March playlist

• Julia Holter—In the same Room (2017)
• Goldfrapp—Silver Eye (2017)
• Depeche Mode—Spirit (2017)
• Alison Krauss—Windy City (2017)
• David Bowie—No Plan EP (2017)
• Ryan Adams—Prisoner (2017)
• Laura Marling—Semper Femina (2017)
• Markus Reuter—Falling From Ascension (2017)
• Lonely Robot—The Big Dream (2017)
• Amy Macdonald—Under the Stars (2017)
• Centrozoon—Trust the Way You Are (2004)
• Sufjan Stevens—Come on Feel the Illinoise (2005)
• XTC—The Big Express (1984)
• Roger Waters—The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking (1984)

February playlist

• Steve Hackett—Night Siren (2017)
• Richard Barbieri—Planets + Persona (2017)
• Jesca Hoop—Memories are Now (2017)
• Blackfield—Blackfield V (2017)
• Otis Taylor—Fantasizing About Being Black (2017)
• Big Wreck—Grace Street (2017)
• Paul Draper—EP 2 (2017)
• Elbow—Little Fictions (2017)
• Backwordz—Veracity (2017)
• Ninet—Paper Parachutes (2017)
• Tim Bowness—Lost in the Ghost Light (2017)
• Anderson.Paak—Malibu (2016)
• Three Trapped Tigers—Silent Earthling (2016)
• Prince—4Ever (2016)
• Plank—Hivemind (2016)
• Sand—A Sleeper, Just Awake (2016)
• Los Lobos—Gates of Gold (2015)
• Sufjan Stevens—Ilinoise (2005)

Now on newsstands

The new issue of Tight but Loose, the Led Zeppelin magazine, includes a piece I wrote about Robert Plant's recent concert in Boston on the Lampedusa tour. Plant joined Americana luminaries Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller and the Milk Carton Kids for a series of dates across the US to raise money to help refugees. The format a departure for the singer. The performers sat in a semi circle of chairs on stage with acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. They each took turns singing lead, duets and adding harmonies to Americana classics. A fun and memorable evening.

Subscribe to Tight but Loose here.

November Playlist

• Kate Bush—Before the Dawn (2016)
• Jesca Hoop—Memories are Now (2017)
• David Crosby—Lighthouse (2016)
• The Rolling Stones—Blue and Lonesome (2016)
• Delbert McClinton + Self-Made Men—Prick of the Litter (2017)
• Sting—57th and 9th (2016)
• Brian Eno—The Ship (2016); Ambient 2: The Plateau of Mirror (1975)
• Sufjan Stevens—Carrie and Lowell (2015) 
• Phil Manzanera—The Sound of Blue (2015) 
• Julia Holter—Ekstasis (2012)
• Jimmie Vaughan—Essential (2003)

My Sleeve Notes for a New Box Set

What's the "X Factor" that distinguishes the most talented artists from the millions of wannabe aspiring musicians?

Partly, I suppose, it's a gift of innate ability. But that's not enough to make it. It takes work, perseverance and a singular vision. When I interviewed Steven Wilson about his earliest creative endeavors for the new vinyl box set, The Delerium Years: 1991-1993, I was struck by his indomitable drive and passion. Steven told me he knew it was his destiny to be a professional musician. For every obstacle—and there were many—he just worked harder. 

My 7500 word sleeve notes, which appear as a "perfect bound" book within the 9 disc vinyl box set, offer a rare peek into Steven's childhood and early career. (I also wrote the sleeve notes for the previous Porcupine Tree vinyl box set, The Delerium Years: 1994-1997, released earlier this year.)

Porcupine Tree - The Delerium Years 1991 - 1993 traces the explosive start of Steven Wilson's career in Porcupine Tree. The band started out as little more than a joke. During his teenage years in the 1980s, Wilson mucked about with primitive recording gear in his bedroom and dreamed up an imaginary band with an absurd name and an outlandish backstory. As a lark, the teenager began writing songs for his fake group. The punchline? Wilson's joke band was seriously good. Delerium Records, a record label for underground music, released Porcupine Tree's fresh take on psychedelic and progressive music to great success. 

The latest box set includes the first two Porcupine Tree studio albums, On the Sunday of Life... and Up the Downstair, as well as the Staircase Infinities mini album, the stand-alone EP Voyage 34: The Complete Trip, and the archival compilation album Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape. But these records aren't just the story of how Wilson had the last laugh when his joke band became a reality. These formative releases also trace how Wilson honed his craft and found his voice as an artist. 

The LPs (pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl) have been remastered by Steven. (Hedgerow Dreamscape and On the Sunday of Life... feature Steven's remasters for the recent compact disc versions of those albums.) This version of Voyage 34 will revert to the original full length version of "Phase IV" featured on the original vinyl release. 

The deluxe box includes a 'perfect bound' book featuring rare and unseen archival photographs. The box, book and LP packaging is designed by long-term collaborators Lasse Hoile and Carl Glover. Strictly limited edition. (The previous box set has already sold out.) Released January 27 and available for pre-order at Burning Shed.

Above all, it's a pleasure to work with Steven himself. 

