MARILLION

Review Nº 416

"Warm Wet Circles" is a compilation of Marillion and was released in 2003. This is a compilation that comprises tracks from three of their studio albums released in Marillion Fish's era. So, we have tracks from "Script For A Jester's Tear", "Misplaced Childhod" and "Clutching At Straws". So, it only has no tracks from "Fugazi". But apart the tracks from those albums, it has also two non-album's tracks, "Lady Nina" and "Freaks" from the time of "Misplaced Childhood".

"Warm Wet Circles" has fourteen tracks. The first track "Garden Party" is from "Script For A Jester's Tear". It was also released as the A side of their single "Garden Party" with "Margaret" as the B side. The lyrics are fantastic, very satiric, and represent one of the best Fish's lyrical performances. This song reminds me the style of Peter Gabriel in Genesis. The second track "Blind Curve" including "Vocal Under A Bloodlight", "Passing Strangers", "Mylo", "Perimeter Walk", and "Threshold" is from "Misplaced Childhood". It's a wonderful track with a very stunning, well structured and a nice melody musical composition. Rothery takes over with one of his best guitar solos. The third track "Incommunicado" is from "Clutching At Straws". It was also released as the A side of the single "Incommunicado" with "Going Under" as the B side. It's an upbeat rocker of a tune led by fun synthesizers and good chorus led by Fish. The fourth track "Lords Of The Backstage" is from "Misplaced Childhood". It's a high paced rock and festive song. This song deals about the poor combination of love and life on the road. It's another catchy short song of that album. The fifth track "Sugar Mice" is from "Clutching At Straws". It was also a song released on their second single "Sugar Mice", released in 1987. It was the A side of that Marillion's single and the B side was "Tux On". It's a nice mellow track, very emotional but with very sad lyrics. I always loved it. The sixth track "Torch Song" is from "Clutching At Straws". It's one of the slower tracks on that album. It's another romantic ballad which shows how Fish has developed very good manners performing this kind of songs. But, it still is a great prog rock song. The seventh track "Childhood's End" is from "Misplaced Childhood". It's a sweet song. Trewavas playing is superb, keyboards also make an important part for the song and the strumming playing of Rothery's guitar would become his trademark for years. The eighth track "Just For The Record" is from "Clutching At Straws". This is a keyboard based song with an upbeat tempo and a high energy. It starts with a piano/keyboard solo, followed by energetic drumming and vocals that enters at the same time. The music and the vocal line flow nicely with the great keyboard interlude. The ninth track "Lady Nina" was released on their single "Kayleigh" and it was the B side of that Marillion's single. It was released from their third studio album "Misplaced Childhood", but it doesn't appear on that original album. This is one of the poppiest tracks of the band. But, it still works pretty well in the context. The tenth track "White Feather" is from "Misplaced Childhood". It's really a very energetic and dynamic song. Two minutes of instrumental neo-prog to wind down a lovely work of art. It's a great song to close that album. The eleventh track "Warm Wet Circles" is from "Clutching At Straws". It was also released as a 7" single and 7" picture disc with "Warm Wet Circles" as the A side and a live version of "White Russian" as the B side. This is a nice track opened with soft guitar fills. It's an easily accessible track. The twelfth track "Kayleigh" is from "Misplaced Childhood". It was also released as the A side of Marillon's first single "Kayleigh" and with "Lady Nina" as the B side. This is maybe the most recognizable Marillion's tune. It's one of the most accessible tracks on that album with again nice lyrics and beautiful soloing by Rothery. The thirteenth track "Freaks" was released on their single "Lavender", in 1985 and it was the B side of that Marillion's single. It was released on their third studio album "Misplaced Childhood", but it doesn't appear on that original album. It was also released as a separated single in 1988. This is really a funny Fish's romp. The fourteenth track "Forgotten Sons" is from "Script For A Jester's Tear". It's a song with very powerful lyrics and with a clear political message with references to the Northern Ireland conflict, at the time. This is one of their best pieces and one of their successful hits performed with excellent and speedy guitar solos. Rothery is an underrated guitarist, really.

