"Waiting" is the first 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...

 of 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...

, released in May 1996. It came in two formats: a regular CD and a 12" vinyl. At the time, the single was intended to promote the forthcoming album Signify

Signify

Signify is the fourth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in September 1996. It was the first album that frontman Steven Wilson recorded with a full group of musicians on board from the beginning. Previously he had been recording albums primarily as a...

. The song is divided into 2 parts, the second one being an instrumental follow-up

Waiting is considered the first Porcupine Tree single for its length, since Voyage 34

Voyage 34

"Voyage 34" is a single by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. Although it was originally thought to be a song for the album Up the Downstair, making it a double album, this idea was later rejected so it was released separately....

and Voyage 34: Remixes

Voyage 34: Remixes

"Voyage 34: Remixes" is an EP by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, released just a year after Voyage 34. The album contains two remixes of the track "Voyage 34 " from Voyage 34, one by British electronic music group Astralasia and the other by Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri.Voyage...

are singles of around 30 and 40 minutes respectively that would fit better in the category of 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...

's.

The song entered all UK indie charts and the UK National chart attracting airplay all over Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Porcupine Tree contributed an edit of "Waiting (Phase Two)" to the film music for the Paul Spurrier

Paul Spurrier

Paul Spurrier , is a British former child actor on stage, television, and film, and a screenwriter and film director. He appeared in more than thirty different roles, with credits including Anna Karenina and The Lost Boys for the BBC, Tales of the Unexpected for Anglia Television, and the feature...

's movie Underground, whereas the credits erroneously listed "Waiting (Phase One)".

CD Version

1. "Waiting (Phase One)" - 4:27
2. "Waiting (Phase Two)" - 6:19
3. "The Sound of No-One Listening" - 8:20

12" vinyl

Side A

1. "Waiting (Phase One)" 4:27
2. "Waiting (Phase Two)" 6:25

Side B

1. "Colourflow In Mind" 3:52
2. "Fuse the Sky" 4:34

Promo CD version

1. "Waiting (Phase One)" - 4:27
2. "Waiting (Phase Two)" - 6:19
3. "Rainy Taxi" - 6:45

C+S pressed a few hundred copies of this three track CD single to promote their subsequently withdrawn release of the "Signify" album. The third track is taken from the "Staircase Infinities" mini album.