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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
1983... Gabriel back with Genesis? - not quite, it's a new band ..., February 1, 2006
I can remember the guy at our local Record store telling me about this "new band" in England who were really good. Evidently all the Iron Maiden fans were into them, they were called Marillion. So I listened to this album and from the first notes thought, sounds more like Peter Gabriel back with Genesis to me, being a big Genesis fan I thought... I'll take it!
Listening to it at home that night, the first track made me think of what would have been the first new track after the "Lamb lies down on Broadway", it just sounded so Gabriel period Genesis. By the end of the album I played it again it was fantastic one of the best albums I had ever heard. The lead singer (Fish) was very emotional both lyrically and in his vocal style - and also sang with great passion. Guitarist Steve Rothery seemed very talented and at times reminded me of Steve Hackett (who was in Genesis from 1971 - 1977). Mark Kelly - Keyboards was also very accomplished, as was drummer Mick Pointer on drums and Pete Trewavas on Bass (who would also join up with Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) and Roine Stolt (Flower Kings) to form a superb "sideline" band called "Transatlantic" in 2001).
Certainly the intensity and emotion of the lyrics / vocals and music combined were captivating to me and it was an album that I played over and over and seemed to find something new in each listening. The songs build beautifully and contain a number of changes (of the 6 tracks 4 are over the 8 minute mark (Script for a Jesters Tear / Chelsea Monday / The Web / Forgotten Sons), Garden Party clocks in at 7 minutes. (The shortest track is "He Knows You Know" at just over 5 minutes). The title track was a highlight for me together with the song about drugs - "He knows You Know", "Garden Party" (which would go on to become an in concert favourite) and "Forgotten Sons" (which reminded me a lot of "The Knife" from Genesis (from Tresspass - 1970). "The Web" is a very well put together track with "Chelsea Monday" providing brilliant guitar work (both electric and acoustic) and again very well put together, very emotional.
In summary, a stunning debut album from a band that sounded so "Gabriel style Genesis" to me that had Genesis released it I would have been over the moon. It is really that good. Fish's lyrics and powerful vocal delivery together with Steve Rothery's exceptional electric and acoustic guitar work really carry this album to another level.
For me this is an extremely enjoyable album from start to finish. I enjoy listening to it as much today as I first did almost 24 years ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, it's superb.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant 80's prog (but seek the 2-disc edition), February 3, 2007
This album is one of the best albums of the 80's (and, in my opionion, Marillion's best). Marillion was one of a handful of British groups that took up the progressive rock style when all the classic bands (Genesis, Yes, Tull, etc.) were going for more of a mainstream rock sound. What this means is you get an album of epic songs (7 minute average rather than 3), poetic lyrics, musical ambition, and fantastic keyboard playing.
Although accused of "sounding too much like early Genesis", Marillion actually sounds less like them than most of the other neo-prog bands. First of all, Marillion has a strong, punchy, 80's sound that is a nice variant on the prog theme - at times they're even almost heavy metal (for the 80's, Marillion and Iron Maiden seemed to be your best bet for nice, melodic, energetic instrumental passages), although the keyboard-rich sound gives them a different sound than metal. Lead singer Fish reminds one of early 70's Peter Gabriel, but Fish is a much stronger singer - savage and over-the-top, with florid rolled "r"s (he kind of reminds me of Van Der Graaf Generator's singer Peter Hammill, too). Unfortunately, Fish toned down his singing soon after this album, but it was fantastic here and (to a lesser degree) on "Fugazi". Guitarist Steve Rothery is more reminiscent of Pink Floyd's David Gilmore than Genesis's Steve Hackett, he has that lovely feel that really sets him above many others. The lyrics are also distinctive - Fish's topics are more heavy metal than prog (drugs, sex/romance, etc.), but his lyric writing is much more florid and poetic than any metal singer (excepting maybe Fates Warning's John Arch).
My only caveat is, either buy the 2-disc version or pick up "B-sides themselves", because there's almost a whole album of great songs you'll miss out on from this era of the band if you don't ("Three Boats Down From the Candy", "Market Square Heroes", and the 20-minute epic "Grendel" are all as top-notch as the songs on this disc).
Marillion's next CD ("Fugazi") is nearly as good, but after that they never really achieved this sound again - they lost a lot of the energy and edge of this CD, tending towards a mellower, more rambling sound reminiscent of later Pink Floyd, U2, and alternative rock (although with some brilliant stuff on every album, especially "Anoraknophobia").
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"When You Kissed Your Prince and Found Your Frog", November 13, 2006
"Script for a Jester's Tear" is Marillion's first proper album, originally released in 1983. It's an interesting listen, inspired by the sounds and evocative lyrics of classic progressive rock and covering a variety of topics close to the heart of the band.
Marillion sounds a little like early 1970s Genesis, though the production is a little more 1980s, and so are a couple of the keyboard tones. Lead singer Fish sounds like an angrier, more melancholy Peter Gabriel as well, which is interesting. The feel of the music is very different from Genesis though, particularly on this album. The atmosphere of the record is more like an album by The Smiths, and the lyrics, though theatrical and melodramatic at times, are more socially conscious, like in "Forgotten Sons", a song about the tensions of Northern Ireland. Fish is a unique lyricist, he bends metaphors in a very interesting way, and it makes for some curious imagery against his descriptions of the life around him, whether it be in the unrequited love in "Script for a Jester's Tear" or in his descriptions of a snobby "Garden Party". Though it isn't a concept album, there are a few lyrical themes that run through the record, (the idea of life being like a play, sons and fathers, etc) which are interesting to think about.
The one problem I have with this album is the 8 minute track "The Web". The music's all right, but there is this very, very, very high pitched synthesizers weaving in and out for atmosphere, and it's kind of painful to listen to on headphones, even though its not that loud a sound. It's just something about the frequencies it runs through. Spoils the song for me a bit.
The CD booklet of this remaster, though a little thin, contains lyrics for each of the songs and an introduction by Mark Wilkinson (the artist behind the cover art), describing how he came up with the cover, and how the sheet music on the jester's table went on to be a hit for Kajagoogoo. I don't know whether he was being serious or not about that, though.
There's a two disc version of this CD floating around, which contains a few B-sides and stuff on the second disc, including "Market Square Heroes" and Marillion's 20 minute epic "Grendel" (based on the Beowulf sequel of the same name by John Gardner). I'm kind of wishing I'd gotten that release now, but it's all right. I got a very good deal on the one disc edition, and those B-sides are available elsewhere, (on the "B-Sides Themselves" compilation, for instance).
There's great music on this CD, but for a newcomer to Marillion, I'd go for their third album "Misplaced Childhood" instead. It's a concept album, it's a little more acessible and it has Marillion's biggest hit "Kayleigh".
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