Marillion: Are they really that bad?

And prolific too, in the face of quite overwhelming derision.

But to suggest "Misplaced Childhood" was an album with hardly any prog pretenses at all is a bit rum. "Clutching at Straws" was slightly club-smoky, mind.

We may have been wrong.

Still, I'd listen to it again.

"Hoodies? We don't sell those, go and get me one."

And then:

"Well, you feel for them, it's only one step up from selling the Big Issue."

whats come out since is pretty much a mixed bag, the high point being Afraid of Sunlight in, i think, 95. well worth a listen and may just have been succesful if they werent derided by then for being a poor mans genesis. Interestingly this one was banged out as a contract obligation for emi who were intent on getting shot after pouring money into their double concept album brave (the fans favourite, but somewhat patchy). The rest of the time they often spend too long perfecting stuff.

the recent album, marbles, is so-so. Can't say i'd heard any GY!BE influences on there - the reference points being far more obvious Massive attack, REM, Floyd (Gilmour Waters version), late Beatles.

Hogarth- or the self-styled h- also runs a legitimate side project the h band with i think richard barbieri, aziz, andy gangadeen of the bays and you sort of get the feeling he'd be off like a shot if this became succesful.

apart from AOS which may be worth a download, individual tracks worth trying: Go! , enlightened, this is the 21st century, a few words for the dead. if these don't do anything for you then you're not really going to care for the other stuff. they put on a nice show though.

i will out myself and make the incredibly uncool proclamation that their new album, Marbles, is not only good, but one of the best albums of this year; this is not the kind of thing I would ever have expected myself to say. allegedly steve wilson worked on this album and it sounds like it. Although I'm not really a fan of any porcupine tree albums from a songwriting or performance aspect, I do like the textures and soundscapes they've come up with, and Marbles is full of these.

Having been a fan of this band when I was 14 (and not much after that), I never really gave this version of the band a chance and snobbishly decided they were the pinnacle of uncool, as another thread on here suggests. Even a few years ago when I decided to dip back in, I gave Season's End, Holidays in Eden, Brave, and This Strange Engine all a listen: no go. There was just nothing here that appealed to me, I heard only bad power ballads and songs cluttery with instrumentation and poor arrangements. When I heard they'd gone all Bends-era Radiohead after that, I kind of rolled my eyes and figured them for poseurs reaching a desperate stage of their career and didn't bother. But this thread made me go slsk the rest of the records. There are some very high points, and for some reason I missed Afraid of Sunlight, at least half of which is exceptional. the .com album has some uneven stuff but Interior Lulu is pretty great and the last song, House, really does sound like some Colour of Spring outtake. But Marbles is like the good parts of AoS stretched out over two full albums. It has some of the historic elements that, lets face it, this band excelled at: the sustain in the guitar is great (if you like guitar) but never wanky, the multi-part songs (of which there are a few) flow logically and keep your interest. The album has the kind of magnificently melancholy tone that Gilmore-era Floyd tried to accomplish and kept failing at. Hogarth's vocals don't dip into that rockstar bellowy range I know he's capable of; the whole thing is quite restrained and, uh, artful, but not "arty". I'm sure that not a lot of people will buy this and it won't get any airplay but going by this album, there's no reason that elbow have cred and this band doesn't. I'm sure the name is an albatross they'd kind of like to shed but it's too late for that and they shouldn't have to. We all did things in our early 20s that we're embarassed about now; I'm sure they regard Fugazi with about as much tenderness as I regard that time I threw up on myself at a party.

Just played Misplaced Childhood at our record club. Fucking hellfire. Could sing along with almost every word. Not played it since I was 12, 21 years ago.

record club?

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/

lol i saw them on that tour

"The rain auditions at my window
Its symphony echos in my womb"

This seemed massively profound to me when I was 15, no idea why.

ALL of Misplaced Childhood seemed amazingly profound when I was 11. Ring of violet bruises, cemetery eyes pseudo-silk kimono, all of it.

i have 'kayleigh' on my spotify playlist and it makes me feel super self-conscious whenever it comes up on shuffle

actually just looked and i have 4 marillion songs on there! other 3 are 'incommunicado', 'he knows you know', and 'easter'. all dope jams imo. i'm slightly curious about what they sound like now since afaik they still exist

'Incommunicado' is a fucking jam. I don't really like any of their other songs though.

I heard Kayleigh recently for the first time in eons, what a horrible horrible digital 80s production, urgh. Just no life in it whatsoever. Basically IQ Tales From The Lush Attic pisses all over Marillion.

that's unfair. maybe The Wake.

That too!

I was a fan as a kid. When I hear Fish-era tracks now I almost faint with embarrassment at the cringey lyrics and the fact that I lapped that shit up as a 12 year old.

