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MARILLION

Neo-Prog • United Kingdom


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Marillion biography
Formed in 1979 in Aylesbury, UK (as Silmarillion, after the Tolkien novel) - Still active as of 2019

Pioneers of the second wave of progressive rock

The Early Years

After some early line-up changes, the first recognisable incarnation of the band was complete by 1982, with FISH (real name Derek William Dick), a charismatic Scottish frontman vocalist, Steve ROTHERY on guitars, Peter Trewavas on bass, Mark Kelly on keyboards, and Mick Pointer on drums.

The band built their reputation the old-fashioned way by gigging extensively, but their profile was also raised by some clever manipulation of the music press, especially journals such as Sounds, in which Fish often interviewed his proposition that the band were "prog with attitude", a new force for the post-punk era.

This profile landed them a record deal with EMI records, and, in 1982, they released an EP Market Square Heroes, which, it is fair to say, had more than a passing resemblance to the Genesis classic, The Knife. Also appearing was a monster prog track called Grendel.

However, it was the release in 1983 of their debut long player, Script For A Jester's Tear, which brought them to the wider attention of the rock world. The album spawned hit singles in Garden Party and He Knows You Know, was critically well received, and reached number 7 in the UK album charts.

The band's progress and workload were relentless after this point. They proved themselves to be somewhat merciless in the pursuit of musical and commercial success by ditching Pointer, who was felt to be sub-standard, and replacing him eventually with, after what the band described as their "Spinal Tap" period for drumming, Ian Mosley, formerly of The Steve Hackett Band. Pointer went on to jointly form Arena, a classic neo outfit who still record today, and still tours his Script era version of Marillion. The difference Mosley made, though, both live and in the studio, was palpable.

The line-up released three more albums; Fugazi, Misplaced Childhood, and, finally Clutching At Straws.

Misplaced Childhood was a massive hit, reaching number 1 in the UK charts in 1985, and responsible for huge hit singles in Kayleigh, Lavender, and Heart of Lothian. By this time, Fish had ditched his trademark face paint, - the music and his sheer personality were a tour de force in them...
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MARILLION discography


Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums

MARILLION top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.25 | 2292 ratings
Script for a Jester's Tear
1983
4.00 | 1570 ratings
Fugazi
1984
4.27 | 2471 ratings
Misplaced Childhood
1985
4.19 | 1577 ratings
Clutching at Straws
1987
3.79 | 1048 ratings
Seasons End
1989
3.16 | 804 ratings
Holidays in Eden
1991
3.99 | 1233 ratings
Brave
1994
3.83 | 839 ratings
Afraid Of Sunlight
1995
3.46 | 688 ratings
This Strange Engine
1997
2.79 | 614 ratings
Radiation
1998
3.10 | 580 ratings
Marillion.com
1999
3.39 | 662 ratings
Anoraknophobia
2001
4.11 | 1264 ratings
Marbles
2004
3.04 | 623 ratings
Somewhere Else
2007
3.35 | 656 ratings
Happiness Is The Road
2008
2.79 | 417 ratings
Less Is More
2009
3.60 | 729 ratings
Sounds That Can't Be Made
2012
3.74 | 486 ratings
F E A R (F*** Everyone And Run)
2016
3.95 | 286 ratings
An Hour Before It's Dark
2022

