Lightbulb Sun

Release type:What's this?
studio album
First released:
May 2000

Overview Edit

Lightbulb Sun is the sixth studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in May 2000. There are four editions: the original release on Snapper records, a German 2-disc tour release on Snapper, with a blue flame on the cover instead of the original orange, an Israeli 2-disc edition on Helicon Records, and the 2- and 3-disc CD/DVD-A reissue on Kscope, in which cover artwork the orange flame has been turned to red. Classic Rock magazine described the album as "an album of stunning songs and startling musicianship… breathtaking."

The album is divided into two parts by a half-minute gap between "Rest Will Flow" and "Hatesong". The first part concentrates more on melodic, pop elements of Porcupine Tree's style, while the second has a more experimental character.

A CD/DVD-A remaster with 5.1 Surround Sound and a new stereo mix was released on April 7, 2008 from the Porcupine Tree store. Pre-orders of the Porcupine Tree store edition came with an exclusive 2 track bonus CD containing the tracks; "Novak" and "Buying New Soul (Instrumental Backing Track)". The CD/DVD-A album reissue was released for a mass market on April 21, 2008 through the Kscope label at Christchurch Studios, Clifton, Bristol in January 2000, recorded by John Waterhouse.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightbulb_Sun. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
SMACD841X
Release dates:
  • May 27 2008

Genres

Art Rock, Classic Rock, Experimental Rock, Progressive Rock. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Pushing the limits of progressive rock
At some point in listening to this album, you have to ask yourself, "Is this really progressive rock?" Sure, the symphonic epic scope of the 13:03 "Russia on Ice" and the extensive sax/flute jams on "Hatesong" tell you "yes." However, the euphoric acoustic pop of "The Rest Will Flow" and the hard-rocking chorus of the title track really make you question this album as a prog piece.

So, genre-haters rejoice at this British prog-pop hybrid that celebrates Floydian surrealism as well as Beatlesque…
Written by "progrock86"
3 stars Not too shabby
"Lightbulb Sun" has its moments as PT makes its move from the early psychedelic stage to the pop-prog sound that more aptly characterizes its style today. Highlights include the title cut and "Shesmovedon," which also can be found on the "Deadwing" CD. I'm glad I didn't pay a premium for it while it was out of print.
Written by Keith A. Morse

Track listing Edit

  • CD

    format:
    number:
    title:
    number name artist hh:mm:ss
    1
    Buying New Soul (edit)
    ?:??
    2
    Pure Narcotic
    ?:??
    3
    Tinto Brass (live at Southampton)
    ?:??
    4
    The Rest Will Flow (acoustic)
    ?:??

Credits Edit

  1. engineer

    1. Chris Blair [Mastering]

Other versions Edit

10 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Snapper Music
catalog number: SMACD827
release dates: May 2000 in UK
view details
Lightbulb Sun 4 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Snapper Music
catalog number: SMACD841X
release dates: Mar 27 2001
view details
14 tracks format: 2 x CD
release dates: Feb 19 2001 in Germany
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Lightbulb Sun 10 tracks format: 1 x CD
record label: Snapper UK
release dates: Jul 11 2000
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Trivia Edit

  • All titles written by Steven Wilson except "Hatesong" by Edwin/Wilson, "Russia On Ice" by Barbieri, Edwin, Maitland, Wilson
  • The German Tour Edition comes with a bonus CD, the theme of this disc is "An Introduction to PT" and it contains a video track, an image gallery and a full discography beside the music tracks. It was released with a slightly different cover (blue instead of orange flame) within a slipcase.

Websites Edit

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