SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

While the progressive scene seemed to suffer for the destructive force of punk, NWOBHM and disco especially in Italy, in other countries the movement continued to produce with old pals changing some directions (like Camel with nude and single factor) and new entries. Marillion are, in my humble opinion, the starting point and the reference for future bands of the new era. I admit not liking the era very much, yet I consider the Script as an excellent addition. First of all, being a watershed between "old" and "new" you should listen to it to have an idea. Let me say I prefer the live "Recital" when listening to the Script as a whole (so the recital deserves a 5/5). Anyway, the studio version is a really good piece. Go straight to "Garden Party", it's intro is def. an 80ties stuff. I remember listening to the single because I heard Andy Ward was playing on it (despite he just did the video shootage) and being quite skeptical about the song. After some time I listened again, this time to the full album and I was intrigued by the narrative force of Fish. Indeed, Genesis are a strong reference, since Fish draws a lot from Peter Gabriel hat, singing/acting in a very solid way. He adds harder or "more cruel" stuff to his voice and you can really feel the anger of knowing that "the game is over". So the two focal points are Garden Party and the titletrack, with a surrounding of greatly balanced songs (I personally prefer Three boats than He knows you know - the other single hit). Lyrics are the best they ever wrote quite complex compared to Misplaced Childhood ones. Music is fine, with some great solos from Rothery. An excellent add-on to progressive music, you can stop at this piece or go on with the evolution.