Apart from the lyrics to Futurist Manifesto, my favourite BN lyric is from BBD's Love With The Madman: "And violins still scream from every room / You've ever passed your presence through". Wow.

Someone on Bass Chat UK posted a couple of interviews with Mick Karn - what an articulate, intelligent fellow - who I know Bill thought highly of. I've just come across an amazing track with MK, Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen called Sleepers Awake played live in 1996 (see below) with - on guitar Steve Wilson! I wonder whether he ever thought of using Japan as the nucleus of Porcupine Tree (he certainly pinched Barbieri). Anyway, this track is immense. It's also available as the first track on 'Lumen' (which I think is the live album they released of the concert) on Bandcamp. Here's the YT link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzt7dF5jwhs  (Thank you Alec for suggesting I post it here!)

Just to say it arrived and it's fantastic. Stand-out track so far for me is When I Don't Feel Blue where Bill gets a tremendously deep bass tone on the rhythm guitar, there's a wonderfully Bill Nelson widdly riff plus neat chords in the background. I particularly like the way his voice changes on that track from almost speaking to singing. Btw I've only just realised how young Bill's voice sounds. I know this is eight years old but his voice still sounds just as it did in BBD days which is really pretty amazing. (Even the lyric recalls BBD: "..... waiting for YOU".) Really great stuff, Bill!

Have just ordered Powertron, having heard the samples. I suspect this has lain unattended for eight years because BN feels he can churn this guitar-rock stuff out by the yard (which he can). But no one gets the honeyed guitar tones he gets together with the huge depth of sound (amazing for something home recorded), no one sings like him and no one writes such wonderful lyrics (even if he probably makes them up as he goes along). I don't want to detract from what Bill may regard as his more serious work (a lot of which I have - not everything but, without counting the box sets like Noise Candy and the Practice of Everyday Life, I have getting on for a hundred Bill and BBD albums of which less than 20 are BBD). But the fact is that Bill churning out riffs (and who writes riffs like him? Who even plays like him?) on a much-amped electric guitar is pure heaven for the rest of us. Can't wait to get the album and hear the rest.