Customer Reviews

Marbles

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm a lifer when it comes to Marillion. I discovered them with Misplaced Childhood, and have been a fan ever since. I own some of Fish's solo albums and all of the Steve Hogarth-era Marillion albums and even a couple of non-Marillion Steve Hogarth albums. I've proudly pre-ordered Marillion's last two studio albums (Marbles and Anoraknophobia) and I own a few of their DVD's. Bottom line is: They change, they grow and somehow they keep making beatiful, honest and powerful music and I keep enjoying it. I don't love every album or embrace every song they put out, but I still count myself as one of their fans.

Marillion isn't a "progressive rock band" in the 1970's sense because unlike most "progressive" bands that (paradoxically) don't progress, Marillion actually has. They make pop songs, they make rock songs and they make long, epic songs that can take the listener on powerful emotional journeys. Every album is different, while still capturing some degree of that classic "Marillion sound". That "sound" is all over Marbles, but this album isn't a retrogressive "progressive" rock album.

Marbles is progressive rock in the sense that the band has evolved over the years, and the music itself, a kind of rock, progresses from moment to moment, often defying traditional song structures in favor of a more cinematic approach to composition. There are a few pop songs on this album, and they're quite good. But most Marillion fans aren't interested in the radio singles, they're interested in the big, epic songs and there are more than a few on Marbles.

But you don't need to be a music major to enjoy this music. All you really need is an open mind and a heart. There are no keyboard solos that make you think progressive rock should be an Olympic sport and there are few jarring turns or pretentious, self indulgient passages. In fact, part of what makes Marbles an amazing album is that while there is masterful musicianship going on, the music is so easy on the ears that what you notice is how lovely the songs are, not how skilled the musicians are.

If you're a Marillion fan who lost the thread at some point, Marbles has many classic Marillion sounding moments. It's as strong musically and emotionally as Brave, but the songs stand up better by themselves. Marbles combines the best elements of Misplaced Childhood, Afraid of Sunlight, Brave and Anoraknophobia into an album with no weak moments. I would say "Marillion is back", but really, they never left.

If you're a Fish devotee, give Marbles a try. Steve Hogarth is an honest and powerful singer and a strong lyricist. What he might lack (in comparison to Fish) in vocabulary or clever turns of phrase, he makes up for with a stronger melodic sense, and lyrics that are both specific enough to be true, but non-specific enough to allow room for other people to find themselves in them. Besides, the Fish vs. H argument is kind of done, isn't it?

If you're not a Marillion fan, but you enjoy Crowded House/Finn Brothers/Neil Finn or Tim Finn, you'll find something to love on Marbles. If you enjoy Coldplay, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd or even Radiohead, you'll likely find something to enjoy here too. In fact, if you like great music made by a real band with real musicians, go get yourself some Marbles. You won't be sorry.

Marbles is a sprawling 2 CD work of catchy melodies, ambient keyboards and intricate guitars that grows on the listener over time. Like other Marillion albums, it ranges from pop ditties (You're Gone, Don't Hurt Yourself) to intricate, extended 'head' pieces such as Invisible Man, Ocean Cloud, and Neverland. The 'glue' binding it are four short number (Marbles I, II, III & IV) strategically placed to segue the varied material together. This makes the whole thing sound and feel like a concept record. Fortunately, the typical concept record excess is absent.

Patient listeners will be rewarded with many high points. Invisible Man, Fantastic Place, Ocean Cloud, Marbles III, and Neverland are five of the finest songs they've put to CD in 10 years or more. Don't Hurt Yourself is about as catchy as they come and could pass for Oasis. However, I tend to skip over 'Damage' on disk 2 - it's chorus ('who let the Genie out of the box/ did you let the Genie out of the box?') is annoying and too reminiscent of 'Genie' from disk 1.

As to be expected the performances are top shelf. Steve Hogarth's ability to convey the emotions of his lyrics are tremendous. Steve Rothery's guitars echo Hogarths' emotions and are never overly flashy or excessive. The exceptional rhythm section of Ian Mosley and Pete Trewavas are extremely tight and criminally overlooked in rock circles.

Bonus material contained on the deluxe 2 CD set available through www.marilllion.com is worth the extra 8 Quid - the song 'Ocean Cloud' alone is worth the extra dough.