Conclusion: "Warm Wet Circles" is a fine compilation album from Marillion that comprises tracks from three of their studio albums released in Fish's era plus two non-album's tracks. However, it doesn't have any track from their second studio album "Fugazi", which is, in my humble opinion, a bit strange thing. For a band that only released four studio albums in Fish's era, that is, at least, somewhat, a bit surprising. It's true that "Fugazi" is in general considered their weakest of those four albums, and is my less favourite too, but it still is undoubtedly, a great album too, really. Anyway, in my humble opinion, that fact doesn't weaken the general quality of this compilation album, really. It contains some of the best tracks of Marillion released in those days. So, it remains, for me, a very interesting and nice compilation that serves perfectly well as an introduction to the music of Marillion in that era. Still, it can never replace all those albums.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

'Fugazi', or the strongest contender for the best Fish-era Marillion album, alongside the debut, in my humble opinion. This amazing record was released in March 1984, and came soon after the recently-formed neo-progressive rock band's quite successful and promising first album, 'Script for a Jester's Tear'. The band recorded 'Fugazi' between November of '83 and February of '84, producing two singles - the opening tracks 'Assassing' and 'Punch and Judy'.

The striking cover was the brainchild of Fish, and it meant to represent the kind of protagonist of the record, although this is definitely not the usual concept album with a storyline developing across the different tracks. In fact, it is not a concept album at all. Fame, substance abuse and addiction, sexuality, and criticism over authorities are among the themes that Mr Derek Dick touches upon on this album.

Sonically, 'Fugazi' sounds very similar to its predecessor, with Marillion embracing the progressive art rock values that they had already displayed, creating what could be referred to as the definitive sound of an 80s progressive rock album. This time, however, the band showcases on some of the songs hard rock and even pop rock leanings (for example, on the two singles that this album produced), that are quite well masked in the search for an identity that Marillion found in a keyboard-centered sound that resembled 70s prog but did not dismiss completely the prevailing in the mainstream punk rock values.

Cinematic, tense, and gripping, the songs on 'Fugazi' are a perfect continuation of the very expressive rock sound that they created with the release of 'Script'. The lyrics of Fish are even more striking and obscure, quite though-provoking, and strictly poetic; his phrasing and vocal style are so recognizable, vivid, and memorable, transporting the listener to an adventure across the mind of a true lyrical genius. This can be well observed in 'Emerald Lies', 'She Chameleon', 'Incubus' and the title track, all songs that are characterized by an unsettling atmosphere which also happens to be very elegant.

The music on 'Fugazi' goes perfectly well with the concept of the record, and with the lyrical content, despite the fact that it might be considered a tad bit less comprehensive than the music on 'Script', which was something also noted by the critics at the time, not that this should of any value to the interested listener. I find the record memorable and compelling, also resonating with the listener on a profound level, indicating that the magic of early Marillion is alive and well in their sophomore release. Moreover, this is one of the albums that still sound really well after so many years, unlike a load of albums from the same period that have the neo-progressive rock tag.

As for the line-up, the only difference with the preceding album is that drummer Mick Pointer had been dismissed (who later found Arena with Clive Nolan from Pendragon), to allow Ian Mosley to join the band for an enduring and fruitful match with the rest of the band, namely Steve Rothery on guitars, Pete Trewavas on bass, Mark Kelly on keyboards, and the charismatic Fish on vocals.

Highly recommended album, and one that I consider an extremely important episode in the history of progressive rock; although 'Fugazi' is usually neglected in favor of the other three albums that Marillion released with Fish, it is certainly a 'hidden gem' in the band's discography.

Review Nº 411

"Misplaced Childhood/Script For A Jester's Tear" is a very special compilation album of Marillion. It was released in 2011. It's an economic package that includes their debut studio album "Script For A Jester's Tear" released in 1983 and their third studio album "Mispalced Childhood" released in 1985, on only one CD package. This is a very interesting compilation album because it includes the two albums that are considered the best works of Marillion in Fish's era. Both albums are also considered the two greatest masterpieces ever released by the band. So, we can say that it can be a very worth purchase if you don't have the two original albums yet. It means that, if you buy it, you can save on money.

So, "Script For A Jester's Tear" and "Misplaced Childhood" are two fundamental albums of Marillion because they represent the beginning of the band, besides they're Marillion's best works. It's true that the other two studio albums of Marillion in Fish's era, "Fugazi" released in 1984 and "Clutching At Straws" released in 1987 are also great works. So, we are in presence of some of the greatest progressive rock albums released in the 80's, a less good decade for prog.

As I've already reviewed these two albums previously on Progarchives, in a more extensive way, I'm not going to do it again. So, if you are interested to know, in more detail, what I wrote about them before, I invite you to read those my both reviews. However, in here, I'm going to write something about them in a more short way. So, of course, I'm not going to analyze them track by track, as I made before, but I'm only going to make a global appreciation of both albums.