MARILLION Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.88 | 373 ratings
Real to Reel
1984
3.89 | 368 ratings
The Thieving Magpie - La Gazza Ladra
1988
2.25 | 37 ratings
Live at the Borderline
1992
3.21 | 44 ratings
Live in Glasgow
1993
3.52 | 56 ratings
Live in Caracas
1993
4.21 | 117 ratings
Live from Loreley
1995
3.44 | 165 ratings
Made Again
1996
3.67 | 76 ratings
Live At The Walls
1998
3.61 | 46 ratings
Piston Broke
1998
3.07 | 32 ratings
Marillionrochester
1998
3.15 | 44 ratings
Zodiac
1999
3.78 | 91 ratings
Anorak in the UK Live
2002
4.07 | 57 ratings
Brave Live 2002
2003
3.41 | 18 ratings
Christmas In The Chapel
2003
4.52 | 60 ratings
Curtain Call - A Live Archive 1983 - 1988
2004
4.17 | 114 ratings
Marbles Live
2005
3.97 | 61 ratings
Marbles by the Sea
2005
3.70 | 50 ratings
Popular Music
2005
3.41 | 18 ratings
Bootleg Bingo
2005
3.66 | 45 ratings
Smoke
2006
3.79 | 52 ratings
Mirrors
2006
4.24 | 59 ratings
Family
2007
3.96 | 48 ratings
Friends
2007
3.64 | 39 ratings
Somewhere in London
2007
4.55 | 118 ratings
Early Stages: The Official Bootlegs 1982-1987
2008
4.64 | 131 ratings
Recital of the Script
2009
4.49 | 130 ratings
Live From Loreley
2009
4.09 | 36 ratings
Happiness Is Cologne
2009
3.65 | 32 ratings
High Voltage
2010
4.01 | 53 ratings
The Official Bootleg Box Set Vol. 2
2010
3.66 | 52 ratings
Tumbling Down The Years
2010
4.00 | 54 ratings
size matters
2010
3.82 | 31 ratings
Live In Montréal // Saturday
2010
3.81 | 29 ratings
Live In Montréal // Sunday
2010
3.74 | 28 ratings
Live In Montréal // Friday
2011
3.75 | 33 ratings
Holidays in Eden Live
2011
4.15 | 59 ratings
Live From Cadogan Hall
2011
3.80 | 26 ratings
Afraid of Sunlight Live
2011
3.61 | 25 ratings
This Strange Engine Live
2011
3.72 | 27 ratings
Seasons End Live
2011
3.67 | 30 ratings
A-Z Live 2011
2012
3.88 | 45 ratings
Sounds Live
2012
3.67 | 24 ratings
The Glow Must Go On
2012
3.61 | 32 ratings
Clocks Already Ticking
2013
3.95 | 43 ratings
Brave Live 2013
2013
3.67 | 9 ratings
Best of Montréal
2013
3.57 | 7 ratings
Best of Leamington
2013
3.93 | 14 ratings
Live At The Forum
2014
3.96 | 35 ratings
Sunday Night Above the Rain
2014
3.64 | 11 ratings
A Monstrously Festive(al) Christmas
2015
4.45 | 22 ratings
Waves and Numb3rs
2016
3.93 | 34 ratings
Marbles in the Park
2016
4.36 | 25 ratings
Singles Night
2016
4.00 | 10 ratings
The Gold - Best of Convention 2017
2017
3.88 | 8 ratings
Live In Chile
2017
4.80 | 40 ratings
All One Tonight - Live at the Royal Albert Hall
2018
4.18 | 11 ratings
marillion.cl/viernes.noche
2019
3.83 | 12 ratings
marillion.cl/dotcom
2019
4.00 | 10 ratings
marillion.cl/en.marquee
2019
4.19 | 23 ratings
With Friends at St. David's
2021
4.60 | 11 ratings
Distant Lights - Port Zelande
2022
4.40 | 10 ratings
Distant Lights - Leicester
2022
5.00 | 10 ratings
An Hour Before It's Dark Live in Port Zelande 2023
2023
5.00 | 1 ratings
The Remains of The Weekend - Friday Live Port Zelande 2023
2024
5.00 | 1 ratings
The Remains of The Weekend - Sunday Live Port Zelande 2023
2024

MARILLION Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

4.39 | 193 ratings
Recital of the Script
1983
3.46 | 39 ratings
Video
1984
2.71 | 38 ratings
1982-86 The Videos
1986
3.78 | 37 ratings
A Singles Collection
1992
4.69 | 70 ratings
Brave Live 2002
2002
2.88 | 18 ratings
Shot In The Dark
2002
4.60 | 20 ratings
A Piss-up in a Brewery
2002
3.18 | 48 ratings
The EMI Singles Collection
2002
3.69 | 64 ratings
From Stoke Row To Ipanema - A Year In The Life (DVD)
2003
3.93 | 23 ratings
Christmas In The Chapel
2003
4.21 | 19 ratings
Before First Light (Afraid of Sunlight Live 2003)
2003
4.50 | 171 ratings
Live from Loreley
2004
4.01 | 85 ratings
Marbles On The Road
2004
2.80 | 59 ratings
Brave - The Film
2004
4.18 | 32 ratings
Wish You Were Here
2005
4.27 | 11 ratings
Colours And Sound
2006
4.21 | 62 ratings
Somewhere In London
2007
4.32 | 22 ratings
Bootleg Butlins
2007
3.74 | 14 ratings
Thank You Whoever You Are / Most Toys
2007
3.58 | 19 ratings
Something Else
2007
4.40 | 15 ratings
This Strange Convention
2009
4.67 | 6 ratings
M Tube: An Introduction To Marillion On DVD
2010
4.49 | 59 ratings
Out Of Season
2010
4.13 | 53 ratings
Live At Cadogan Hall
2011
4.62 | 29 ratings
Live In Montréal
2011
4.45 | 30 ratings
Holidays in Zelande
2012
4.08 | 36 ratings
Brave Live 2013
2013
4.81 | 16 ratings
A Sunday Night Above The Rain
2014
4.30 | 20 ratings
Breaking Records
2015
4.22 | 22 ratings
Out Of The Box
2016
4.68 | 22 ratings
Marbles in the Park
2016
4.83 | 40 ratings
All One Tonight
2018
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Remains of The Weekend - Live Port Zelande 2023
2024

