Customer Reviews

Radiation

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Having lintening to albums like marbles, afraid of sunlight, and others I thought about buying the whole bands library. When I got this album and heard it for the first time ,I was not very impressed. The production value lacked very much. Some songs at the first two playings I thought were sub par, but this album really grew on me. Songs like the blistering Under The Sun, the Beatle-isque These Chains, and The epic Three Minute Boy werse really lyrically well written and musically wonderful!! The whole album flows nicely, with very few dull moments, with the eception of The Answering Machine, this album stacks up to grace and excellance! This album is alot different from the sound of past and future marillion albums. The bluesy song Born To Run shows how much depth and talent these guys have. I recommend this album to all fans, who want a different sounding Marillion album to non fans alike. This will grow on you!

Yes, Marillion's RADIATION seems to be an aberration--it certainly has it's differences from Marillion albums that preceded it and followed it--and I wish and hope Marillion would make more like this one. I bought this upon release nearly ten years ago, brought it to my bedroom and played it with my girlfriend listening. Did the songs jump out and grab me? No. I thought the opener UNDER THE SUN was uneven with a laborious beat. Now I enjoy the song with its quirky lyrics and apocalyptic imagery. The melodic "These Chains" is a nice contrast to UNDER THE SUN and is one of the more accessible tracks. NOW SHE'LL NEVER know is quiet and demands you listen closely, not casually. BORN TO RUN is Marillion's version of blues, and it works well--just remember, they are not trying to be Led Zeppelin, nor do they pretend to be bluesmasters. Steve H and Co. are playing their interpretation of blues--and I like it. By the time you get to CATHEDRAL WALL, the stark, slap-in-the-face opening will wake you up if you have drifted off and lost your attention (assuming this is your first listen, because in subsequent listens, this album WILL GROW ON YOU). "Cathedral Wall" is a strange song, with strange loud and soft, night and day changes. It is a dark, cinematic picture for the mind, packed into 5 minutes. A FEW WORDS FOR THE DEAD will test your patience, but to those who wait, the song builds until with trademark Marillion explosion, the song opens up into one of the most satisfying, cathartic climaxes composed by the group. The last two tracks are really just add-ons: they are remixes of earlier tunes from the band. And they are not bad at all. To hear the band perform live this and any song from RADIATION is a treat because it seems to be the forgotten Marillion album. It was not overwelmingly received with positive reviews by fans, but I suspect that just as I did, when I remembered the album and gave it another chance, the songs, and then the album as a whole, grew on me until it is in my top 5 Marillion.

Radiation is perhaps, along with Afraid of Sunlight, Brave and Clutching at Straws, the best album Marillion has ever produced. Songs like "3 Minute Boy," "The Answering Machine" and "These Chains" would get tons of airplay if the name "Oasis" or "Radiohead" was on the cover instead of Marillion.

All in all, a great album from a great band from start to finish. From the hard rock of "Under The Sun" to the synth-dominated "Answering Machine" to the acoustic "Now She'll never Know" to the Beatle-esque "These Chains" and "3 Minute Boy," there's not a bad song on the disc.

Marillion is the best band that nobody's heard of. Truly a brave departure for this vastly underrated band.

3 and 3/4 stars. Marillion's 10th studio album Radiation is an intriguing album for being less intriguing than most of their other albums. It is definately one which will take a few listens and one of those albums where one may really like certain tracks and actually be disappointed in others. No middle ground. One problem here lies in that the album isn't as cohesive as a lot of their other albums, which flow from point A to point B and sound like a cohesive package, an aural journey. Here, Radiation comes off as just a collection of tunes - almost like an album of good B-sides or songs left off the album proper. Don't bother reshuffling the track list either, it won't do much good. That is not to say that the songs are weak, there are still memorable ones, just that it sounds...incomplete or something. Hard to put a finger on it. Another sore point is the blurry production, which actually damages the overall effect of the album in some spots. A shame.

One thing must be pointed out, however, that with this album the band made a conscience decision to experiment and break away from a lot of their trademark sounds. They were trying the 'alternative' route while leaving their 'neo-prog' sound behind for newer bands like Arena, Spock's Beard and Grey Lady Down to take and run with. So gone are Rothery's soaring guitar leads, replaced with a more chunky, alternative, grungey twang. Airy synth chords are out, the keyboards are more Beatles and less Genesis this time around. And they want to be Radiohead so bad they can taste it. The album's title should give a clue to that, and they also cover Radiohead's 'Fake Plastic Trees' on the 'These Chains' cd single. If you can handle Marillion trying to sound current and forget all about that Scottish guy with face paint who fronted the band in the 80's, you may want to try this album. Again, the songs are decent but the production and overall flow are somewhat flawed.
The songs:

COSTA DEL SLOUGH: sound effects give way to an unexpected one minute acoustic opener with a jazz feel.

UNDER THE SUN: an grungey alternative rocker which would have been a hit if they were not Marillion. The guitars are more to the fore here.

ANSWERING MACHINE: the only one track here that recalls earlier Marillion circa 'Fugazi' or 'Clutching At Straws' with furious keyboard work and Steve Hogarth's voice sounds as if it was recorded off of the answering machine.

