My introduction to Marillion took place in the fall of 1987, when a friend invited me to their concert at the Hollywood Palladium. At the time, all I had heard from the band was their sticky-sweet pop ballads "Kayleigh" and "Lavender", but my friend assured me, those tunes were NOT at all indicative of their music. Still, he was just as interested as I was to see if the band had a true stage presence in concert, or if they would just stand there and sing...

Well, that question was soon answered. Lead singer Fish took command of the show right away, creating an empathic link with the audience through moods from happy to somber, heightening the impact of each song through several wardrobe changes. In the alcoholic paen "Torch Song", Fish sang while holding a drink and a cigarette, both of which he handed to the audience later (something which happened frequently during the show.) The musicality of the band was pure genius, and at times reminiscent of Genesis. It should go without saying that I was an instant fan at that point!

Sadly, it was the last chance to see Marillion in their prime, since Fish left the band shortly thereafter. The band continued on with a new lead singer, and although the musical nature remained impressive, the poetic imagery that Fish brought to the band was totally gone. As far as I'm concerned, Marillion no longer exists.

"Script for a Jester's Tear"

1. "Script for a Jester's Tear" (8:39)
2. "He Knows, You Know" (5:22)
3. "The Web" (8:48)
4. "Garden Party" (7:15)
5. "Chelsea Monday" (8:16)
6. "Forgotten Sons" (8:21)

The title track here epitomizes the duality of Marillion's music, a sweet and poetic tale of lost love with a dark undercurrent of tragic emotions. The other songs are low-key and somber in tone, with the exception of "Garden Party", an uncharacteristically ebullient tune.

"Fugazi"

1. "Assassing" (7:02)
2. "Punch & Judy" (3:18)
3. "Jigsaw" (6:47)
4. "Emerald Lies" (5:09)
5. "She Chameleon" (6:54)
6. "Incubus" (8:31)
7. "Fugazi" (8:02)

Another fine album, with "Assassing" being among my favorites (but what's with the extra "g"? I have no idea...) Long before I became a fan, I saw many, many heavy metal compilation albums that included "Assassing", which makes no sense because Marillion is as far from heavy metal as you can get! (It IS their heaviest song, however...) In fact, one of the guys I went to the concert with asked me to "define" heavy metal--I said it was music that focuses on the dark side of life, the downs instead of the ups, music that challenges your opinions or preys upon your primal fears. He said, "With that definition, you could say that Marillion is heavy metal!" That reminded me of the HM compilations, so I said, "Well, as a matter of fact..." In other news, the lyrics to "She Chameleon" are a prime example of Fish's poetic genius: "So was it just a fuck, was it just a fuck, just another fuck I said..."

"Misplaced Childhood"

1. "Pseudo Silk Kimono" (2:14)
2. "Kayleigh" (4:03)
3. "Lavender" (2:27)
4. "Bitter Suite" (5:52)
   • Brief Encounter
   • Lost Weekend
   • Blue Angel
   • Misplaced Rendezvous
   • Windswept Thumb
5. "Heart of Lothian" (6:03)
   • Wide Boy
   • Curtain Call
6. "Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)" (2:12)
7. "Lords of the Backstage" (1:52)
8. "Blind Curve" (9:28)
   • Vocal under a Bloodlight
   • Passing Strangers
   • Mylo
   • Perimeter Walk
   • Threshold
9. "Childhood's End?" (4:32)
10. "White Feather" (2:24)

The first time I listened to this album, the emotional impact was so great, I think I numbed myself to it...I don't know if this album is autobiographical or not, but I think it is, judging by such lines as "the poor, misguided, directionless familiar of some obscure Scottish poet." If that's true, Fish really has had one fucked-up life! Ironically, this was the last Marillion album I ever listened to, since I was put off my the poppiness of "Kayleigh"/"Lavender", even though my friends told me it was the best of all their albums. They weren't kidding!

