SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

Before you read my Marillion-reviews please consider this: I'm a big fan of the Hogarth-Years ( and this, of course, means that I may find myself in a strange minority here ), anybody who came to know me personally can tell you that whenever it comes to Marillion I'm making pretty sure that, to me, there can "only be one true Marillion" and this is the current line up. So it may come to the surprise of many when they see my ratings of this album ( and a few others that came before "Seasons end" ), but my fanship does not condemn what went on before. Truth is that I liked it from the start, especially their debut.

It's close to being a prog-rock-masterpiece, yes it is, from the beginning with "Script" to the very final chords of "Forgotten sons", and it was "He knows you know" that made me buy this album - well, in the 80s, I was really impressed with the power and passion that drove this song, in spite of the desperation it deals with. I was a regular guest in Rock-Discotheques, even dancing and singing to it... hard to imagine for anyone who knows me nowadays ! But, as you can see with what made me buy the album ( and even more so with my lifelong love to BJH ! ) - I'm not that much a "proghead" at all, I'm simply into good songs with good melodies and I quite like a decent pop-appeal. "Script", to me, is Prog, and it's Prog of the better kind, but as with all of Marillion's pre-Hogarth Albums it appears to be a little too close to good ol' Genesis, so maybe the "Neo-Prog-Thing" is not really mine, cause when it comes to choose I still prefer the "Originals".

It's not Fish's fault at all that his voice reminded me of PG from the start - it fits the music very well. And here the music is full of good songs, melodies, feel. But what keeps "Script" from being a true 5-star-Album is the drumming ! Most of the time I'm listening to it I sit there and wish for Phil Collins giving the music what it really needs. Then again, Ian Mosley should solve that "problem" afterwards... and I know that Marillion with Fish made addicts of many prog-lovers, delivering the "stuff" they were hungry for, so I have quite some understanding for those who don't understand me and why - until Hogarth's arrival - I rated Marillion as a "good but not favourite" band, while they wished for a never-ending delivery of their well-loved "stuff".

In 1983, when the Marillos released this record, it was pretty sure that future Genesis would not anymore... so what they did was very welcome. And, yes, it was very good. Concerning this album - i like the mood and the color it delivers and I can easily forgive that the drumming isn't really first-rate. It was a very good thing to start with and an impressive introduction but, on the other hand, it sounded like an anachronism to me. What's very right about this anachronism is that you can hear the musicians playing the music they really loved and wanted to play, following the footsteps of then rather unfashionable "dinosaurs" who all more or less headed into new directions, losing a lot of their "prog"-approach but scoring hits on the pop-market. Marillions success with "re-inventing" prog to a younger audience ( and bringing it "back" to bunches of elders who wanted to turn back the clock ) and, one by one, climbing the charts, was well deserved - I admit.

Share this MARILLION review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to rupert
• Report this review (#610430)
• Buy MARILLION music online with PA partners
• Show all MARILLION MP3/Stream
• Go to MARILLION page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Script for a Jester's Tear page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MARILLION related discussions