"Misplaced Childhood": "Misplaced Childhood" is a conceptual album, the first conceptual album released by the group, consisting of a continuous piece of music. Armed with a handful of lyrics, "Mispalced Childhood" is a river of mood, feeling and atmosphere. Everything fits, the individual pieces merge into a whole and the transitions are perfect. Besides be their most commercially successful album, "Misplaced Childhood" is, for me and without any doubt, their best studio album until today, and it's also, in my humble opinion, one of the best studio albums ever made in the progressive rock music. Even the former drummer of Dream Theater, Mike Portnoy commented that this was the best Marillion's album of all time. With "Misplaced Childhood", Marillion proved they weren't a clone of Genesis and with it they reached the status of be considered one of the best progressive rock bands ever. "Misplaced Childhood", put Marillion on the same quality level of Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Van Der Graaf Generator, Camel, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Rush and Dream Theater. It put them as one of the greatest and most influential prog bands of ever too. If you don't know the band yet and want to buy a Marillion's albums, this is the best. "Misplaced Childhood" is an album that every music lover, no matter from which corner he comes, should own, really.

"Script For A Jester's Tear": It's commonly accepted that "Script For A Jester's Tear" is with "Misplaced Childhood" the two best studio albums released by Marillion in the era of Fish. It's also true that the opinion of which of these albums is the best, is divided. Both have their supporters. However, and in my humble opinion, "Misplaced Childhood" is a better album because is a more cohesive and well balanced musical work. Still, nobody can't deny the fundamental importance of "Script For A Jester's Tear", in those times, for progressive rock. In a certain way "Script For A Jester's Tear" was as important as "In The Court Of The Crimson King" of King Crimson was for the progressive rock music in the 70's. In the summer of 1982 the punk explosion was gone but remained some echoes, a parade of a new romantic musical movement. So, when the music world seemed to be at the mercy of the new romantics, "Script For A Jester's Tear" represents a landmark and a breath of fresh air to that progressive rock music, so needed at the time. We can even say that since "Script For A Jester's Tear" the world of progressive rock has raised again and no longer was the same. So, this is an album that should be known as a prog interested, since it was significantly involved in awakening a somewhat dormant genre from its slumber and was responsible a new decade to push prog to its correct classic path.

Conclusion: Marillion is and still is, even now, one of the most commercially successful bands of the neo- progressive revival of the 80's. The band keeps their fan scene together and was always resourceful in terms of financing their music without the support of a major record label. Despite unpopularity in the mainstream media and a consistently unfashionable status within the British music industry, Marillion have maintained a very loyal international fanbase. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide. And all this began in the 80's in Fish's era, the era were these two albums were released. So, here we are in presence of two very important albums for Marillion and for the progressive rock music too. Here we are in presence of two of the most important albums to the progressive rock style. They're, somehow, almost as important as the first classic prog rock albums. So, if you don't have them yet, you must buy them.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

In my opinion MARILLION haven't been a Neo-Prog band since "Seasons End" back in 1989, the first album Hogarth sang on after Fish was kicked out. That album was pretty much written with Fish in mind so there's that. I love "Seasons End" mainly I think because I have spent my life in a tourist town and when Summer ends you used to know it when we were a small town, not so much now. "Misplaced Childhood" and "Seasons End" are on my list of all time favourite Neo-Prog albums. Here, like the many albums before we get Progressive Rock that is extremely well done as usual. The band are almost Adult Contemporary at times with several songs being quite mellow with the chorus being where they amp it up some. This album is long, too long.

So many highlights but the title track, "Montreal" and "Lucky Man" stand out for me as the best. The latter is all about the chorus and those meaningful words that I completely agree with "I have everything that I want". "Gaza" rubs me the wrong way big time as my brothers in Israel know a little bit about being a target over their thousands of years in existence. The band have stated they are not anti-Israeli but they are missing the big picture here completely. And they have lost fans over this as stated on the fan based web site. Instrumentally this is a great track though. The only tune I'm really not into is "Invisible Ink". By the way "Montreal" is one of their best songs, especially that instrumental section from 5 minutes to 6 1/2 minutes.

This is my favorite Marillion album and one of my favorites of all time. The production is so glossy. The guitar sounds are spacy and so very smooth. The ambient keyboards swoop and hover. Hogarth's voice soars angelically over the magnificence, that is this album. It is one of the best-sounding albums among I own.

There is not a poor track to be found here. There is a concept of sorts running through many of the songs, that being the darkness that often underlies seeming sunny perfection. Several of the songs concern people of fame and achievement who seemingly have everything but whose stories turn dark, for nothing is ever perfect and no one can ever have everything they want. These stories are hinted at both in the lyrics and in the clever musical motifs introduced into the compositions.