MARILLION Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.52 | 241 ratings
B'Sides Themselves
1988
2.96 | 90 ratings
A Singles Collection - Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other
1992
1.71 | 13 ratings
Marillion Music Collection
1993
4.11 | 19 ratings
The Originals
1995
2.88 | 47 ratings
Kayleigh
1996
3.78 | 12 ratings
The Best of Marillion
1996
3.12 | 7 ratings
Essential Collection
1996
3.41 | 61 ratings
The Best of Both Worlds
1997
4.08 | 107 ratings
Real to Reel - Brief Encounter
1997
3.09 | 14 ratings
Kayleigh - The Essential Collection
1998
2.21 | 65 ratings
Marillion and the Positive Light - Tales from the Engine Room
1998
4.05 | 57 ratings
The singles '82 - 88'
2000
3.19 | 12 ratings
Refracted! - From dusk 'till dot, Volume 1
2001
3.33 | 9 ratings
Another DAT at the Office
2001
3.08 | 12 ratings
Fall Out
2002
3.15 | 20 ratings
marillion.co.uk
2002
3.17 | 10 ratings
AWOL: A Marillion Solo Projects Sampler
2002
3.56 | 35 ratings
The singles '89- 95'
2002
4.00 | 9 ratings
The Best Of Marillion (EMI Compilation)
2003
3.23 | 7 ratings
Warm Wet Circles
2003
3.28 | 13 ratings
marillion.co.uk (2005 Version)
2005
3.26 | 8 ratings
Classics
2009
4.67 | 3 ratings
Keep The Noise Down
2010
4.21 | 14 ratings
Misplaced Childhood / Script For A Jester's Tear
2011
3.97 | 10 ratings
4 Albums
2011
3.71 | 7 ratings
Greatest Hits On CD & DVD
2012
4.20 | 20 ratings
Marillion.Best.Live
2012
3.93 | 14 ratings
Sounds That Can't Be Made Special Edition
2013
4.08 | 6 ratings
5 Album Set
2013
4.20 | 21 ratings
Early Stages : The Highlights
2013
2.46 | 9 ratings
Best Sounds
2014
4.28 | 27 ratings
A Sunday Night Above the Rain
2014
2.93 | 14 ratings
A Collection Of Recycled Gifts
2014
4.90 | 43 ratings
Misplaced Childhood
2017
4.74 | 31 ratings
Brave (Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition)
2018
4.76 | 36 ratings
Clutching At Straws
2018
4.11 | 47 ratings
With Friends from the Orchestra
2019
4.63 | 29 ratings
Afraid Of Sunlight (Limited Deluxe Edition)
2019
4.97 | 34 ratings
Script For A Jester's Tear (2020 Limited Deluxe Edition)
2020
4.86 | 31 ratings
Fugazi (2021 Limited Deluxe Edition)
2021
4.12 | 15 ratings
Holidays in Eden (2022 Limited Deluxe Edition)
2022
4.03 | 15 ratings
Seasons End deluxe edition
2023
4.10 | 11 ratings
This Strange Engine
2024