October playlist

• Marillion—F.E.A.R. (2016)
• Suzanne Vega—Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson Mccullers (2016)
• David Bowie—Lazarus (cast album) (2016)
• Syd Arthur—Apricity (2016)
• Bent Knee—Leak Water EP (2016)
• Radiohead—A Moon Shaped Pool - Special Edition (2016)
• Riverside—Eye of the Soundscape (2016)
• Banco de Gaia—The 9th of Nine Hearts (2016)
• Mark Knopfler—Tracker (2015, Deluxe Edition)
• Steven Wilson and Dirk Series—Continuum II (2007)
• Tool—Lateralus (2001)
• Steve Reich (+ Kronos Quartet, Pat Metheny)—Different Trains (1989)
• How We Live—Dry Land (1987, reissue 2016)
• Tears for Fears—Songs from the Big Chair (1985) 
• King Crimson—Beat; Three of a Perfect Pair (1982; 1984 40th Anniversary reissues)

New on newsstands

The latest issue of Prog magazine includes a couple of contributions from me. I wrote a short retrospective piece about Toni Childs' great album The Woman's Boat. (She's one of my favorite singers - listen to this song, "I Just Want Affection," from that album to hear her incredible and unique voice.)

I also reviewed two albums by two Porcupine Tree musicians. 1) Songwriter and guitarist John Wesley's A Way You'll Never Be showcases a tougher, grungier sound and some of his greatest guitar solos ever. Hear "By the Light of the Sun" and hear the title track here. 2) Burnt Belief is an instrumental group consisting of bassist Colin Edwin and Boston-based touch guitarist Jon Durant. Their third album, Emergent, consists of instrumentals that ventures into unearthly realms. Hear "Ghost Aquatic" from the album.

Also in the issue of Prog magazine: A Pink Floyd extravaganza that looks at the making of Atom Heart Mother... Plus exclusive interviews with Van der Graaf Generator, Brian Eno, Kansas, Opeth, Nosound, Glass Hammer, Gong - Band, Stick Men, Director John Carpenter,

September playlist

• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds—Skeleton Key (2016)
• Opeth—The Scorceress (2016)
• Marillion—F.E.A.R. (2016)
• Shearwater—Lodger (2016)
• Wovenhand—Star Treatment (2016)
• Mudcrutch—Mudcrutch 2 (2016)
• Led Zeppelin—The Complete BBC Sessions (2016)
• Steven Wilson—Transience (2016)
• Vovo—Elle Macho (2016)
• Melanie DiBiaso—No Deal (2013)
• Patty Griffin—1,000 Kisses (2002)
• Laurie Anderson—Bright Red (1994)
• How We Live—Dry Land (1987)
• Brian Eno—Music for Airports (1978)

That time I went on a Moose Safari

In May, my wife and I drove to northern Maine for a thrilling travel-story assignment: A Moose Safari. 

Neither of us had ever seen Moose. We rose before dawn to meet our guide Ashley, from Northeast Whitewater and travel to a remote and hidden lake where we silently paddled in canoes in search of the elusive creature. 

I wrote about our experience for the new issue of American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, now in aircraft seatbacks. (Here's a PDF of the story and a link to their website version.)

Hopefully the story will whet your appetite for a Moose Safari, which I highly recommend. Here's a list of recommendations of where to stay, where to eat, and what to see when you travel to the town of Greenville at the southern end of Moosehead Lake.

MOOSEHEAD LAKE MUSTS…

Chalet Moosehead Lakefront Motel

Visitors can soak up the spectacular views of Moosehead Lake from Adirondack chairs near the water’s edge. Better yet, take the motel’s free canoes and paddleboats out for a spin or dive off the dock for a swim. Balcony units include a whirlpool tub. The motel is centrally located near town and the friendly service will get your visit off to a great start. Mooseheadlodging.com

Spring Creek Bar-B-Q

This outstanding Texas-style BBQ restaurant in Monson is well worth the twenty-minute drive from Greenville. Outside, a locomotive-shaped BBQ smoker offers tantalizing smells of ribs and chicken. Inside, Southern rock tunes complement the framed Allman Brothers Band autographs hanging on hand-carved wooden walls. Try the exceptional lightly grilled cornbread and spring-time fiddlehead and feta salad. Springcreekbar-b-qmaine.com

Stress Free Moose Pub

Après safari, head to this popular lakeside bar and restaurant, which stays open late. It offers outdoor veranda seating and an indoor, four-sided communal bar. (The mugs hanging over the bar are inscribed with the names of regular customers.) Excellent burger and fries, plus veggie wraps that vegetarians will crave long afterward.

Northwoods Gourmet Girl

Abby Freethy quit her job as a private chef, moved to Greenville, and launched her own line of all-natural condiments. “There’s no junk in the jar,” says Freethy. Inside the Northwoods Gourmet Girl retail store, her small crew prepares 19 bottled products—including ketchup, caramel sauces, preserves—and dispatch them to online customers and stores as far away as California. Northwoodsgourmetgirl.com

Katahdin Steamboat

The Katahdin Steamboat, built over a century ago, once lugged timber across Moosehead Lake. Nowadays, the 102 feet long steamer, named after Maine’s highest peak, takes tourists out for 3 to 4 hour cruises. You’ll get up close to Mount Kineo’s impressive 700 foot cliffs, which rise straight out of the water. katahdincruises.com