Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 There And Back (1993)

In 1992 Porcupine Tree issued their second single, following the 'Love, Death & Mussolini' cassette EP two years earlier, and this time they decided to make it an extended 12" single based around the LSD experiments carried out by scientists in the 60's. 'Voyage 34 - Phases One and Two' is a piece of pulsating space rock, spread over two sides of vinyl, with the first side clocking in at 12 minutes, and the flip at 17 minutes. I loved it, and having missed out on the vinyl issue I got the CD, and played it constantly. The following year they issued another 12" single, consisting of 'Phase III (Astralasia Dreamstate)' and 'Phase IV (A New Civilisation)', both lasting for nineteen minutes each. While not as immediate as the first release, it was still an intriguing experiment, as at this point in their career their albums were comprised of shorter, punchier progressive rock songs. In 2000 their record label Delerium Records complied both 12" singles onto one CD, but for reasons that I've never been able to work out they used a thirteen minute edit of 'Phase IV' instead of the full nineteen minute version. This is one of the main reasons that I've decided to mix all four tracks together into one long 68-minute piece of music, making sure I use the full takes of each Phase. If you've been enjoying my Porcupine Tree posts so far then you will have had a taster of the 1992 A-side on the live cassette tape 'Spiral Circus', and although this type of music is quite different to what they are now known for, if you think you'll like an ambient/trance/prog-rock crossover then give this a try. 

Track Listing

01 Voyage 34