MARILLION Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.93 | 142 ratings
Market Square Heroes
1982
3.77 | 63 ratings
Garden Party
1983
3.94 | 60 ratings
He Knows You Know
1983
3.92 | 58 ratings
Punch and Judy
1984
3.56 | 76 ratings
Assassing
1984
3.61 | 78 ratings
Kayleigh
1985
4.10 | 10 ratings
The Story So Far...
1985
3.80 | 73 ratings
Lavender
1985
3.53 | 69 ratings
Heart of Lothian
1985
2.74 | 82 ratings
Brief Encounter
1986
3.55 | 21 ratings
Garden Party Live
1986
3.70 | 39 ratings
Lady Nina
1986
4.03 | 52 ratings
Sugar Mice
1987
3.51 | 48 ratings
Incommunicado
1987
4.01 | 49 ratings
Warm Wet Circles
1987
3.00 | 25 ratings
Incommunicado & Sugar Mice - Video
1987
3.69 | 40 ratings
Freaks
1988
3.65 | 31 ratings
Uninvited Guest
1989
4.16 | 38 ratings
Easter
1989
3.15 | 33 ratings
hooks in you
1989
3.13 | 29 ratings
No One Can
1991
2.57 | 23 ratings
Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)
1991
3.00 | 21 ratings
Dry Land
1991
3.00 | 10 ratings
No One Can
1992
3.59 | 29 ratings
Sympathy
1992
3.42 | 29 ratings
Sympathy
1992
3.61 | 18 ratings
No One Can
1992
4.17 | 12 ratings
The Hollow Man
1994
4.07 | 14 ratings
The Hollow Man
1994
3.80 | 15 ratings
Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury
1994
3.93 | 14 ratings
Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury
1994
3.75 | 28 ratings
Beautiful
1995
2.98 | 26 ratings
Beautiful
1995
4.03 | 25 ratings
The Making of Brave
1995
4.03 | 23 ratings
Man of a Thousand Faces
1997
3.67 | 21 ratings
Eighty Days
1997
2.98 | 23 ratings
These Chains (Single)
1998
3.00 | 9 ratings
Marillion & the Web Christmas 1998
1998
0.00 | 0 ratings
Marillion & The Web Christmas 1998 Happy Christmas Everybody!
1998
3.20 | 5 ratings
Rich
1999
3.38 | 13 ratings
Marillion.Christmas
1999
2.80 | 17 ratings
Marillion.co.uk
2000
3.73 | 11 ratings
Crash Course - An Introduction to Marillion
2001
2.74 | 18 ratings
A Verry Barry Christmas
2001
4.06 | 17 ratings
Between You And Me / Map Of The World
2001
3.86 | 20 ratings
Christmas 2000: A Piss-Up In A Brewery
2001
3.23 | 7 ratings
Front Row Club Issue 7
2002
4.13 | 7 ratings
Le Spectrum, Montréal, Canada, 6 September 1997 (Front Row Club 008)
2002
3.83 | 6 ratings
Christmas 2002: Santa And His Elvis
2002
4.00 | 2 ratings
Ludwigshalle, Dieburg, Germany 9 November 1998 - Front Row Club 1
2002
3.25 | 4 ratings
Caught in the Net - The Making of Marillion.com
2002
4.05 | 11 ratings
Say Cheese, Christmas With Marillion
2003
4.00 | 2 ratings
View From The Balcony (A Front Row Club Sampler)
2003
3.00 | 10 ratings
Christmas 2004: Baubles
2004
2.14 | 12 ratings
Remixomatosis
2004
3.67 | 3 ratings
The Damage (Live)
2004
4.17 | 6 ratings
Christmas 2005 : Merry Xmas To Our Flock
2005
2.49 | 12 ratings
A Handful Of Marbles
2005
3.25 | 4 ratings
Unzipped - The Making Of Anoraknophobia
2006
3.80 | 5 ratings
Christmas 2006: The Jingle Book
2006
3.00 | 2 ratings
See It Like a Baby
2007
4.00 | 4 ratings
Somewhere Elf - Christmas 2007
2007
2.70 | 14 ratings
Thank You Whoever You Are
2007
3.19 | 12 ratings
Thank You Whoever You Are / Most Toys
2007
4.00 | 6 ratings
ABC, Glasgow, Scotland. 9 November 2008
2008
3.75 | 4 ratings
The Basement, Newcastle, UK. 10 November 2008
2008
4.20 | 5 ratings
Colston Hall, Bristol, UK. 11 November 2008
2008
4.50 | 2 ratings
LMUSU, Leeds, UK. 13 November 2008
2008
4.50 | 2 ratings
Academy, Manchester, UK. 14 November 2008
2008
4.50 | 4 ratings
Opera House, Bournemouth, UK. 15 November 2008
2008
4.00 | 10 ratings
The Forum, London, UK. 19 November 2008
2008
4.50 | 2 ratings
JBs, Dudley, UK. 17 November 2008
2008
4.33 | 3 ratings
Rock City, Nottingham, UK. 18 November 2008
2008
2.42 | 3 ratings
De Waerdse Temple, Heerhugowaard, Netherlands. 21 November
2008
5.00 | 2 ratings
013, Tilburg, Netherlands. 23 November 2008
2008
5.00 | 2 ratings
Vereeniging, Nijmegen, Netherlands. 24 November 2008
2008
4.27 | 6 ratings
E-Werk, Cologne, Germany. 26 November 2008
2008
5.00 | 2 ratings
Le Splendid, Lille, France. 27 November 2008
2008
3.40 | 10 ratings
Christmas 2008: Pudding On The Ritz
2008
3.00 | 1 ratings
Whatever Is Wrong with You
2008
4.04 | 5 ratings
Happiness on the Road - Concorde 2 Brighton - 28 January 2009
2009
4.00 | 2 ratings
Christmas 2009: Snow De Cologne
2009
3.17 | 5 ratings
Crash Course
2009
4.00 | 2 ratings
Christmas 2010: Ding, Dong Loreley On High...
2010
4.00 | 2 ratings
Christmas 2011: Live At The German Space Day 2004
2011
3.33 | 3 ratings
Christmas 2012: Sleighed Again
2012
4.60 | 5 ratings
North American Tour 2012: Irwing Plaza, New York City, USA - 12 June 2012
2012
4.40 | 5 ratings
North American Tour 2012: Irwing Plaza, New York City, USA - 13 June 2012
2012
4.43 | 7 ratings
Crash Course
2013
3.39 | 12 ratings
The Carol Of The Bells
2013
4.00 | 2 ratings
Christmas 2013: Proggin' Around The Christmas Tree
2013
4.00 | 5 ratings
Christmas 2014: Chile For The Time Of Year
2014
3.00 | 3 ratings
Glass Half Full - The Making of Marbles
2015
4.00 | 3 ratings
The New Kings
2016
0.00 | 0 ratings
Festivities, Elation And Rejoicing! Christmas 2016
2016
0.00 | 0 ratings
Christmas At The Club (Christmas 2017)
2017
3.85 | 13 ratings
Living In F E A R
2017
3.00 | 2 ratings
A Star in the East Live in Japan 2018 (Xmas 2018)
2018
3.00 | 2 ratings
Unsound
2018
3.00 | 3 ratings
Mr Taurus - The Making of Somewhere Else
2019
3.00 | 3 ratings
Satellite Navigation - The Making of Happiness Is the Road
2019
3.00 | 1 ratings
Christmas 2020
2020
4.46 | 19 ratings
Be Hard on Yourself
2021
3.95 | 16 ratings
Murder Machines
2022

MARILLION Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 This Strange Engine by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1997
3.46 | 688 ratings

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This Strange Engine
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 901

Marillion is a British prog rock band formed in 1979 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. The band was formed under the name of Silmarillion, using the title of J.R.R. Tolkien book. The name was shortened to Marillion due to legal copyright of Tolkien's work. Their career is normally divided into two phases, separated by the departure of their front man Fish and the arrival of Steve Hogarth in 1988. With this change, the band changed their musical direction and style.

