Here we all are born into a struggle to come so far but end up returning to dust.
The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories) is the third solo album by Progressive Rock musician Steven Wilson, released on February 25, 2013 through Kscope. Following the release of Grace for Drowning in 2011, Wilson planned to return to Porcupine Tree in early 2012, but decided instead to focus more on his solo career with additional touring, followed by a return to the studio to work on his third album.
All of the songs on this album are based on ghost stories.
- "Luminol" is about a street performer that nobody noticed in life or even as he suddenly dropped dead on the street. Out of routine, his ghost continues to perform after death.
- "Drive Home" is about a man whose partner abruptly disappears while he is driving. Much later, her ghost shows up to remind him that she died in a car crash and that he was so traumatized by it that he tried to erase it from memory until she forced him to remember.
- "The Holy Drinker" is about a religious, Holier Than Thou man who is a total Hypocrite with vices of his own, including hard drinking. He challenges a man at a bar to a Drinking Contest, but it turns out that the man being challenged is Satan.
- "The Pin Drop" is sung from the perspective of the ghost of a woman who was murdered by her husband over the sound of a pin drop.
- "The Watchmaker" is about a man who spent 50 years in a marriage purely out of convenience until his wife died. Her ghost later comes back to take his soul because she had been with him for so long that she refused to part from him even in death.
- "The Raven That Refused to Sing" is about an old man reminiscing about his older sister, whom he was very close with until she died when they were both very young. One day, a raven shows up in his garden, and he believes the raven to be a manifestation of her spirit.
Musicians:
- Steven Wilson – lead vocals, mellotron, keyboards, guitars, bass guitar on "The Holy Drinker"
- Guthrie Govan – lead guitar
- Nick Beggs – bass guitar, Chapman Stick on "The Holy Drinker", backing vocals
- Adam Holzman – keyboards, Hammond organ, piano, minimoog
- Marco Minnemann – drums, percussion
- Theo Travis – flute, saxophone, clarinet
Tracklist:
- "Luminol" (12:10)
- "Drive Home" (7:37)
- "The Holy Drinker" (10:14)
- "The Pin Drop" (5:03)
- "The Watchmaker" (11:42)
- "The Raven That Refused to Sing" (7:57)
Trope to me, Raven, I miss her so much:
- All There in the Manual: It is difficult to tell what most of the stories are from the lyrics alone. This interview
details the stories, and there are also Animated Music Videos for "Drive Home" and the title track. - Concept Album: This album is based on a series of ghost stories written by Wilson.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The old man in the title track is emotionally damaged by the death of his sister and is now afraid to commit himself to any other type of relationship.
- Disposing of a Body: "The Pin Drop" has the man dump the body of his murdered wife in a river.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The sound of a pin drop was apparently enough of an aggravation for a man to murder his wife.
- Downer Ending: At least half the songs, but the title track is this for the album, as it ends with the implication that the old man will spend his final days alone upon being forced to accept that his loved one is gone. The downer is only intensified on the vinyl by this being the only song on side 4.
- Dragged Off to Hell: The fate of the Holy Drinker after he gets into a Drinking Contest with the devil and loses.
- Drinking Contest: The title character of "The Holy Drinker" is an alcoholic who unwittingly gets into a drinking contest with Satan, disguised as some random person in a bar. The Holy Drinker loses and gets Dragged Off to Hell as a result.
- Dying Alone: The implied fate of the old man in the title track as he is forced to accept that his sister is gone.
- Epic Rocking: All but one song ("The Pin Drop") qualifies, with the odd-numbered ones all exceeding ten minutes in length.
- Ghostly Death Reveal: The vanished woman in "Drive Home" appears as a ghost and forces the man to remember she was killed in a car crash as he was driving.
- Grief Song: "Drive Home", "The Watchmaker", and especially the title track."Sing to me, Raven, I miss her so much
Sing to me, Lily, I miss you so much." - Homage: The acoustic part at the beginning of "The Watchmaker" is this to classic-era Genesis.
- Hiding Behind Religion: The Holy Drinker is outwardly religious, yet his piety is proven to be a put-on as his vice lands him in hell.
- Limited Lyrics Song: The mostly-instrumental "Luminol" has a short lyrical passage relatively close to the beginning and a longer one in the middle.
- Longest Song Goes First: "Luminol" (12:10), which also takes up all of side 1 of the vinyl.
- The Lost Lenore: The Watchmaker, despite spending decades in a loveless marriage, mourns his departed anyway."I never really loved you but I'll miss you anyway"
- Moving Beyond Bereavement: "Drive Home" and the title track deal with this. The former has the man attempting to commit Suicide by Sea to join his beloved in death, but he is unable to die, so he swims back to the surface. The latter has the old man terrorized by shadowy demons that are then chased away by the spirit of his sister, who also leaves him for the final time, forcing him to accept that she is no longer with him.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: The roles of the ghosts are different in the stores. "Luminol" stands out in that the street performer does not directly interact with the living, but simply continues to perform in the same spot out of routine even if no one notices him.
- Record Producer: Alan Parsons engineered this album and is credited as an associate producer.
- Together in Death: The ghost of the Watchmaker's wife forces this on him because she refuses to leave him after half a century of them together."Cogs and levers mesh
We are bound in death
Melt the silver down
I'm still inside you"
