FUGAZI

The first and most noticeable change since Script for a Jester’s Tear is that there’s a new sheriff behind the drum kit for Marillion. Ian Mosley replaced Mik Pointer, and the difference is palpable. In Script, the band at times seems to be using vocal manipulation and extended keyboard arrangements to create almost an illusion of a full sound. With Fugazi there is almost a completely new direction set right from the start with Mosley setting the tone, and at times Fish seems to be working to keep up. It’s one of two very positive changes on an otherwise slightly disturbing album (the other being Rothery, who shows more energy and creative expression on guitar here than on any other Marillion studio album).

Fish is just as acerbic and bitter here as he was on Script, but he appears to have turned his attention closer to home. With “Assassing” he is rumored to have crafted a bit of a personal attack on Pointer. I don’t know if that is true, but whoever is the target of his distain, he is certainly not pulling any punches:

“Apocalyptic alphabet casting spell the creed of tempered diction, adjectives of annihilation bury the point beyond redemption; venomous verbs of ruthless candor plagiarize assassin’s fervor. A friend in need is a friend that bleeds – let bitter silence infect the wound”.

Someone seems to have a bone to pick here – perhaps they need a hug!

“Punch and Judy” is a sour look at married life, young love replaced by the drudgery and predictability of familiarity and time. Anyone who has been married for many years knows what this is all about (not sure how Fish got to be such a knowledgeable expert at such a young age though), but “Punch” takes these emotions to a taboo extreme, with husband Punch contemplating a homicidal end to what has become his lifeless relationship – “just slip her these pills and I’ll be free”. I have to say that except for Mosley’s drums this one doesn’t really showcase anything new or particularly innovative from a musical standpoint though.

Mark Kelly’s keyboards have that bell-like tone on “Jigsaw” that he would perfect with the upcoming Misplaced Childhood, and Fish’s voice takes on a kind of tone of resigned fate. This is a slower, more introspective work with Fish once again reflecting on a defective personal relationship. This is one of several songs which are pretty much owned by Rothery and his sad, wailing guitar work. I have several compilation CDs that I have put together to listen to in the car, and this one and “Forgotten Sons” are the two Marillion works that I just love to take in on a long drive. You can really get lost in your own imagination with “Jigsaw”, and the mood can take you to places that I doubt Fish would have ever imagined. It’s just a very nice, layered composition that doesn’t even need the lyrics to be appealing, and frankly I’ve never spent too much time trying to figure out what those lyrics are anyway, for that very reason.

I’ve never liked “Emerald Eyes”, although it certainly has been the centerpiece of numerous recurring themes in the band’s work. I really have no idea what Fish is ranting about, but the overall tone is bitter, hateful, and depressing. Musically the arrangement seems to be a bit haphazard and forced. Fish and Rothery have both commented over the years that the band really struggled to put this album together in the studio following the somewhat surprising success of “Script”, and I have to wonder if the band had mixed feelings about including this in the final production. The energetic “Cinderella Search” single would have been a better choice, and in fact this is the leadoff tune on the bonus CD that accompanies the 1997 CD re-release of “Fugazi”, along with some demo cuts and a longer remix of “Assassing” (I’ve heard the “Assassing” remix, but otherwise if you don’t have the re-released compilation, it’s really not worth picking up if you already have this original version).

“She Chameleon” is another girl-done-me-wrong rant by Fish, although the musical tone here and on “Incubus” are quite different from the rest of the album. The brooding keyboards and sporadic drumbeats evoke an almost gothic mood. “Incubus” is another song that seems to lack a really cohesive effort by all members of the band. Kelly really seems to be working to fill space on keyboards, and Linda Pyke’s goofy backing vocals are actually kind of a distraction, almost an intrusion on the mood.

“Fugazi” is a much better representation of what Marillion is capable of. In some ways this is a separate album unto itself, with numerous tempo and vocal changes giving it the feel of a theatrical work, which is something Fish is much better at than straight-ahead rocking anyway. The lyrics are a chock full of cryptic references and verbal pictures. I have heard this song hundreds of times over the years and still find new ideas, sounds, and emotions with pretty much every listen.

Script was a real masterpiece of progressive art when it hit the musical landscape in 1983. In many ways Marillion breathed new life into a genre that was struggling to find itself, and the abruptness and shear force with which they entered our musical conscious left an indelible and long-lasting impression. With Fugazi however, I think the band shows evidence of the sophomore struggle that so many other bands have fought to work through. This is still an excellent body of music, and perhaps the expectations set by Script and the powerful Market Square Heroes EP were unreasonable and too high for the band to overcome, particularly combined with the personnel changes and the personal struggles that have come to light in subsequent years.

Whatever the reason, this is not as great a work as Script, and in my opinion not as good as Misplaced Childhood would be either, largely because the latter has a strong theme to hold it together, and Fish seems to have buried the hatchet on at least some of his personal squabbles by that point (or at least he seems to have chosen to separate them from his music).

So I think this is a good album, especially compared to what else was available on the market at the time, but it has not ensconced itself in the library of timeless progressive music over the years, and isn’t likely to at this point. Misplaced Childhood a year later would be a rebound, but I think three stars is the right place to put Fugazi.

peace