"This Strange Engine" is the ninth studio album of Marillion and was released in 1997. The album is more acoustic than the band's other albums, but it also has a bit of everything from their previous works, resulting in some radio tracks, mainstream rock tracks, some clever and organized songs in similarity to material found in "Afraid Of Sunlight". Steve Hogarth is very interpretive as always and his voice continues to match the songs perfectly well. Steve Rothery shows why he is considered in general a great guitarist with moving solos, but also providing tough riffs and great rhythmic approaches. Mark Kelly uses many different keyboard effects, in addition to having top notch progressions. Finally, Ian Mosley and Pete Trewavas are as cohesive as ever, offering dynamic performances with a lot of precision. Maybe it's not as long-lasting as some other albums of theirs, but even so, in a balanced way, it can provide good moments of fun.

The lineup on "This Strange Engine" is Steve Hogarth (lead and backing vocals, keyboards and percussion), Steve Rothery (guitars), Mark Kelly (backing vocals and keyboards), Pete Trewavas (backing vocals and basses) and Ian Mosley (drums and percussion). The album had also the participation of Charlton & New Bottle School Choir (chorus), Tim Perkins (balalaika), Paula Savage (trumpet) and Phil Todd (saxophone), all are here as guest artists.

"This Strange Engine" has eight tracks. The first track "A Man Of A Thousand Faces" nobly introduces the album. It's a strong opener at the start, but then turns into a brilliant finale. This is a straightforward track with a memorable chorus and good melodies and where the instrumentation is formed mainly by acoustic guitar, organ and piano. Although not very progressive, I like it very much. The second track "One Fine Day" tends in the same direction as "Beautiful" from their previous album. It's a peaceful, contemplative track about Carpe Diem, with sensitive piano playing and singing and after a classical intermezzo with "synthetic violins". Rothery has his guitar solo for the first time, actually. The third track "80 Days" is the ideal track for a single's release. The chorus in particular hits your ear straight away and won't let you go that quickly. It's acoustically a tinged airy summer radio song, which unfortunately for them, it didn't make it there. It's thematically similar to "Splintering Heart" of "Holidays In Eden". The fourth track "Estonia" is one of the most powerful tracks on the album. This is a gorgeous and deep feeling ballad. It's quiet and carried by the very soulful vocals of Hogarth. This is one of the highlights on the album. It brings to us, more or less, the atmosphere of "Easter". The fifth track "Memory Of Water" is a kind of interlude to the next song "An Accidental Man". It's a short song that has been sparsely arranged with synth strings. This is a kind of a Celtic folk song that continues the melancholic tone of the album. It's almost an a-capella track and it's very beautiful. The sixth track "An Accidental Man" is a rocker, the only rock song on the album. The keyboard interludes are rather experimental and the lyrics are very postmodern. This is a very nice track that does sound much like The Police. The vocals of Hogarth remind me of Sting, not necessarily the voice, but the way he sings. The seventh track "Hope For The Future" returns the album to a more calm, bluesy and acoustic atmosphere before becoming something altogether funky and different. I must admit that I'm not a great fan of this track. It's a very fun song with its Caribbean style, but it's definitely a silly song to Marillion, a song that we never expected to hear in a Marillion's album or any prog work. The eighth track is the title track "This Strange Engine". With its almost 16 minutes proves that Marillion is a prog rock band. Quiet parts alternate with heavy ones. The song is in the beginning rather similar to the quieter parts of "Brave", but in an early part some more rocking portions can be heard. The rather chaotic, but seemingly the emotional ending of the track, indicates that Hogarth cares about the lyrics.

Conclusion: "This Strange Engine" is a surprising album. Overall, it's not their best, but not their worst either. It's not very progressive really that at times they sound like Simple Minds or The Police, but on the whole I found it rewarding with very good melodies and a lot of variation across the tracks and that should contain something for everyone. Modern is a good word to describe the sound on "This Strange Engine", a bright and serious work with some high moments and very few disappointing ones. The only real disappointing moment here is "Hope For The Future", but even this song isn't without its merits. So, Marillion is therefore far from being an old-fashioned band for me. It's a solid work, very varied and with enough strength to warrant a recommendation, especially for the long-time fans of Marillion.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 An Hour Before It's Dark by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 2022
3.95 | 286 ratings

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An Hour Before It's Dark
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by Etherea

3 stars Call me a cynic, but this whole Steve Hogarth style of Marillion music seems to be on auto-pilot where cinematic keyboards and lyrics about humans not engaging with one another (the sightly annoying 'I put my arms around her' refrain in 'Murder Machines') have taking precedent over memorable hooks and melodies.

I find some of Hogarth's lyrics to be pretentiously outré such as the aforementioned 'I put my arms around her/and killed her with love' but in earlier times, the melody and arrangement was king so the lyrics and even Hogarth's nasally delivery were tolerable (1995's excellent 'Afraid Of Sunlight').

This is not to say that some of the material lacks merit. This is a seasoned progressive rock band and 'Sierra Leone' for example, has some charm and warmth (at least the first parts).

The album opener 'Be Hard On Yourself' also surprises a little with the use of a choir- although its remaining segmented parts are less distinct and merely re-iterate the first part (a problem with most of the song suites).