This is the theme of Gazpacho, which brings directly to mind the story of boxer Jake LaMotta. This seemingly jaunty tune with its chiming guitars tells a horrible story of murder and of fame gone wrong, floating along on a deceptively cheery melody and some great hooks. Also features the best Pete Trewavas bass lines I have ever heard. The fun and silly stomp of Cannibal Surf Babe recalls sixties surf music and features some awesome Beach Boys pastiches. After Cannibal Surf Babe we have the melodic ballad Beautiful. It is wonderfully heartfelt and there is an important lyrical theme, that of the way introverts with much to offer are disregarded in a boisterous, outgoing society that values aggression over everything else. More of us can identify with this song than we would care to admit. Out of this World is one of my favorite Marillion songs. It is about Donald Campbell, a man who tried to break the world speed record on water, but sadly crashed while trying and died because of that. The song is very dark and one of the darkest Marillion songs. Hogarth's vocals really blend in with this dark atmosphere and tone of the music. After 5 minutes the song's first half ends, and the second half starts. The second half consists mainly of a very dark synthesizer sounds, mixed with radio samples of Donald Campbell's last words before he crashed. Hogarth's vocals are very haunting on this song. The title track is possibly my favorite on the album, again a slow ballad, but this time tranquil and reflective. very, very beautiful. The beginning united with the end of Out of This World is just angelic. Great Chorus, brilliant instrumental interlude... One of the highlights of the album. The next song is Beyond you. This is a very romantic and emotional song. It took me a while to like it, but when the song really touched me, I really loved it to pieces. This isn't a song I can talk much about, it's more an experience. The album concludes with King, bringing all the threads together in a contemplation on attention-seeking, as Hogarth declares to our unhappy fame-ridden protagonist, "I hope for your sake / You've got what it takes / To be spoiled to death". The album concludes with a gloriously noisy, soaring build-up.

Rating-96%

Recommended Tracks: Gazpacho, Beautiful, Out Of This World, Afraid Of Sunlight & King

Script for a Jester's Tear needs to be understood in the context of its time. The late '70s Punk explosion was meant to have blown away all the old Prog dinosaurs by the early '80s. They were either extinct or on hiatus (like Pink Floyd) or re-inventing themselves as rock-pop acts (such as Yes and Genesis). New Wave and the New Romantics were on the rise amidst the usual froth of chart music. Progressive rock, especially in its long-form, was regarded as 'yesterday's news'. Nevertheless, there were still fans out there listening to that music, gazing in reverence at their old Prog rock albums, poring over the lyrics and sleeve notes, yearning for their old heroes to return or play a more progressive style of music ? both forlorn hopes. Then along came Marillion in 1982 with a game-changing BBC Radio 1 session, with songs honed through a multitude of gigs, which helped secure a major record deal. In October they announced themselves with the anthemic Market Square Heroes 12" single, which for many contained the 'Holy Grail' B-side of the epic 17-minute Grendel! This whetted the appetite of a subculture of adolescents wanting Prog heroes for their own generation, and older rock fans wanting someone to return to those 'Golden Days' of the '70s. That ambitious EP was virtually a mini-album in itself, and having stirred the ashes of Prog, Marillion swiftly fanned the flames with their assured debut album in March 1983, reaching an impressive Number Seven in the UK album charts ? these releases were a remarkable statement of intent for a band driven to achieving success.

I still remember when I first heard this album when it first came out and being initially totally blown away by it and even feeling a sense of relief. My favourite Prog band, Genesis had stopped making progressive rock and I was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms. Along come Marillion and that blissful soaring Hackettesque (is that a word?) guitar sound which automatically took me back to the late 70's and albums like Seconds Out.I remember specifically thinking this is what Genesis would have sounded like if they had continued into the 80's as a prog band.Looking back at this album thirty five years later I must admit I view this album a little more objectively.On the surface it ticks all the right boxes; Musicianship - definite tick. Arrangements -tick.Production?-tick. It really sounds great- no argument there.Concept?- well it has one any way so tick.Cover Art? OK not an essential ingredient for a prog album and to be honest it is slightly garish but still -tickMelody.......?Although the playing especially by Steve Rothery is sublime, my real problem with this album is that there is an almost total absence of a decent tune. Kayleigh is the closest but is simply too poppy. Lavender actually has a great melody with a great guitar solo towards the end. But tunes? I know this is PROG not POP but I really crave a nice tune.Even the most intensely progressive rock by Genesis always had a tune bubbling away under the surface,Fish while a highly charismatic and authoritative singer, he ,to put it bluntly, simply cannot or has no desire to create a tune.So That in a nutshell is my problem with this album. It sounds great while I am playing it, as soon as it has finished I am struggling to remember any of the melodies- mainly because of the lack of them.

