I'm very torn on this album. At its core its an excellent progressive rock album. For whatever reason though it feels like a lot of the idea's on Stupid Dream just aren't fully realized.
Even Less starts off in a wonderful fashion, but after hearing the version on Recordings I can't help but feel they left some of the best material on the album on the cutting room floor. The instrumental Tinto Brass feels directionless and lacks any sort of real emotional depth, especially considering some of the band's other work.
I shouldn't complain too much though, this is an above average prog rock record. It goes through a ton of different ideas and emotional layers. Don't Hate Me is a fragile moment of venerability both musically and lyrically. Piano Lessons is 4 minutes in length but it feels much more substantial with all the ideas in it.
This would be a period of transition for Porcupine Tree. Stupid Dream and Lighbulb Sun saw the band evolving from a pure jam band in the early albums to a more structured and deliberate approach to song writing. Like all evolutionary process there are some bumps along the way. This album shows that while not everything is perfect the overall result is quite acceptable.
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