On the Sunday of Life is the debut album of English

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 band Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...

, first released in July, 1991. It compiles tracks that Steven Wilson

Steven Wilson

Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...

 produced and recorded for two cassette-only releases, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm

Tarquin's Seaweed Farm

Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, subtitled "Words from a Hessian Sack", is the first album to be released by Steven Wilson under the name 'Porcupine Tree'. It was originally a compiled cassette of experimental music made by Steven Wilson for his joke band he formed with his friend Malcom Stocks...

(1989) and The Nostalgia Factory

The Nostalgia Factory

The Nostalgia Factory, subtitled "...and other tips for amateur golfers", is the second album to be released by Steven Wilson under the name 'Porcupine Tree'. It was the second full-length cassette produced for his 'joke' project with friend Malcom Stocks...

(1990). The rest of the music from these tapes was released three years after in the compilation album

Compilation album

A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape

Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape

Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape is a compilation album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree . It is a compilation of the band's initial three tapes, Tarquin's Seaweed Farm, Love, Death & Mussolini and The Nostalgia Factory...

.

Most of the lyrics were written by Alan Duffy, a school friend with whom Steven Wilson had lost touch a few years before the album was released.

A small run of 1000 copies in a deluxe gatefold sleeve were released in early 1992.

Side one

Part I - First Love

1. "Music for the Head" – 2:42
2. "Jupiter Island" – 6:12
3. "Third Eye Surfer" – 2:50
4. "On the Sunday of Life" – 2:07
5. "The Nostalgia Factory" – 7:28

Side two

Part II - Second Sight

1. "Space Transmission" – 2:59
2. "Message from a Self-Destructing Turnip" – 0:27
3. "Radioactive Toy" – 10:00
4. "Nine Cats" – 3:53

Side three

Part III - Third Eye

1. "Hymn" – 1:14
2. "Footprints" – 5:56
3. "Linton Samuel Dawson" – 3:04
4. "And the Swallows Dance Above the Sun" – 4:05
5. "Queen Quotes Crowley" – 3:48

Side four

Part IV - Fourth Bridge

1. "No Luck with Rabbits" – 0:46
2. "Begonia Seduction Scene" – 2:14
3. "This Long Silence" – 5:05
4. "It Will Rain for a Million Years" – 10:51

Additional

Polish progressive rock/metal band Riverside

Riverside (band)

Riverside is a progressive rock band from Warsaw, Poland. It was founded in 2001 by friends Mariusz Duda, Piotr Grudziński, Piotr Kozieradzki and Jacek Melnicki, who shared a love for progressive rock and heavy metal...

 played their cover version of "Radioactive Toy" at a gig in Sjiwa, Baarlo, The Netherlands, in 2005

The drum track on "Third Eye Surfer" and "On the Sunday of Life" is taken from the drum solo track "5 from 13 (for Phil Seamen with love & thanks)" from Soft Machine's

Soft Machine

Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...

 album Six

Six (Soft Machine album)

Six is a 1973 instrumental album, originally released as a double LP by the British psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz/fusion band Soft Machine who were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene...

.

Personnel

• Steven Wilson
  Steven Wilson
  Steven John Wilson is an English musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
  
  – vocals, performed all music
• John Marshall – drums on "Third Eye Surfer"
• Solomon St. Jemain – additional guitar & voice on "Queen Quotes Crowley"
• Master Timothy Masters – oboe