My only serious gripe with Marbles is the quality of the recording. While it is crisp, it lacks serious dynamics and seems somewhat over-compressed. Furthermore, high frequencies sound rolled-off. While these weakenesses may not be noticed by a casual listener, they're evident when compared to 'Afraid of Sunlight', a 10 year old recording.

Again, this is a very good record. Patient listeners will be rewarded with many spectacular moments.

I pre-ordered the campaign edition directly from Racket Records with my expectations high, as the band touted this latest effort to be a "peach" of an album. When I recieved my copy, the CD box artwork was stunning to say the least but it paled in comparison to the music within: Marbles is probably the most clever Marillion work, with such diverse use of every band members talents. Like most Marillion albums, Marbles requires many listens to fully appreciate the complexity and beauty of their music. Favorite songs are replaced and then become favorites again, only to be replaced by other tracks. On 1st listen, I was struck by 'Geenie', then by 'Neverland'(beautiful anthematic final track) and now I find 'Don't Hurt Yourself' to be one of my favorites. Some tracks on Marbles are musical "worlds within themselves", such as "Invisable Man" (clever use of synths and organ near the end) and "Ocean Cloud"...this is signiture Marillion. Other songs venture into new ground such as the single "youre gone", having more of a U2 feel, however vastly better both musically and vocally. While I am trepidatious to call any one Marillion album my favorite, I consider this to be a masterwork. The cherry on top of all this is that Marillion have just announced a North American tour!!!

Marillion's been around for a long time. And they release everything, and their dog. In addition, they can be attributed to two of the greatest progressive rock album of all time - Brave, and Misplaced Childhood. They asked their fans to pre-order their upcoming album, months before the CD was titled or even recorded. And guess what? Their hardcore fanbase bought the album, and funded Marillion to record one of the greatest albums in progressive rock history.

In case you lack skills in following paths made in text, I was referring to Marbles.

I'll start off and inform you that this review will be based on the double-album of Marbles - which you can purchase only from Marillion's website. Nothing wrong with this single-album version of it, but the 2CD simply has more.

The tracklist of the double album is as follows.

Disc 1
1. The Invisible Man
2. Marbles I
3. Genie
4. Fantastic Place
5. The Only Unforgivable Thing
6. Marbles II
7. Ocean Cloud

Disc 2
1. Marbles III
2. The Damage
3. Don't Hurt Yourself
4. You're Gone
5. Angelina
6. Drilling Holes
7. Marbles IV
8. Neverland

So, that said, it has many amazing tracks, and one of the best is not contained in the single disc version.

Marillion is a very unique band. Their style of music is a near-laid back rock - similar to Pink Floyd's album 'Dark Side of the Moon'. The instrumentalization is unquestionably amazing. The only drawback may be the vocals. Steve Hogarth, to me, is a very efficient vocalist and he suits the music well. To some, he's nearly intolerable.

This album has a ton of songs, and three epics. The Invisible Man, Ocean Cloud, and Neverland. The second - Ocean Cloud - is not on the single disc version of the album, and it's one of the greatest songs Marillion has ever recorded. Its nearly 18 minutes long, so you can't go wrong.

I'm not going to get into the songs. It wouldn't be fair if I tried to explain them. Just think of this as very well written radio rock songs. If it wasn't for the near-controversial message of some songs, the over-average length of time of some songs, and the talent of all the songs, you could see these guys played beside U2. Since, after all, a lot of their songs sound like a better U2.

Let me put it this way. This album is good enough that I'm going to just stop this review right here because my fumbling around words is insulting to the music.

I've been quite critical of Marillion's work since their concept album 'Brave' back in the early 90s. Though 'Anoraknophobia' improved things, it still wasn't at the same level of creativity as they accomplished with that classic album that was meant to be played "loud and with the lights off."

Finally, in 2004 Marillion takes back on their "brave" sound and brings it to the next level, with their 'Marbles' album. This is a production where there are some extraordinary songs that have a 100% Marillion sound, with accents reminding of Pink Floyd and Genesis carefully sprinkled all through most of the longer tracks, which makes it is extremely difficult to pick favorite tracks. Perhaps the promotional "You're Gone" I could live without, but even that one is far from bad.

