Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another very good record from a great band, June 1, 2004
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.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a Marillion Masterwork, June 14, 2004
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!!!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their Best to Date.....Bar None!, May 21, 2005
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!
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