'Murder Machines' has a light funky groove but it takes a back seat to the lyrics. So as with the group's previous album FEAR and most of SOUNDS THAT CAN'T BE MADE (apart from the extraordinary 'Gaza'), the most dangerous thing about Marillion's brand of airy, synth-laden Prog Rock is the lyrics.

Musically they are still of a very high pedigree as this album demonstrates, but if you are a bit too familiar with this incarnation of Marillion, you may want to skip this one.

 Afraid Of Sunlight by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1995
3.83 | 839 ratings

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Afraid Of Sunlight
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 893

Marillion is a prog rock band that was formed in 1979 in the UK. Marillion had its origins in the early 80's presenting itself as the main representative of the new generation of the English progressive rock, as it was in decline since the appearance of the Punk Rock Movement and the New Wave, in addition to the abandonment of the style made by many of the classic prog bands, such as Genesis, Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. They're one of the founders of neo-prog.

"Afraid Of Sunlight" is the eighth studio album of Marillion and was released in 1995. Here again the band was faced with the challenge of continuing after the release of a very well finished album, "Brave". Although in its own way, Marillion remained within an excellent quality level. All tracks here are melodic, well written and beautifully produced, although on "Afraid Of Sunlight" the sound is much softer than in the Fish's era and even in the early Hogarth's era albums. Containing beautiful soundscapes, the songs are beautifully harmonized and are simply transposed into one another with organic textures, taking the listener in a musical ride that eventually erupts with good emotional intensity. So, all in all, "Afraid Of Sunlight" is an album that has emotions, complexity, excellent lyrics and good instrumentation. The line up on "Afraid Of Sunlight" is Steve Hogarth (lead and backing vocals, keyboards and percussion), Steve Rothery (guitars), Mark Kelly (keyboards), Pete Trewavas (backing vocals and basses) and Ian Mosley (drums and percussion). "Afraid Of Sunlight" is an album that had also the participation of Barbara Lezmy, Wendy Page and Hannah Stobart (backing vocals), as three guest artists.

"Afraid Of Sunlight" has eight tracks. The first track "Gazpacho" opens with Rothery's chiming guitar figure and Trewavas' hyperactive bass line, as Hogarth introduces the themes that will emerge over the next seven tracks. This seemingly jaunty tune with its chiming guitars floats along on a deceptively cheery melody and with some great hooks. The second track "Cannibal Surf Babe" is a fun and silly stomp that recalls the 60's surf music and features some pretty awesome Beach Boys. While this could seem the album's throwaway track, there's nothing wrong with a bit of fun on the album. It has good lyrics with highly unconventional music for Marillion. The third track "Beautiful" was chosen to be released as a single. This is a melodic ballad which might not be to everyone's taste, since it's quite sentimental. It's a nice pop song with a good melody and a simple naive text with few extremely broken treatments of the chosen meter. It would have fit in well on "Holidays In Eden". The fourth track "Afraid Of Sunrise" is a truly gorgeous track. This is a completely atmospheric song, which is particularly noticeable with the lively bass from Trewavas and the broom drums from Mosley. It's one of the best tracks on the album and features some really enjoyable fretless bass work. This is probably one of the highlights on the album. The fifth track "Out Of This World" is another huge highlight. The lyrics get really personal and in the midst of this calm, cascading soundscape hides one of the most beautiful guitar solos that Rothery has ever played. The final consists of a carpet of keyboard sounds with all sorts of samples and around it, nothing for the impatient, but absolutely great for the intensity of the mood. The sixth track is the title track "Afraid Of Sunlight". This is another highlight, possibly one of my favourite tracks on the album. It's again a slow ballad, but this time tranquil and reflective, with some great evocative imagery. The track is further distinguished by a sprawling, grand chorus and a stupendously beautiful middle section. This is pure sonic nirvana music. The seventh track "Beyond You" is another heart on sleeve song, I think this time on the subject of love. This is almost a personal piece for the band, and especially for Hogarth himself, for a long time. According to Hogarth's own statements, he simply couldn't sing it live. The lyrics are top notch with a haunting melancholy. The eighth track "King" closes the album bringing all the threads together in rumination on the attention seeking. It forms the massive conclusion, the dangers of fame, Kurt Cobain and Elvis from the thematic framework, along which we can see the claustrophobia. It concludes with a gloriously oceanic, noisy, soaring build up. This is perhaps the strongest single track on the album.

Conclusion: Despite a disappointing commercial performance, the album was critically acclaimed as one of the band's best ever. From the opening track to the closing one, the album is an authentic musical journey, a perfect blend of different musical approaches that goes from progressive rock to pop. "Afraid Of Sunlight" has no weak points and it's the final proof that Marillion are meanwhile in a class of their own. It has a timeless quality and an effortless melody, not to mention that beautiful all around glow. In retrospect, "Afraid Of Sunlight" proves to be a perfect divider between the first Marillion with their strong purely progressive atmospheres, and the futures projected towards a genre closer to rock than prog. The still unbroken courage to take risks against the too narrow die hard supporters ennobles the five.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 Brave by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1994
3.99 | 1233 ratings

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Brave
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by Lobster77

5 stars Brave has been one of the most acclaimed Marillion album from the start in fact, it used to be even more acclaimed back in the days when the 1980s Marillion sounded dated and this still didn't. Naturally, Brave has begun to sound a little dated itself, while the 1980s Marillion has almost turned kind of fresh. Anyway, this one was a brave album, as it introduced a new kind of Marillion that had left the 1980s and Fish's ghost behind, instead presenting us a new progressive rock hybrid that was recognisably 1990s.

