Steven Wilson is no stranger to the intricacies of prog rock. After all, he’s remixed just about every classic prog album out there, from the back catalo of Jethro Tull to iconic works by Marillion and Yes.
He’ll often work intimately with the characters behind those albums to inject a new lease of life into their iconic recordings.
Which is how Wilson says he learned a great deal about what makes Robert Fripp such a revered guitarist.
In fact, Wilson’s first foray into the world of remixing came in 2009 when the Grammy-nominated artist was tasked with putting a new veneer on King Crimson's 1969 debut, In the Court of the Crimson King. He's described the opportunity as “a perfect storm” that resulted when Wilson’s growing reputation as a mixing engineer coincided with a refresh of King Crimson's back catalog.
How he arrived at that juncture was no small thing. Wilson had grown tired of other engineers making decisions about Porcupine Tree's discography that he didn’t align with. He accepted that he “didn't have the skills, or the technology at the time, to be able to do it myself,” he told Sound on Sound.
Consequently, he deep-dived into teaching himself the craft, and his mix of Porcupine Tree's 2007 album, Fear of a Blank Planet — which earned the band its first Grammy nod — set him on his way.
But there was still a great deal of learning to be done.
“I knew I was arrogant enough to believe that I knew how those records should be approached because they’re part of my DNA,” he tells Prog. “I also had experience from my own work, as my fans often know the music so much better than I do.
“I think it was the same with the Crimson stuff — the fans knew those records back to front, while Robert hadn’t listened to them for 40 years. He doesn’t want to. Looking back to music from your past is not often an easy thing for a musician. It’s reliving politics, arguments, trouble with the record company, the touring; it’s a whole massive thing.”
The project was eye opening, as Wilson discovered that much of King Crimson’s magic was in the group members' ability to live life on the edge.
“I learned that a lot of Crimson records were similar to jazz and avant-garde jazz in the British jazz movement in the early '70s,” he explains. “Most records cut today are duh-duh-duh, with everyone dead on time. On those records, Crimson are speeding up and slowing down all the way through, and that’s why they’re exciting.
“You realize that what made those records thrilling is that fact that the band were flying by the seat of their pants a lot of the time. The music was on the verge of falling apart in some respects. I really began to understand that with Crimson’s work.”
There was also the not-so-small matter of conflict. Fripp was constantly forced to be an aggressor due to band infighting to his own steely determination to prove the media wrong,
“I do know that every single Crimson record that’s ever come out was a battle,” Wilson continues. “A battle between Robert and the rest of the band in some cases, a battle between Robert and the record company or the management or finances or touring schedules. Everything was against them, like the press telling them they were washed up.”
But more importantly, Wilson’s experiences revealed to him the man behind the music. The band's former vocalist, Jakko Jakszyk, recently joked that Fripp had accused him of trying to dilute his tough boss image when he said nice things about him in the press.
Then there’s the story of Fripp offering Steve Vai valuable playing advice several days into the Beat tour. Fripp had no involvement in the stint but took it upon himself to watch YouTube clips of the first few shows so he could help Vai fill his shoes properly. He may have been painted as the villain in the past, but that doesn’t mean he always was.
There is a disparity between Robert Fripp the man, and Robert Fripp, the hard-nosed prog rock genius.
“He’s a very modest chap,” Wilson reflects. “He can’t understand why the myths have grown up around him, and why there’s such an incredible passion — obsession — about the music. But of course, he’s not looking at it the way everyone else looks at it, and he can’t.
“You’d have to be a real egomaniac to want to listen to your own music. When I finish a record I don’t want to hear it ever again as long as I live.”
For now, Wilson has returned to the familiar role of creator with his latest solo LP, The Overview.
As he's revealed to Guitar Player, Wilson's approach to the album's guitar tones redefined the modern-day guitar solo.
“I think a lot of old-school guitar players can play beautiful solos,” he explains. “But sometimes they’re not so innovative with the actual sound."
He said his guitarist, Randy McStine, is a great example of someone who understands that.
"We spent a lot of time actually looking for the right sound before we even approached how he was going to play and the kind of scale he was going to play. It was kind of a way to redefine the notion of the classic, extended rock electric guitar solo.”
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