I will rep for IQ for sure.

the lads of progressive ears are evaluating the new one, sounds that can't be made

http://www.progressiveears.com/forums/thread.asp?ForumID=1&TopicID=149253&posttime=9%2F26%2F2012+2%3A53%3A52+PM&page=1

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/marillion-misplaced-childhood-round-35-grahams-choice-of-weapon/

I'd gone years and years hearing about Marillion, and hearing them in the context of music I like (Genesis, say, or sometimes Rush). So I finally heard some Marillion today, and it sucked. I think it was "Misplaced Childhood?" It was horrible. I did hear this OK pop-prog thing from the '80s by a band called Twelfth Night. Album was ... "Fact or Fiction?" Not bad. Sort of like Magazine, of all things.

I like IQ a lot! Another band that clearly wears their influences on their sleeve but they make great music and have a keen sense of humor too. My issue with Marillion is that even when they're good (and I think in terms of composition and playing, "Script for a Jesters Tear" is pretty solid) it's hard for me to get over how much they sound like Genesis. I can't imagine what bad Marillion must sound like.

It sounds bad.

I loved Misplaced Childhood when I was 10.

That should be a sticker on the cover of the album, sort of a reverse "parental guidance."

I loved Misplaced Childhood when I was 15, apparently. Clutching at Straws was better tho.

I love the song "Lavender" but I dont know anything else.

i owe a lot to marillion. i got into them because my sister was going out with their first drummer. i saw lots of small shows before they got signed which were pretty great. i bought the early records and really liked "script for a jester's tear". saw them a couple of times at a much bigger venue in edinburgh and felt i'd had enough of all the pomp and circumstance but just couldn't let go. i clearly remember queuing up outside edinburgh playhouse to see them for the last time in 1984 after "fugazi" came out (which wasn't doing much for me) and noticing this group of the weirdest people i'd ever seen carrying these strange instruments into the venue upstairs. i looked at the poster and saw it was 23 skidoo who i'd read about in sounds but knew nothing about but decided to go to that instead as it seemed a more interesting proposition. it was phenomenal. life changing! i don't think i ever listened to marillion again voluntarily after that but big thanks to them for happening to be playing the same day as the skidoo.

I love the idea that the best thing about Marillion was that they inadvertently pushed you to pursue more interesting music.

Maybe there's an argument for 'Marillion as gateway band for 14 year olds', Fish blatheed on about Peter Hammill and some other interesting bands back in the day.

Misplaced is pretty wretched in the cold light of day, it was never my favourite of theirs. The only decent moment in the whole thing is the little passing section 'Mylo', where Fish drops his guard and thesaurus long enough to introduce a little genuine pathos.

Cardiacs used to support them didnt they?

I saw them with Cardiacs supporting, I have never to this day seen as much vitriolic hatred towards a support band (to be fair, I hated them then too). Fish actually had to come onstage at some of the gigs and tell everyone to shut up I think.

Peter Hammill was booed off when he played with them too, or so I heard.

So they're the ICP of prog?

Fish tried, bless him, he even used to confess his love of ABC in interviews as if it would be some shocking revelation. Also Marillion audiences are/were kinda dicks.

Marillion are that bad, but IIRC Fish was always a pretty chill dude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0OPSCcqo6c

great story stirmonster!

Hey Frogbs, do me a favour, check out a band called Big Big Train, listen to the first couple of tunes on their album English Electric Pt 1 and *marvel* at the big brass balls involved with their shameless and obvious Genesis appropriation, what's funny is nobody seems to call them on it.

I guess no-one cares enough about a Neo-Prog V2.0 band sounding like Genesis these days, it was such a huge deal in the 80s with Marillion/IQ/Pallas/Twelfth Night/Pendragon etc:

Now listening to IQ. Sounds like Genesis! Dare I even try Spock's Beard, or do they suck?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czgRIvcnTeE

Which IQ record Josh?

Tales from the Lush Attic. I mean, it really does sound like Gabriel Genesis. Drummer not as good as Phil, but that's pretty much a given.

xpost At times Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree sounds like the perfect conflation of, like, 10 different prog acts.

oh my ... loving the 23 skidoo story ..

random interaction = lifelong obsession.

my own was walking along with current nme, bumping into local record shop bloke, he asked me if there was anything i wanted, i pointed at cabaret voltaire review of sensoria 12" in nme and said, 'get this in for me .. ' (having never heard a single track by them)

.. result : lifelong groove

nowhere near as cool a story, but prior to getting that 12" i was all ztt/new pop/second rate guitar shyte ..

oh, and re thread : when i was a 6th former, all the fuckers i hung out worshipped this lot, and analysed the sleeve art to the point of tedium.

for this alone, they are worthy of all the hate.

