SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

Perhaps the biggest difference between sixties psychedelic music and seventies prog is the subject of the lyrics. Had once the trippy zeitgeist of the era been the main inspiration for lyrics; now the artists started exploring making music based on brand new fantasy stories with a dramatic and/or philosophical edge (King Crimson, Genesis, VdGG, etc). Marillion took up on this tradition, but gave the symphonic progressive music back to the man in the street in a way. The drama, the make-up and stories are still here, but the lyrics are now inspired by the political and social issues of the day. Fish had the theatrical potential to really reach for the listener with performances on all these songs, whilst the band reinvented the symphonic prog sound for the eighties. More controlled, rhythmically constant and less based on individual prowess of the musicians involved. Yet, the songs have their unique way of unfolding themselves thought a string of melodic themes and symphonic chord progressions. Guitarist Steve Rothery would become a hero of the genre, though I think he reached his maximal potential around the 'Clutching at Straws' album. The keyboards by Mark Kelly have a full and modernized sound. The choices of the production continue to influence the sound of neo-progressive rock today. The overall sound of Marillion's debut is much better than that of its contemporaries and has therefor stood the test of time quite well. Moreover, writing strong lyrics on political en social issues is extremely hard and you'll see modern neo-progressive rockbands either refraining from it or failing miserably at it. Oh yeah, of course this record is influenced by Genesis in a big way. Which is why I tried to write about what makes it so distinctly different and original.