The opening "Bridge" doesn't really get going, but the following "Living With the Big Lie" and "Runaway" are already better. Then there is the lengthy "Goodbye to All That", which features some nice fragments, but I quickly learned to skip it. "Hard as Love" is not actually my favourite either. Instead, "The Hollow Man" and the 8-minute "The Lap of Luxury" are high quality music, while "Paper Lies" is not much worse. but "The Great Escape" and "Made Again" close the package with a high note. This is a Magnum opus of progressive rock and music and general. Mariilion created this album with a narrative and created It perfectly. 5.0

 Brief Encounter by MARILLION album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1986
2.74 | 82 ratings

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Brief Encounter
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by martindavey87

3 stars Released in 1984, 'Brief Encounter' is a five-track EP by British progressive rock band, Marillion. Originally intended for American markets to coincide with their tour of the States and Canada, it would eventually be re-released on CD format as a bonus disc for a re-mastered 'Real to Reel' live album.

The EP features two studio tracks that were previously released as b-sides to various singles, 'Lady Nina' and 'Freaks', which have gone on to their own acclaim as Marillion classics, and the live tracks, although available elsewhere, are still good. In particular, 'Kayleigh' and 'Fugazi' deserve recognition for the excellent performances involved.

Overall, this is a good EP. While nothing remarkable, it's a cool collectable, especially if you have an original vinyl, and at barely 32 minutes in length, is a harmless keepsake for fans.

 Real to Reel by MARILLION album cover Live, 1984
3.88 | 373 ratings

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Real to Reel
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by martindavey87

3 stars 'Real to Reel' is the first live album by British progressive rock band, Marillion. Released in 1984 and featuring only seven tracks, it shows a band that are only two albums into their career, but already displaying the prowess of a tight-knit unit.

When writing about this album however, I don't really have too much to say. The sound is really good, and the performances are excellent, with particular praise to vocalist Fish, who bellows every note with passion and conviction. Sadly, as it is still early days for the prog rockers, the set list is a little dated by today's standards.

That's not to say that it's bad, but I'm just not likely to ever listen to this. With highlights including 'Assassing', 'Cinderella Search', and a fantastic rendition of 'Forgotten Sons', it's no doubt a nice memento for a time before Marillion would become huge worldwide superstars. But really, considering the absolute wealth of material the band has produced by now, this is nothing more than a nice collectable for fans.

 Script for a Jester's Tear by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1983
4.25 | 2292 ratings

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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by Lobster77

4 stars Script for a Jester's Tear is a strong debut album from the neo-prog group Marillion that succeeds in foreshadowing the traits the band would employ in their magnum opus, Misplaced Childhood. The instrumental arrangements are sufficiently dense for most prog fans while even those like myself who aren't diehard fans of the genre can still find this a relativley accessible album. Most of the melodies here are keyboard or synth driven though there are some that feature more prominent lead guitar parts that could be more appealing to fans of the bands later works.

The album starts off well with the classic title track and the more straightforward "He Knows You Know". "He Knows You Know" might hold up better if it didn't feature the bizarre telephone sequence at the end but it's a small criticism. "The Web" through "Chelsea Monday" are too slow developing for my tastes but I'll concede that each track features an interesting instrumental portion and the playful synth line thorughout "Garden Party" keeps my attention. The final track, "Forgotten Sons" is more in the mold of "He Knows You Know" both in terms of how much guitar is present and the odd lyrical choices. What's missing here is the continuity of a story that showcases Fish's lyrical capabilities. This feature is what won me over on Misplaced Childhood and it is noticeably absent here. Still, this is an excellent album whose minor flaws don't impede enjoyment of the album. 4.0 this defiantly gives this six piece their sound.

 Brave by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1994
3.99 | 1233 ratings

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Brave
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by VianaProghead
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Review Nº 881

It's impossible to talk about neo-prog and not talk about Marillion. They're a British prog rock band that was formed in Aylesbury, UK. They're one of the biggest names in progressive rock music and are perhaps the main responsible for the style's survival in the 80's when punk rock movement and the new wave dominated almost the entire music scene.

Marillion is divided into two phases. The first was with Fish, where the music is directed around his poetic and sometimes fanciful lyrics, which sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel. The band achieved their most success in that phase, artistically, progressively and commercially. After four studio albums, Fish left the band and was replaced by Steve Hogarth, where the band introduced a new more oriented towards radio friendly style, although they still have an air of depression in their music. But regardless of which stage we are talking about, the band has significant works to offer.

"Brave" is the seventh studio album of Marillion and was released in 1994. The line up on the album is Steve Hogarth (lead and backing vocals, keyboards and percussion), Steve Rothery (guitars), Mark Kelly (backing vocals and keyboards), Pete Trewavas (backing vocals and basses) and Ian Mosley (drums and percussion). The album had also the participation of Tony Halligan (Uilleann pipes) and of The Liverpool Philharmonic (cellos and flutes), as guests.