THREE MINUTE BOY: usual Marillion lyrical fare about some young person(s) caught up in the world of fame and fortune and being unprepared for the downside of it all. Not a bad track, but done better on earlier albums like 'Brave'. Goes on a bit longer than it should.

NOW SHE'LL NEVER KNOW: an acoustic track mixed so low on the album that you have to turn the stereo up pretty high to hear it, and even then there's that muddy production! It's hard to get into this plain, reflective track for those reasons. It's a track that's almost not even there on the album.

THESE CHAINS: a Beatles-ish track which is a definate keeper, with a rather orchestral, organic feel. Here is where the album succeeds. Also released as a single.

BORN TO RUN: Marillion try another experimant- doing a slow blues song. Blues isn't a direction they're known for but the bluesy guitar leads and the shimmering organ actually work for them more than some may care to admit. All they needed was Bob Seger to sing it.

CATHEDRAL WALL: again, that blurry, fuzzy production. Otherwise, this is a strong 90's Marillion track not out of place amongst material from 1995's 'Afraid Of Sunlight'. Towards the end they start cranking up the agression, but then it stops dead. Too bad.

A FEW WORDS FOR THE DEAD: a closing track in the atmospheric direction they were going with in the 90's, fading out with an anthemic theme which perhaps has Steve Hogarth not knowing when to stop singing and letting the music drift off tastefully without him. The spaces in between the vocals can make the vocals stronger when they do come in.

there are two bonus tracks, an acoustic version of 'Estonia' as well as a remix of 'Memory Of Water', which is superior to the original on their previous album 'This Strange Engine'.

This really ought to have been a classic Marillion album. After the relatively disappointing "This Strange Engine" (the title track being the major exception), the band decided to slightly alter their approach and tuned their guitars towards the ambient rock so finely honed by themselves in the past and celebrated by newer artists like Radiohead and Kula Shaker.

Few fans will be disappointed by the actual songs. The band cover a lot of ground (pop, rock, prog, ballads) and get away with it purely on the strenght of their excellent musicianship, and Steve Hogarths voice is, as always, spot on. Highlights are the epic "Cathedral Walls" (should be a James Bond theme-song!), the careful ballad "Now She'll never know" and the rock sensibility of "Three Minute Boy".

The single "These Chains" is more than a little bland, but any self-respecting Marillion fan expects one of these "should have been a hit, no really!" numbers pr. album, and we allow them to get away with it, as usual. And as usual, the single did nothing at all. (Will they ever learn?)

The album is marred by one major flaw, though: The production. There's apparently a concensus amongst Marillion fans that this is their worst produced album of all time, and I can't say that I disagree. Too bad, really, as most of the material is flawless.

So, an inspired release and certainly a starting point for anyone that arrived late and have never heard a single minute of Marillion in their lives.

I'm as big a Marillion fan as they come, but I have to level with you...this is the album I like the least.

First off, let me be clear in saying that by no means this is a bad album, it's just that it doesn't measure up to the rest of Marillion's catalog (of either era). It's a hard record to digest, can be very dark but not alluring enough, never really grabs you completely.

As for the tracks:
- Costa del slough: this is nothing more than an extended intro to the next track
- Under the sun: a great tune, straight rock with cool keyboards and nice vocals by h
- The answering machine: a band standard, probably the best known track from this record. Great guitars...
- Three minute boy: starts off slowly and keeps on gaining strength. Cool guitar solo
- Now she'll never know: very slow, depressing tune. Doesn't really fit here as it's too strong a change of gears from what the album is up to here. Still, great vocals
- These chains: the single! Great chorus. Starts very darkly and weirdly, but grows on you after a couple of hearings
- Born to run: another slow track. Probably my least favorite of the whole album. It's only strength is the guitar line, and only bits and pieces of it
- Cathedrall wall: another band standard, it's a true gem, although I don't really like the use of 'metal box echo' background vocals...
- Estonia/Memory of water: a couple of unneeded remixes from two tracks of their previous album 'This strange engine'.

I do recommend you get this album, but get the other ones first...

Great album like all the others. Radiation is more like the early Marillion: Market Square Heroes and Script For A Jester's Tear. It's experimental and refreshing ... 100 % Marillion. And this is REAL PROGRESSIVE MUSIC. Not like all these so called progressive bands that are repeating the old Genesis, the old Pink Floyd and the old Marillion. This is the new Marillion and it is great.

Another classic album from Marillion. Buy it and you won't be disappointed. Best tracks: A few words from the death, Three minute boy and The Answering Machine.

Yes, the one thing this album left in my mind was the classic Hammond sound used on several tracks. A lot of Radiation reminds me strongly of the last album's Accidental Man. Not a bad thing, but the songs could have been better. I still regard them as a favourite band.

I think Marillion is a great band, besides mimicking Gabriel era Genesis in their Fish era I think they are a creative and unique band. Brave, This Strange Engine, Afraid of Sunlight, along with Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at straws are all beautiful and inspiring albums. Radiation does have its strong moments but what realy kills it, is the production. Is it just me or does the whole album sound like they covered the microphones with blankets. The drums suffer the most. What I enjoyed on their old albums especially Brave was the emaculate attention to detail and clear distint sounds and effects. The one exception where the production seems to fit on the album is the song Answering Machine where Steve actually sounds like he's singing into an answering machine.