Warthur Porcupine Tree's musical evolution over the years has taken them through a range of different sounds and styles, and few releases show this more clearly than their debut album. On the Sunday of Life is a compilation of the best tracks from the preceding self-published cassette releases, with the songs being given a loving remaster and some reworkings here and there.

At this point in time, Porcupine Tree was essentially a Steven Wilson solo project with a few guest appearances from friends here and there, and the sound Wilson was pursuing sat right on the borderline between the naive whimsicality of psychedelia and the soaring, proggy dreamscapes of space rock; overall, I'd put the album on the space rock side of the line, but only just.

If you're coming to the album after experiencing the band's later work, then most of it will seem completely bizarre - aside from the epic Radioactive Toy, which pointed the way to the direction the band would pursue in future - but approach it with an open mind and a receptiveness to psychedelic silliness and you'll find it a confident and capable update of the style.

siLLy puPPy Metalheads beware! If you want any metal in your PORCUPINE TREE fast forward to "IN ABSENTIA" because you will find absolutely none on this release!

Although this is the first official PORCUPINE TREE release it wasn't at all the beginning. Everyone knows that PORCUPINE TREE is really the talent of Steven Wilson dressed up as a band and that is not to dismiss the talent of the members who have contributed to this prolific band's wonderful sounds over the decades but the fact remains that Wilson is the conductor and main talent on board. This first album is really a compilation of the the material that he began created as a joke actually. The idea actually started all the way back in 1987 when Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks decided to make a fictional band that was influenced by psychedelic space rock music especially in the Pink Floyd arena. They went to great lengths to create a faux history and personas. Sounds to me like it was meant to be a Pink Floyd inspired Spinal Tap thing. Although intended to be a joke while focusing on his “real” band called No-Man, Steven released a couple of cassette only albums and they proved to catch the attention of the right people who decided that some of this material actually had a place in the market.

That brings us to the debut album ON THE SUNDAY OF LIFE. Although officially the first album, this is really a compilation of tracks off the cassette recordings that Wilson created on his then newly purchased recording equipment. The great thing about this album is as stated in the liner notes, namely that this album really represents all the possible avenues that Wilson could have gone down. Although there are clear moments of those that he did go down in the form of the psychedelic rock and crossover prog with beautifully melancholic melodies in a rock context, there are many tracks on this album that do not represent any of the later PORCUPINE TREE albums in the least. There are industrial rock tracks, new age ambient tracks and highly experimental ones that remind me more of the indie pop band Ween. It is clear from this debut album that Steven Wilson is a formidable talent who is more than capable of developing several branches of music. This is a remarkable album. I just love it. It was more than I ever could have expected coming to this after hearing most of the later albums. What we have here is a clear indicator that Steven Wilson was a hugely talented musician capable of greatness and in that regard he hasn't disappointed. Unfortunately the collective rating on this is unjust. This is eclectic to say the least but I enjoy every single track on this and contemplate all the possible avenues Steven Wilson could have taken. A very interesting album that displays Wilson at a stage before he had a fanbase and had to focus on that aspect of his music.