The Sky Moves Sideways is the third studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by British

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 February, 1995. It has been compared to Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

's Wish You Were Here because of their similar structure; both albums have extended pieces at the beginning and end, which are the halves of a single song.

The Sky Moves Sideways was the first Porcupine Tree album to be released in the US, and the first on which Porcupine Tree was actually a band rather than simply a pseudonym for 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...

. This transition took place while the album was being recorded, so two of the tracks - namely "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" and "Dislocated Day" - are performed entirely by Wilson, while the full band appears on the remainder of the album (including "Stars Die", a UK single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 which was added to the US version of the album).

In 2004, a new, two CD version of The Sky Moves Sideways was released, along with a similar re-release of the previous album, Up the Downstair

Up the Downstair

Up the Downstair is the second studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 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...

, featuring newly recorded acoustic drums by Gavin Harrison

Gavin Harrison

Gavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....

 on tracks which previously had only drum machines and other electronic percussion programmed by Wilson.

There are thus three distinct versions of this album - the original UK version, the US version, and the 2004 remaster - no two of which feature the same track list, or the same version of "Moonloop".

European release

1. "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1" – 18:37 (Steven Wilson)
   • "The Colour of Air"
   • "I Find That I'm Not There"
   • "Wire the Drum"
   • "Spiral Circus"
2. "Dislocated Day" – 5:24 (Wilson)
3. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" – 5:40 (Wilson)
4. "Prepare Yourself" – 1:54 (Wilson)
5. "Moonloop" – 17:04 (Porcupine Tree)
6. "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 2" – 16:46 (Wilson)
   • "Is...Not"
   • "Off the Map"

US version

"The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1"

1. "The Colour of Air" – 4:39

2. "I Find That I'm Not There" – 3:47

3. "Wire the Drum" – 6:18

4. "Spiral Circus" – 3:56

5. "Stars Die" – 5:01

6. "Moonloop" – 8:11

7. "Dislocated Day" – 5:24

8. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" – 5:51

"The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 2"

9. "Is... Not" – 12:01

10. "Off the Map" – 4:43

Besides the addition of "Stars Die", the different running order and the removal of "Prepare Yourself", the version of "Moonloop" on this edition is less than half the length of the one on the UK release. Note that the two parts of the title track on this edition have been split into a number of sections.

Expanded edition

Disc 1:

1. "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1" – 18:39
   • "The Colour of Air"
   • "I Find That I'm Not There"
   • "Wire the Drum"
   • "Spiral Circus"
2. "Dislocated Day" – 5:24
3. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" – 5:40
4. "Prepare Yourself" – 1:58
5. "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 2" – 16:48
   • "Is...Not"
   • "Off the Map"

Disc 2:

1. "The Sky Moves Sideways (Alternate Version)" – 34:42
2. "Stars Die" – 5:01
3. "Moonloop (Improvisation)" – 16:18
4. "Moonloop (Coda)" – 4:52

The song "The Sky Moves Sideways (Alternate Version)" is actually 34:42 instead of 34:37 as it says on the back of the Expanded edition. Also the version of "Moonloop" here has three minutes of additional material previously available only on an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, and is split into two tracks. Note that this is the only version of The Sky Moves Sideways which includes both "Prepare Yourself" and "Stars Die". This particular version of "The Sky Moves Sideways" has been cited by Wilson as his personal favorite out of all of his albums.

3LP edition

A triple vinyl edition was released in 2004 by Headspin Music record label, including a 7-inch single with two versions of the song "Men of Wood", the first was taken from The Sky Moves Sideways recording sessions and the 2000 mix was previously included in the Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997

Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997

Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997 is a double album compilation by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in March, 2002...

compilation.

Side two

1. "Stars Die" – 5:01
2. "Dislocated Day" – 5:24
3. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" – 5:40
4. "Prepare Yourself" – 1:58

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, Guitars, Keyboards, Flute
• Richard Barbieri
  Richard Barbieri
  Richard Barbieri, is an English synthesiser player, keyboardist and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London...
  
  : Keyboards, Electronics
• Colin Edwin
  Colin Edwin
  Colin Edwin is a member of the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, where he plays both fretted and fretless bass guitar as well as double bass and guimbri. He joined the band in December 1993...
  
  : Bass, double bass
• Chris Maitland
  Chris Maitland
  Chris Maitland is an English drummer.After being the drummer for No-Man on their Autumn 1993 tour , Maitland was asked by the band's Steven Wilson to join his other main project, the progressive rock band Porcupine Tree...
  
  : Drums, Percussion
• Ricky Edwards: Additional Percussion
• Theo Travis
  Theo Travis
  Theo Travis is a British saxophonist and flautist.Travis received his degree in flute and saxophone from the University of Manchester and has worked among others with Robert Fripp, Gong, Porcupine Tree, The Tangent, Bill Nelson, Bass Communion, No-Man, Steven Wilson, David Sylvian, Harold Budd,...
  
  : Flute on 6
• Suzanne J. Barbieri: Vocals on "The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 2"
• Gavin Harrison
  Gavin Harrison
  Gavin Harrison is a British drummer and percussionist. He is best known for playing with the British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree which he joined in 2002. As of 2008, he also plays with the band King Crimson....
  
   - drums on "Dislocated Day" and "Moon Touches Your Shoulder" (expanded edition only)

Production & Art

• Produced & Mixed By Steven Wilson
• Recorded & Engineered By Steven Wilson; Additional Recording By Markus Butler
• Michael Bennion: Art Direction
• Dan: Montage

External links

• Porcupine Tree Official Website
• The Sky Moves Sideways at Snapper Music
  Snapper Music
  Snapper Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by former head of Castle Communications Jon Beecher, Dougie Dudgeon and funded by the late Mark Levinson from Palan Music Publishing. In 1999 Snapper broke away from its parent company in an MBO in association with ACT and CAI venture...