THIS STRANGE ENGINE

After the release of 'Afraid of Sunlight,' Marillion had a run of spotty albums in the late 90s and early 2000s. 'This Strange Engine' is definitely strange, as there are a couple tracks on this album that are among my favorite Marillion songs, and the rest I could take or leave, with not much in between.

The album opens with the acoustic number, "Man of a Thousand Faces." Despite the length, this song is quite accessible and pleasant to listen to. What makes this song great is the coda, which is the climax of the song. The repeating chord progression lays down a firm foundation as the instrumentation builds dynamically over the top of it, including a school choir. This song provides a powerful start to the album.

"Eighty Days" is a good but ultimately forgettable pop song that contains a synthesized trumpet solo from Mark Kelly, which always felt out of place for me. The title of the song is a reference to the Jules Verne novel, Around the World In Eighty Days. Lyrically, this song is dedicated to the fans of Marillion.

"Estonia" is one of my favorite Marillion songs of all time, and my favorite song on 'This Strange Engine.' The music sets the scene vividly, as it feels like you're floating in a body of water. The waves ebb and flow calmingly, but you're left with a sense of melancholy. This song, lyrically, is about the sinking of the MS Estonia. Apparently, Steve Hogarth was on a plane and talking with a bloke who was sitting next to him. As they were introducing themselves, the man said he was making a documentary of the aforementioned disaster. Hogarth asked why that was, and the man replied, saying that it was because he was on the ferry when it happened, and miraculously survived. The man told h of what happened to him moment-by-moment during the traumatic event in great detail. His story is what inspired the writing of "Estonia."

"Hope for the Future" is Marillion attempting to write samba, and it's one of the weaker moments on the album. This song is maligned by many Marillion fans as being one of their worst songs, and while I don't hate it, I can understand why it's criticized.

The album ends with the epic title track, clocking in at 15:41, with a hidden track at the end of Steve Hogarth hysterically laughing. "This Strange Engine" comprises numerous sections, which don't always flow well into each other, making it feel slightly incohesive in totality. Lyrically, this piece is all about h's childhood. I heard in Steve Hogarth's Corona Diaries Podcast that the story about the bees stinging him in the face was one of his earliest memories. At this point, Marillion had established their own sound, separate from the sound they established with Fish (Derek Dick) as their frontman in the 80s. However, there are many moments on this song, especially during the awesome Mark Kelly keyboard solo, where the band return to their earlier, more "traditional" prog sound. Steve Rothery's mystical guitar solo is iconic, which then leads into the final section. The last few minutes of the song crescendo into one of Steve Hogarth's heaviest vocal performances, where he almost reminds me of David Coverdale.

In conclusion, 'This Strange Engine' is a good album. It's not the best Marillion album, but it's not the worst. Therefore, it comfortably sits in the middle of my ranking of their discography. 8/10