitar and clarinet-dominated arrangements and are amongst the band's most stripped-down and intimate recordings.[ citation needed ] In keeping with other No-Man releases, the title track reuses the musical basis of a previous Steven Wilson work: that of "Drugged" from his first Bass Communion album. The chord progression in "The Break-Up For Real" would later be reused by Wilson for songs on Porcupine Tree's 2009 album, The Incident .

The album was released in a limited edition white vinyl format on the Dutch label Tonefloat in November 2005 and in February 2007 on Snapper Music as a two disc CD/DVD edition comprising a remastered 5.1 DVD-A surround sound mix, high resolution 24 bit stereo of the album and additional bonus material. In 2014 was released a remaster (by Steven Wilson) single-disc edition on the Kscope label, includes 2 bonus tracks "Bluecoda" and "The Break-up for Real – drum mix".

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Together We're Stranger"8:31
2."All the Blue Changes"7:48
3."The City in a Hundred Ways"2:23
4."Things I Want to Tell You"9:03
5."Photographs in Black and White"10:03
6."Back When You Were Beautiful"5:07
7."The Break-up for Real"4:11
8."Bluecoda" (vinyl bonus track later included on the high resolution stereo and surround mixes of the two disc Snapper edition and on 2014 remaster 1-disc edition; originally placed before "Photographs in Black and White")2:36
9."The Break-up for Real – drum mix" (vinyl bonus track later included on the high resolution stereo and surround mix of the two disc Snapper edition and on 2014 remaster 1-disc edition; originally replaced the other version on the single LP editions, then was included in addition to the original mix on the double LP pressing)3:58

Two disc Snapper edition

The two disc edition (on Snapper Music) comes with the original stereo mix on CD and a DVD featuring the album in 5.1 DVD-A surround sound and in high resolution 24 bit stereo, with bonus tracks "Bluecoda" and "The Break-up for Real – drum mix" as well as the video for "Things I Want to Tell You" [5] and a photo gallery. Both "Bluecoda" and "The Break-up for Real – drum mix" later appeared on the compilation album All the Blue Changes – An Anthology 1988–2003 and on the 2014 Remaster version of the album, released by Kscope label.

Personnel

with:

Related Research Articles

<i>In the Court of the Crimson King</i> 1969 studio album by King Crimson

In the Court of the Crimson King is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music.

<i>In Absentia</i> 2002 studio album by Porcupine Tree

In Absentia is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the first to move into a more progressive metal direction, contrary to past albums' psychedelic and alternative rock sounds. Additionally, it was their first release on a major record label, Lava Records. It was very well received critically and commercially, with it often being considered the band's crowning achievement, and selling three times as many copies as any of the band's earlier albums.

<i>Lightbulb Sun</i> 2000 studio album by Porcupine Tree

Lightbulb Sun is the sixth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 2000, and later reissued in 2008 on CD, DVD-A surround sound, and vinyl.

<i>Up the Downstair</i> 1993 studio album by Porcupine Tree

Up the Downstair is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in June 1993. It was originally intended to be a double album set including the song "Voyage 34", which was instead released as a single in 1992, and other material that ended up on the Staircase Infinities EP (1994). In 2005, it was partially re-recorded, fully re-mixed, remastered and re-released along with the Staircase Infinities EP as a double album. The re-release contains a re-mix by Steven Wilson incorporating newly recorded drums by Gavin Harrison that replace the electronic drums of the original version. Another re-release on double vinyl was pressed on 14 August 2008 on Kscope records. This is identical to the 2005 release, except it is printed on coloured vinyl and the Staircase Infinities disc contains the song "Phantoms".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-Man</span> English art pop duo

No-Man are an English art pop duo, formed in 1987 as No Man Is an Island (Except the Isle of Man) by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson. The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections (most notably, 2006's career retrospective, All the Blue Changes). The band was once lauded as "conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper, and a 2017 article of Drowned in Sound described them as "probably the most underrated band of the last 25 years".

<i>The Sky Moves Sideways</i> 1995 studio album by Porcupine Tree

The Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in January 1995.

<i>Exposure</i> (Robert Fripp album) 1979 studio album by Robert Fripp

Exposure is the debut solo album by guitarist and composer Robert Fripp. Unique among Fripp solo projects for its focus on the pop song format, it grew out of his previous collaborations with David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, and Daryl Hall, and the latter two singers appear on the album. Released in 1979, it peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard Album Chart. Most of the lyrics were provided by the poet and lyricist Joanna Walton, who also coined the term "Frippertronics" to describe Fripp's tape looping techniques.

