Coma Divine

Coma Divine
Cover art by John Blackford
Live album by Porcupine Tree
Released	October, 1997
Recorded	March 25, 1997-March 27, 1997
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	78:06
Label	CD: Delerium, Snapper Vinyl: Headspin
Porcupine Tree chronology
Insignificance (1997) Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome (1997) Metanoia (1998)
2004 Reissue
Digipack reissue on Snapper Cover art by Lasse Hoile

Coma Divine – Recorded Live in Rome or just Coma Divine, is a live album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released in October, 1997. It was expanded to a double album in 2003, adding the two tracks from the promotional single Coma Divine II (1999), and two more previously unreleased outtakes. The expanded edition was also released on vinyl containing 3 LPs, plus a bonus 7 inch single with two demo versions of the song "Disappear" (included on the Four Chords That Made a Million single in 2000, and on the compilation album titled Recordings, from 2001). The album was finally revamped in digipack through Snapper label in 2004.

Recording

The band recorded three shows at the Frontiera in Rome (on the 25th, 26th and 27 March 1997) for the purpose of this release, however, only recodrings from the 2nd and 3rd night were used, as the recordings from the first concert were flawed with technical problems. A vast amount of material has been performed during the shows, but the band eventually decided to release only the best performances on a single CD. While later the album has been reissued as a double CD featuring an extra 25 minutes of music, there are still other unreleased performances from the show. The unused material features, among others, both parts of "Voyage 34" and an instrumental called "Cryogenics", which was written especially to feature on the album but ultimately dropped as the band felt it wasn't good enough. Although essentially a live record, "Coma Divine" features studio overdubs of the vocals, as the original takes were too poor both in terms of performance and the quality of recording.^[1]

Track listing

Original release

1. "Bornlivedieintro" – 1:23
2. "Signify" – 5:22
3. "Waiting Phase One" – 4:32
4. "Waiting Phase Two" – 5:28
5. "The Sky Moves Sideways" – 12:38
6. "Dislocated Day" – 6:37
7. "The Sleep of No Dreaming" – 5:18
8. "Moonloop" – 11:40
9. "Radioactive Toy" – 15:26
10. "Not Beautiful Anymore" – 9:43

There were various technical problems with the original CD edition due to its extreme length, and later pressings had about two minutes of audience noise removed between tracks to try to solve the problem.^[2]

Expanded edition

Disc 1

1. "Bornlivedieintro" – 1:23
2. "Signify" – 5:22
3. "Waiting Phase One" – 4:32
4. "Waiting Phase Two" – 5:28
5. "The Sky Moves Sideways" – 12:38
6. "Dislocated Day" – 6:37
7. "The Sleep of No Dreaming" – 5:18
8. "Moonloop" – 11:40

Disc 2

1. "Up the Downstair" – 7:40
2. "The Moon Touches Your Shoulder" – 5:05
3. "Always Never" – 5:41
4. "IS...NOT" – 6:09
5. "Radioactive Toy" – 13:32
6. "Not Beautiful Anymore" – 9:43

Vinyl edition (3LP + Bonus 7 Inch Single)

SIDE 1

1. Bornlivedieintro (1:25)
2. Signify (5:29)
3. Waiting Phase One (4:26)
4. Waiting Phase Two (5:23)

SIDE 2

1. The Sky Moves Sideways (12:40)
2. Dislocated Day (6:35)

SIDE 3

1. The Sleep of No Dreaming (5:19)
2. Moonloop (11:50)

SIDE 4

1. Up the Downstair (7:40)
2. Moon Touches Your Shoulder (5:05)
3. Always Never (5:41)

SIDE 5

1. IS...NOT (6:09)
2. Radioactive Toy (13:30)

SIDE 6

1. Not Beautiful Anymore (9:39)

BONUS 7 INCH SINGLE

1. Disappear Demo 1 (Feb 1997)
2. Disappear Demo 2 (April 1997)

Musicians

• Steven Wilson - guitars, vocals
• Richard Barbieri - synthesisers
• Colin Edwin - bass guitar
• Chris Maitland - drums, percussion, harmony vocals

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
DPRP	[3]

Professional reviews:^[4]

• Metal Hammer - Captured live in Rome, they reinforce both their ability and their charm through the likes of 'Moonloop' and 'The Sky Moves Sideways', lengthy but not overdone pieces, led as ever by Steve Wilson's intriguing vision. Admittedly, it'll make them few friends (live albums never do), but it's essential listening for the faithful.

External links

• Porcupine Tree Official Website
• Coma Divine - Recorded Live in Rome at Snapper Music

References

1. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010424192721/http://www.porcupinetree.com/lyr_cd.htm#album_notes
2. ^ Porcupine Tree - Official Website - Coma Divine
3. ^ "DPRP CD Reviews - 1998 - Volume 1". www.dprp.net. http://www.dprp.net/reviews/9801.htm#pt. Retrieved 2009-11-24. 
4. ^ "Delerium Records: Porcupine Tree - Coma Divine". http://www.delerium.co.uk/delerium/releases/delec067.html. Retrieved 2008-04-18.