That (and Nomzamo) are the best IQ ones to go for, probably.

How is The Wake?

The Wake is the best

it never quite coheres into perfection but the first 3 tracks are their finest 20 minutes

f#*ck.

deja vu.

this is the common room all over again ..

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/this-is-what-radiohead-looked-like-in-the-80s

lol beautiful

Tales from the Lush Attic - that's the one I've heard. The recent remaster is incredible. It's definitely very close to classic Genesis, but maybe it rocks a little harder? I'd be curious to hear what their later records sounded like.

I've heard a lot of good things about Big Big Train and do want to hear the English Electric albums. That said, I have heard their early material (up to Bard) and it's profoundly boring and personality-free.

The one I've gotten big into the last year or so is Echolyn, which is more of a Gentle Giant knockoff, though they have a more distinct sound.

NV, that pic is priceless. Iron Maiden and Marillion the two pillars of every teenagers music obsessions round our way

Cardiacs are said to have got booed mercillessly supporting Blur. Can you imagine a Blur audience? Going to see any truly massive band always brings out the misanthrope in me, because so much of the audience just seems hostile to the idea of a support band who isnt famous.

Some of IQ's 00s albums are really good.

Peter Hammill was booed off when he played with them too, or so I heard.

he played with them on the "script for a jester's tear" tour. i seem to recall fish introduced him and made a little speech about how important his music was and at least at the gig i saw he was treated with great reverence. it was just hammill with john ellis (from the vibrators) on stage and was one of the starkest and most unusual live things i'd heard up to that point (aged 14). i guess i have to thank marillion for that too as i still love and listen to peter hammill records. fish also used to rhapsodise about random hold who i checked out and liked as a result but i haven't revisited their records in eons.

good story too mark e. a vibrant music press back then definitely led to lots of great discoveries that remained life long favourites.

Yeah I saw that, I think the booing was a couple of years later, maybe only at one gig. Beltane Fire went down well as support on the Misplaced Childhood tour though!

XXP - I think Cardiacs only ever supported Blur at one day long gig in Mile End Stadium in the mid nineties.

xp

I was gonna say Beltane Fire got heckled unmercifully at the Birmingham Odeon gig on that tour, I still remember a flexidisc from the programme sailing in a gorgeous arc from the balcony to stott the singer square in the forehead

didn't they have like swords and stuff though? should have waded into the crowd and butchered their assailants

like all Scot Nats their bluster crumbled before determined resistance

never been all that into marillion but the latest fish album, a feast of unintended consequences, is pretty decent. not that it'll ever get any attention. segregation in all its forms is bad imho

to be fair marillion are absolutely nothing like those early albums now

Okay so I checked out the Marillion discogs page for the hell of it

http://www.discogs.com/artist/Marillion

And Jesus H. how many albums have they released? I count something like six Christmas albums alone (though sadly almost none of them are proper Christmas albums).

Well they are a cottage industry, like Steven Wilson whose every fart and utterance has to be released as a live Blu-Ray.

Thread making me not so much want to hear Marillion as douse their fans in bovine effluent

Well that would be me age 16! Sounds painful.

Marillion fans vs Cardiacs fans, maybe needs a poll.

no ones as bad as cardiacs fans

PENIS

IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY I'M SORRY?

Jon Poole (ex-Cardiacs) used to refer to Grendel as Apocalypse In 4/4

lol quality zing

yeah the vast majority of those on discogs are fan club only releases. I think they have about 15 proper albums.

i wonder how many total votes a poll between marillion's two lead singers would get

More than a poll between their two drummers I'd wager

I always thought Fish from Fishbone would be an awesome prog drummer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeK3sziX9rI

They've got a new album coming out next week, and the title of it - F*** Everyone And Run (F E A R) - is probably the worst album title of the year...

https://www.marillion.com/shop/images/Faceheader1.jpg

feat Eazy E

ayiyi

https://youtu.be/DnoqP4B8J6U

You did not have to link that, and yet.

Eh, not remarkably good or bad. Whatever, I kinda like the new Isuldur's Bane with Hogarth.

DG such a sweetheart, enjoyed seeing him bopping about there, I hope he makes enough money out of music, must be difficult for a life long sidemouse.

That was a great cover, Gregory has such a great guitar tone

Who's the singer for Marillion now? He seems like he's having a good time

Haha, Steve Hogarth, took over in '89 iirc

5 disc reissue of Script for a Jester's Tear, I refuse to believe anyone actually needs this

http://marillion.com/shop/albums/remast49.htm

http://marillion.com/shop/images/packshots/2227PS.jpg

Ooh tempted

i heard the remix is poor but I'll probably give a listen to a streaming version.