Steven Wilson’s Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall has received a facelift. The live set, originally issued in 2018 as a double CD and single Blu-ray Disc or DVD package, is now available as a 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray Disc. If you have a 4K home entertainment center, you’ll immediately notice a sharper, brighter picture of Wilson’s three-night stand at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The disc captures the end of Wilson’s tour supporting To The Bone, his fifth record. Unlike previous albums, To The Bone doesn’t dwell so much on brooding themes as it does with different forms — be it progressive, World, pop, whatever Wilson’s inclination. Here, he goes wide with songs from the album, bringing out Israeli singer Ninet Tayeb to join him on the exotic duet “Pariah.” She returns to the stage to sing “People Who Eat Darkness” and “Blank Tapes.”
Later in the show, Wilson announces, “The time has come,” as he gives props to pop, alluding to his own hip-shaking “Permanating,” adding, “I’m going to play it now. You’re going to disco dance.” And off he goes, eventually joined by a chorus of seven Bollywood Co. dancers to help get the room moving. “Song Of I” features a different kind of dancer — a laser projected image of a woman slithering to the music. It did not elicit the same response.
Others from To The Bone — “Refuge,” “Detonation,” “The Same Asylum As Before” and “Song Of Unborn” — take their place alongside Porcupine Tree songs like “Lazarus” and “Sound Of Muzak,” as well as tracks from 2015’s Hand. Cannot. Erase, and the haunting title track from 2013’s The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories). Together, Wilson, bassist Nick Beggs, keyboardist Adam Holzman, guitarist Alex Hutchings, and drummer Craig Bundell treat the Royal Albert Hall to a command performance. The 4K visual enhancement is accompanied by a stellar DTS HD 5.1 mix. Audiophiles may wonder why an Atmos audio upgrade wasn’t included, especially when you consider that Wilson is a world-renowned multichannel mixer. That’s a question for another day.
Nevertheless, Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall, which also features an interview with the musician as well as three additional songs shot during a soundcheck at the Royal Albert Hall, offers a live experience of Steven Wilson that truly needs to be seen and heard in the best possible format you can wrap your eyes and ears around. No doubt, this 4K disc delivers on that front.
~ Shawn Perry
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Home Invasion: In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall
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