<i>Arriving Somewhere...</i> 2006 video by Porcupine Tree

Arriving Somewhere... is the first live performance DVD by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Disc one is a full show from the Deadwing tour filmed by "Studio M" with nine High Def cameras at Park West, Chicago on 11 and 12 October 2005, edited by Lasse Hoile, with the soundtrack mixed in stereo and 5.1 surround sound by Steven Wilson, and mastered by Darcy Proper. Disc two includes live performances on the German television show Rockpalast, a promotional video for "Lazarus", the live films used as the backdrop for three songs, Gavin Harrison's "Cymbal Song", and a photo gallery with over 100 images. The soundtrack to the DVD is available in FLAC and MP3 formats from the band's download store since April 2007. This audio edition is in the top 10 of the "Top Albums of 2007" chart of Rate Your Music website. The DVD was re-released under Kscope record label on 21 April 2008 the same day of the regular release for the DVD-A edition of Lightbulb Sun. In March 2018, Blu-ray and 2CD set was released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theo Travis</span> British saxophonist, flautist and composer

Theo Travis is a British saxophonist, flautist and composer. He is a member of Soft Machine which he joined in 2006 while the group was still using the "Legacy" suffix and was a member of Gong from 1999 to 2010.

<i>Flowermouth</i> 1994 studio album by No-Man

Flowermouth is the second studio album by British duo No-Man, released in 1994 on the One Little Indian Records label, and subsequently reissued on September, 1999 by 3rd. Stone Ltd, and in a deluxe format by Snapper Music in February 2005.

<i>Returning Jesus</i> 2001 studio album by No-Man

Returning Jesus is the fourth studio album by British art rock band No-Man, released on the 3rd Stone records in 27 March 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nosound</span> Italian rock band

Nosound is an Italian alternative rock band started in 2002 by Giancarlo Erra. The group plays music in several different genres, including alternative rock, post rock, electronic, and ambient. All their early recordings were composed, performed, produced, engineered, and released by Erra, who subsequently formed Nosound in 2006.

<i>Schoolyard Ghosts</i> 2008 studio album by No-Man

Schoolyard Ghosts is the sixth studio album by British art rock band No-Man.

<i>Insurgentes</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Steven Wilson

Insurgentes is the debut full-length solo album released by British musician and record producer Steven Wilson, known for being the founder and frontman of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. The album was recorded all over the world in studios from Mexico City to Japan and Israel, between January and August 2008, and released in November 2008 as a special deluxe multi disc mail order version, with retail release to follow in February 2009. According to Wilson himself, the album contained "the most experimental song-based music [he had] made." The album is named after the Avenida de los Insurgentes, the longest avenue in Mexico City near which part of it was recorded.

Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree, No-Man and Blackfield. In 2008 it branched out and has since signed the post-progressive artists Anathema, Lunatic Soul and Ulver, and progressive rock stalwart Ian Anderson to their roster. In 2013, the Steven Wilson release The Raven That Refused to Sing received the Album of the Year award at the Progressive Music Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmony Korine (song)</span> 2009 single by Steven Wilson

"Harmony Korine" is the debut single by English musician, songwriter and music producer Steven Wilson. The song is the first track and the only single to be released from Insurgentes, Wilson's first full-length solo studio album. The single is named after the American filmmaker of the same name.

<i>The Incident</i> (album) 2009 studio album by Porcupine Tree

The Incident is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. It was released as a double album on 14 September 2009 by Roadrunner Records. The record was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album and reached the Top 25 on both the US and UK album charts. It was the final release to feature Colin Edwin on bass as well as the last one from the band before an extended hiatus that lasted until 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pineapple Thief</span> British progressive rock band

The Pineapple Thief are a British progressive rock band, started by Bruce Soord in 1999 in Somerset, England.

<i>Grace for Drowning</i> 2011 studio album by Steven Wilson

Grace for Drowning is the second solo studio album by Steven Wilson, producer, songwriter, and frontman of Porcupine Tree. It was released by Kscope on 26 September 2011 as a double album. The album received a nomination at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Surround Sound Album.

<i>Abandoned Dancehall Dreams</i> 2014 studio album by Tim Bowness

Abandoned Dancehall Dreams is the second solo studio album by the English singer-songwriter Tim Bowness. It was originally released on 23 June 2014 by the label InsideOut Music.

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. Classic rock review
  3. Eastern Daily Press review
  4. Uncut review
  5. "music video directed by Stephen Bennett". 12 June 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.