All in all, my favorite tracks are:
-The Invisible Man: strong "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" influences to be felt in the beginning, due to its obscure nature, for the most part.
-Angelina: a more contemporary sound to it, but also bringing to mind works such as "Wish you were here".
-Neverland: Strong, up front Marillion, starting with H and a piano and bringing band members in as it grows, displaying some of the craftiest production details in the album.
-The four "Marbles": much more like the Marillion we learned to love in 'Brave'.

The album comes not just as a great musical production, but also an attempt to break traditional music marketing and distribution schemes, something that they attempted their previous album, but didn't quite succeed at due to the shortcomings of their distribution deal. What you will listen to in 'Marbles' is an album whose production AND distribution was taken off the gound by thousands of fans that pre-ordered it even before it was recorded (something I was proud to be a part of).

Once you listen to it, I think you will agree that breaking the ties from a recording contract can yield things that are extremely worth paying a little more for. And if you feel you can't get enough Marillion with this CD, there's more for you to dig into: go to Marillion.com and get the double CD, which includes much more, but in particular one of the best Marillion songs I've ever heard, called "Ocean Cloud". They definitely delivered on their promise to save some great stuff for the double-album edition that they made available, but they were also able to bring together some great material for this version of 'Marbles'.

I have only been on the Marillion bandwagon for about 4-1/2 years now, and I have to say that this CD exceeds even Brave, which was my all-time favorite. I also own the Marbles on Tour DVD, and after learning that the band worked on this release for over 2 years, the results speak for themselves. Something about Marillion reminds me of what might result if Roger Hodgsen of Supertramp was plunked into Pink Floyd. Imagine emotional, plaintive singing along with Steve Hackett/David Gilmour-ish guitar from Steve Rothery, keyboard stylings not dissimilar to Richard Wright of Pink Floyd, plus some unique intangibles found only with Marillion, and you have a pretty good picture of where they're at right now.
Every track on this wonderful CD is top-rate, even the oft-maligned "Drilling Holes", which has a certain charm unique to this song. Overall (and as of this writing), my favorite tracks would have to be "Fantastic Place", "Don't Hurt Yourself", "Neverland", "The Invisible Man", and "You're Gone". There isn't a single disappointment here, and I wait with bated breath for the next release, however long it takes!

I have been a Marillion fan for 16 years. I have to admit that the last several offerings got me to the point where I about gave up on them. Then came Marbles. This is the best work they have done in a long time. It showcases the tremendous talent in the members of this band. The return of Steve Rothery to the forefront is a blessing. Steve Hogarth has never sounded better. Being an american I can not understand how such a tremendous band can be ignored here. Thank god they are coming back over the pond this fall to roll the Marbles.

I think this best describes Marillion. They have the David Gilmour type solos, the Neil Finn-like singing, the Pink Floyd minor key tinged songs and epics and the Crowded House melodies. My advice is to skip the domestic US release and get the double CD import. To fully enjoy this CD, one must listen to the song "Ocean Cloud," which is only available on the import. Great album, great band.

WOW! there are not enough stars to rate this album, an amazing sonic journey.
marillion has always been one of the best bands in the world, but since hogart join the band, it has just complete the circle with the other members of the band.
from the first sounds of invisible man the journey begins.
what can i say im not going to rate song by song , probably the weakest moments is drilling holes. and the best moments are invisible man,the only unforgiveable thing,neverland,fantastic place,angelina,ocean cloud,genie ,dont hurt yourself. excellent i mean really excellent songs.
and the lyrics oh man this can write,play and sing.
thats probably the biggest difference between fish and H.
marbles is in the same league as the all time great albums

Marillion have been my favorite band for the last 15 years, and this CD is nothing short of stunning. I thought Anoraknophobia was OK, with a bit too much filler and .com and Radiation were both disappointing. But Marbles...

First, spend the extra money and get the 2 CD version. Ocean Cloud is worth the extra money all by itself. You won't regret it.

I won't do a breakdown of each song (you're welcome!), but personal favorites are Invisible Man, Fantastic Place, Ocean Cloud and Neverland. If you've been wondering where Steve Rothery has been, well, he's all over this CD. The guitar in Neverland brings back the goosebumps missing since Brave and AoS.

Highly recommended. Marillion were slipping in my eyes the last few recordings, but they hit a Home Run with this one. Good job, boys, and thanks for stopping by to see us. Hope to see you Summer 2005.