3 stars

In the 80´s a had a friend who used to travel to Europe and got a lot of records that were completely unavailable for us in Brazil at the time. And she had this single (in picture disc form, if I´m not mistaken). I really loved it, specially for its flip side, Cinderella Search. Probably Marillion´s best romantic song ever, with its beautiful lyrics and superb music to match the inspired title, theme and words, it also features one of Steve Rothery´s most emotional solos of his life. The "A" side is another classic track from this band, unfortunately marred by editing: at only 3;35 minutes it has little more than half of its original length, even if that does not make the songs loose its power and venom.

However, as good as they were, both versions here would pale from their renditions on Real To Reel live album of 1984. On that LP, Assassin in particular is much better than even the full length version of Fugazi. Cinderella Search also benefits greatly from the live performance, specially the new, dramatic, ending.

So, in the end, this single has more a historical importance than a musical one, since better interpretations pof both tracks can be found elsewhere. Also the cover art of the single is fantastic. For that alone I think the single was worth, at least at the time.

I've been listening to Marillion's debut for years now, but I had never really connected to their other albums with Fish. Probably because I just don't like that eighties sound too much. 'Clutching at Straws' became my Covid-19 album last two weeks and I must say I was very much surprised by the maturity and the songwriting quality of this release! Especially when comparing it to the chaotic 'Fugazi' album. The sound of Marillion has bits of mid- seventies Genesis at its most symphonic and The Wall-era Pink Floyd. Sonicly you can hear the nineties just around the corner. Guitarist Steve Rothery impressed me a lot here with his frantic, yet melodic solo's that are sure to fire up the more intense moments even further. He is obviously influenced by David Gilmour, but manages to extend the symphonic blues repertoire with some original ideas. Marillion uses a lot of keyboards and synths, but never without creating interesting textures and distinct atmospheres. The band drenches the listener in an emotional journey - as is expected nowadays with neoprog - and the concept-album feel really works to the benefit of the songs here. Fish refrains from using his voice in the more extreme ways, perfecting his performance for a balanced and imaginative listening experience. The rocking 'Incommunicado' is the only song I don't fully like, because I don't like the sound of Marillion pumpin' the AOR at this dense level. On the other had, the band excels making great AOR / prog ballads like the haunting 'Torch Song' and 'Sugar Mice'. For me this is pretty much a perfect album and I'm guessing I will be giving 'Misplace Childhood' another listen as well - a record I felt disgusted by when first hearing it age seventeen.

This album needs MUCH more love. I KNOW, I KNOW...but seriously, there is a huge place for emotionally inspiring music that the general public can enjoy. AND, if one can invite people in to advanced music through "accessible" tunes with outstanding musicianship, isn't that better than indefinitely alienating thousands through overly elitist "standards"?

This is my actual story! In 1984, I was a high school sophomore devouring all New Wave stuff. 90125 hit, and I was blown away by "Leave It". It was so astonishing that I decided I must understand everything about Yes. Fast forward to now, and I can say that my first listen to prog rock was definitely not one of Yes' best songs ever. However, it did the job. "Holidays in Eden" most certainly should have been Marillion's 90125.

I'm playing time-traveling metaphor-mixing ridiculousness now, and I know it. 90125 worked because Yes was "over" and no kids in 1983 knew anything about them. Marillion never reached the heights of Yes' popularity, except to be irrationally hated by the mainstream media to (maybe) Nickelback levels of intensity. Therefore, there was simply no awareness that Marillion could be deeply cool. But they totally are on this album. This is perfect for the time, fits everything else that was selling by the millions. It "should" have made Marillion as much of a household band-name as Pearl Jam, U2, Live, Gin Blossoms, and hundreds of other faceless 90's bands. As much as I disparage, I equally covet. Those perfect chord progressions, instantly lovable melodies, high-reaching emotion reflecting the optimistic notions of that time in history, all combined into a kind of intellectual confectionary. So sweet tasting, with just a pinch of authenticity to hook you, but mostly just empty-caloric orgasm.

If Yes, Genesis, and Asia can make bank with this recipe, by all that is honorable in the universe, Marillion deserves to have done the same with HIE. It is a tragic tale, but perhaps if they had hit big, Brave would have been equally "great but not ground breaking." So everything works out in the end?

No matter what, these songs are just wonderful, from start to finish there's really nothing less than 90s perfection here. If this had been heard by enough folks, it would have exploded. This must be due to lack of enthusiasm from the record company and the aforementioned biased media. Sucks. Simply put, this album deserves a high place in a special category: best albums to introduce people to prog.