Marillion...Recommendations Wanted

Paul E. Fox, II · 04-24-2003, 08:47 PM

Ok...thanks largely in part to the people in this forum, I've fallen in love with Dream Theater and really dig Spock's Beard. Now I'm ready for more.

You guys had mentioned a band called Marillion I believe. I was able to find one called Misplaced Childhood over at Amazon but is that the one with which to begin?

Let me know where I should start.

Jan H · 04-24-2003, 09:33 PM

Try "Clutching at Straws", an excellent concept album dealing with Fish's struggle with booze. Probably my favorite Marillion album.

Brian Perry · 04-24-2003, 09:46 PM

I think Misplaced Childhood is Marillion's best album, and I personally think the Fish years were their best (though some disagree).

After MC, I would recommend Script for a Jester's Tear and Fugazi.

By the way, if you like DT, I would strongly recommend checking out Transatlantic's SMPTe which is a side project featuring Mike Portnoy (drums) of DT and Pete Trewavas (bass) from Marillion. Awesome stuff.

TheLongshot · 04-24-2003, 10:10 PM

There are two eras. The first was with the lead singer called Fish. This is as progressive as they get. My favorite of this era is "Misplaced Childhood".

The second era was when Steve Hogarth took over for Fish after he left. They have their progressive moments ("Brave") but is probably less progressive than the first era. My favorite album of this era is "This Strange Engine".

Also, check out Fish's solo career. "Sunsets On Empire" is a great album.

Jason

James Lee · 04-25-2003, 01:27 AM

As has been suggested, Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws are definte must-haves. In the post-Fish Marillion years, my favorite is Brave. It's simply brilliant with a good mix of progressive tunes, slow moody instrumentals and all out rocking songs. I would also recommend Season's End (first album with Steve Hogarth). It's not great, but it does have some really good songs, like Easter and The Space. Holidays in Eden (second album with Hogarth) is pretty disposable. After they released Brave, they changed their sound quite a bit and I lost interest.

If Marillion is your cup of tea, check out another English prog band named IQ. I like them a lot more than Marillion.

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andrew markworthy · 04-25-2003, 04:22 AM

There are two Marillion eras, as has been said - the 'Fish era' was the first, when the lead singer had the improbable name of 'Fish' (from his habit of taking long baths - he was Christened Derek Dick). The second era was after Fish left to be replaced by a lead singer called Steve Hogarth.

Fish-era Marillion began sounding like Gabriel period Genesis (only rather more dynamic). The albums in chronological order:

Script for a Jester's Tear [first studio album]
Fugazi [second studio album]
Real to Reel [live album]
Brief Encounter [live mini-album intended for North America only; eventually released on CD as a double package with Real to Reel]
Misplaced Childhood [third studio album]
B Sides Themselves [a collection of the B sides of their singles up to this point]
Clutching at Straws [fourth and final studio album]
The Thieving Magpie [live album that is effectively a 'greatest hits live' package]

The thing about Fish-era Marillion is that if you like one thing they did, the chances are you'll like everything they did. If you're being choosy, the live albums are perhaps the most disposable, and of the studio albums, Script for a Jester's Tear is probably the weakest. However, don't overlook 'B Sides Themselves' which includes a magnificent 20-minute song called 'Grendel' that is pure early Genesis and is a lot of fans' favourite track. If you're going to start with one or two albums, pick Misplaced Childhood (which has their biggest singles hit - Kayleigh) and then Clutching at Straws (which is just as good).

I don't know how easily available Marillion CDs are in the USA, but try to get the remasters. This isn't just for sound quality, but also because they came with bonus CDs that collected together B sides of the singles, demo tracks, etc. Plus, there are lengthy sleeve notes.

If you get really keen, then there was (is?) a boxed set of all the Fish-era 12 inch singles on CD in replicas of the original sleeves.

The Hogarth era Marillion is a rather different beast. It sounds less 'prog rock' and more AOR to my ears. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't personally do anything for me.

Mark All · 04-25-2003, 10:12 AM

To me, the band Marillion ended when Fish "departed." I like everything they did up through and including Clutching at Straws, although the epic Grendel, and the albums Script for a Jester's Tear and Clutching at Straws are the best work Fish-era Marillion did in my opinion. The double disc remasters are worth the money.

Steve Hogarth's Marillion is a lot different. Some of their songs are conceptual, the great musicianship is still there, and the overall quality of their songs became increasingly excellent over time. However, some tunes, particularly from the first two albums are pure pop crap designed for MTV. Fish was hardly photogenic; so the labels may have gone overboard with Hogarth's different appearance. Having said that, the album Afraid of Sunlight stands as my favorite Marillion album even taking the Fish-era Marillion into consideration. I think the Hogarth era really hit its stride with that one.

Brian Perry · 04-25-2003, 10:27 AM

I purchased the double-disc remaster of Misplaced Childhood and I guess I'm in the minority here, but I thought the bass was boosted and too overpowering. I'll have to do a comparison with my original version.

Peter Mazur · 04-25-2003, 03:13 PM

I think some comments here are really a disservice to Marillion's later music. "Afraid of Sunlight" is IMO second only to "Clutching at Straws". It is an incredible album and to me defines the Marillion sound. Hogarth is such a passionate singer, one listen to the song "Out of this World" will prove this. Or "100 Nights" from Holidays in Eden.

I would rank their albums in the following order:

Clutching at Straws
Afraid of Sunlight
Fugazi
Season's End
Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion.com
Anoraknophobia
Holiday's in Eden
Brave
This Strange Engine
Misplaced Childhood (This has never been one of my favorites)
Radiation

James Lee,

Another IQ fan, awesome. I have long been singing their praises here.

Mike Broadman · 04-25-2003, 03:25 PM

Paul,

I would consider Marillion my second favorite non-metal "normal" rock band (after Rush). I am an absolute hardcore Marillion fanatic, so I can talk about 'em all day.

Others have discussed the Fish stuff and the fact that there are two eras. Fish was the singer from its commercial beginnings in the early 80s to 1988 and released 4 studio albums. Steve Hogarth has been at the mike since then and with him the band released 8 albums. This means that Steve H has been Marillion's front man twice as long as Fish.

The most important thing to keep in mind when checking out Marillion's recent music (post '95) is that if you're specifically interested in "prog" or art rock, then this isn't for you. They just don't do that anymore. The musicianship is stronger than ever and the song writing is at its peak, but they left the prog trappings a long time ago.

The music they make now is very contemporary pop/rock, intelligently written. Yes, it can be catchy, much to the dismay of old