With "Holidays In Eden", Marillion couldn't reach a wider audience and had turned away their faithful fans. So, they thought it was time to go back to their roots and make a more progressive album. "Brave" is a conceptual album based on a news story that Steve Hogarth heard on the radio about a girl who was taken to police prison after being found wandering the Severn Bridge. She didn't know who she was or where she came from and refused to speak. This inspired him to write a fictional story about this girl and what could have led to her being on Severn Bridge in this state. "Brave" explores the conceptual issue in an elegant and well executed way, providing a taste of the band's potential.

The keyboards are the show really on this album showing a "resurrected" Mark Kelly, whose role had diminished in importance since Fish's departure, Steve Rothery's guitar is present throughout and always fills the songs very well and Pete Trewavas and Ian Mosley form a solid rhythm support base. But, Steve Hogarth is also a big name on this album where his vocals are superb and temperamental. If at any time we have doubted his abilities, we must listen to the album and at once see him live in the editions released on video in which the band plays "Brave" in full.

"Brave" cuts across all the facets of Marillion's career, but with a greater emphasis on a mix of the two first studio albums of Hogarth's era, "Seasons End" and "Holidays In Eden", plus a dose of inspiration and in a more progressive approach. "Brave" is an album with eleven tracks, where some of them are broken down into several parts with separate names, "Goodbye To All That" and "The Great Escape". Besides them, we have some tracks that are like passages made to allow the listener to immerse themselves in the album's mood. In them, the shine is on account of the great Mark Kelly and his synthesizers. "Brave" starts with the atmospheric "Bridge", one of the most ambient songs on the album. It's followed by "Living With The Big Lie", one of the best pieces on the album with great music and good lyrics. This is a dense, bright and emotional track. "Run Away" is a very beautiful and melodramatic ballad. It has a great guitar solo. "Goodbye To All That" is a fantastic and very dense progressive song that revolves around intense space atmospheres and with an extremely accessible melody, but without losing its essence. "Hard As Love" is the first hardest song on the album with an excellent solo synth, plus great guitars and powerful vocals. "The Hollow Man" is semi-acoustic, a really nice change of pace and atmosphere after the previous rock song. "Alone Again Into The Lap Of Luxury" is beautiful, transforming from a great rock melody with a memorable chord progression to a dark ambient sound. "Paper Lies" is like "Hard As Love", a hard rock song that shows the rock side of the band. The title track is another atmospheric mood piece, mostly an ambient track. "The Great Escape" is a great track, one of the greatest works in the band's history, such is the emotion it brings. With the ballad "Made Again" the album closes very sweetly.

Conclusion: "Brave" isn't a unanimous album for fans and critics. But, for me, it's a very interesting work, one of the best in Hogarth's era. "Brave" is a unique album, not only in Marillion's back catalogue, but in the realm of rock music in general. Marillion may never have been the first choice of the usual prog rock heads, yet their fan base remains the most rabidly loyal and in "Brave" they demonstrated that you don't always have to be cool to release a jaw-dropping album. As "Brave" is such a very cohesive album, a conceptual album where all tracks are somehow linked together, it's difficult to pick out individual tracks as highlights. In reality, Marillion has great albums in both phases, but I'm still rooting for the band to produce something again in this format in Hogarth's phase, another excellent concept work.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

 This Strange Engine by MARILLION album cover Boxset/Compilation, 2024
4.10 | 11 ratings

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This Strange Engine
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by Warthur
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Marillion have gone ahead and given This Strange Engine a very similar deluxe edition treatment to those previously received by the first 8 albums they put out through EMI. This Strange Engine, of course, represents the start of their independent era, and perhaps it's notable then that the two-CD live show bundled in this time comes from the legendary US tour which was the result of enthusiastic American fans chipping in to make it financially viable, kicking off the band's now-historic role in cultivating early forms of online crowdfunding.

There's also a "live bootleg" of an Utrecht gig on the accompanying Blu-Ray; this has soundboard-quality audio set to less-than-professional footage, and captures a gig where unfortunately Steve Hogarth's voice was shot, meaning that the band are hardly at the top of their form.

As for the album itself, it quite simply has never sounded better. Mind you, it's never sounded that much worse either - it's a mild tightening-up, not a game-changing remix like that enjoyed in 2018 by its follow-up, Radiation.

 Fugazi by MARILLION album cover Studio Album, 1984
4.00 | 1570 ratings

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Fugazi
Marillion Neo-Prog

Review by jax4377

3 stars This album is just alright for me. This is Marillion's second attempt at a more commercial prog rock setting the guidelines for neo - prog. The reason for the low rating is the constant grating drums with way to much reverb. It's like they are trying to make up for having a bad drummer. If they weren't so large and important in the mix I wouldn't have a problem but they have this gross overproduced garbage sound that makes me feel sick. Each song has emotional and dark lyrics sung by their obviously Peter Gabriel Singer, Fish, but unlike Gabriel, Fish just mopes about the state of the world and begs for us to fix it for him. Maybe if you're lucky he'll sing a concept piece about his mean girlfriend or something. On occasion an interesting organ solo will try and rip you away from the vile drums but its never enough. I enjoy the lyrical content and the instrumentation but the way they went about producing it completely ruins it for me.
Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Lazland (w/ Quinino help) for the last updates

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