"Pseudo Silk Kimono" is a quiet vocal which gets you in the mood...followed by the two pop songs, which detail a seemingly sweet, sentimental story of lost childhood love (put in context with the rest of the album, those songs are made MUCH stronger, btw.) Things get more somber and atmospheric on "Bitter Suite", as Fish (assuming it's autobiographical) buys a whore, has another fucked-up relationship, and finally hitchhikes to the big city to escape his problems. The next three songs--"Heart of Lothian", "Waterhole" and "Lords of the Backstage"--are all energetic and somewhat upbeat, as he falls in with a crowd of "wide boys" (the other Marillion guys, I suppose?) who, like him, are living for the moment to escape yesterday. (I'm guessing at a lot of the action here, some of Fish's lyrics are quite obscure...)

Then comes "Blind Curve", the most emotionally powerful section of the album. Another relationship goes sour ("Last night you said I was cold, untouchable"), a friend dies ("I remember Toronto when Milo went down...he was the first of our own"), the pressure of being a rock star becomes unbearable ("An interviewer threatened me with a microphone"). This leads to massive drug overdose..."I picked up the sleeping pills crushed on the floor, inviting me to casual obscenity...wasted, I've never been so wasted, I've never been this far out before..." (and having done the Perimeter Walk myself, this part is DAMN chilling!) And I don't think I've ever heard lyrics as INTENSE as these: "I see children with vacant stares, destined for rape in the alleyways..."

And then, morning comes, when Fish realizes that his Misplaced Childhood was never lost ("The only thing misplaced was direction,") and the last two songs end on a completely happy, almost rejoiceful note. Quite unusual for Marillion! And I guess the reason I blocked out the emotional ride at first was because it related to parts of my life that I would rather not have thought of at the time...oh shit, did I just reveal something personal there? Ah, fuck it...suffice to say, that, with the exception of ELP's Brain Salad Surgery, this CD ranks as the BEST album of ALL time!

And now I better stop typing before I exceed the limit on my web server. :)

"Real to Reel/Brief Encounter" (live 2CD)

I owned the Real to Reel CD for a long time, but despaired on ever finding a CD copy of their Brief Encounter EP...until now! Well, really the only essential there is the full-length version of "Lady Nina"--"Freaks" is on their "B"-Sides compilation, and the live tracks are the same ones as on La Gazza Ladra (I think.) The Real to Reel disc is essential live Marillion, of course, although it kinda sucks I had to buy it twice...

"Clutching at Straws"

1. "Hotel Hobbies" (3:35)
2. "Warm Wet Circles" (4:24)
3. "That Time of the Night (The Short Straw)" (5:57)
4. "Going Under" (2:46)
5. "Just for the Record" (3:09)
6. "White Russian" (6:26)
7. "Incommunicado" (5:15)
8. "Torch Song" (4:04)
9. "Slainte Mhath" (4:42)
10. "Sugar Mice" (5:45)
11. "The Last Straw"
    "Happy Ending" (total=6:00)

The last album with Fish, this one focuses more on adult traumas, such as alcoholism, etc. The songs tend to be quieter than their earlier stuff (except for "Incommunicado", which is quite a rocker!) Not as powerful or dramatic as their other albums, but well-crafted and tuneful nonetheless.

"B Sides Themselves"

1. "Grendel" (17:14)
2. "Charting the Single" (4:46)
3. "Market Square Heroes" (3:56)
4. "Three Boats from Down the Candy" (3:59)
5. "Cinderella Search" (4:19)
6. "Lady Nina" (3:41)
7. "Freaks" (4:02)
8. "Tux On" (5:10)
9. "Margaret"--live (12:17)

A collection of rare tracks and B-sides from all throughout the Fish era of Marillion. The song "Grendel" is VERY reminiscent of early Genesis.

"The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra)" (live 2CD)

I ran across this live, 2-CD import not long after becoming a Marillion fan (well, it must have been at least a year, maybe two, since the concert...I do know for sure that I'd already listened to Misplaced Childhood by then.) The first CD isn't all that special, since it just happens to contain some of my least favorite Marillion songs (with the exceptions of "Slainte Mhath", "Incommunicado", "Fugazi" and "Script for a Jester's Tear", certainly!) But the 2nd CD is solid gold, with the COMPLETE Misplaced Childhood album done live! Can you ask for anything more? As a matter of fact, I think the domestic release only contained the first CD, or at most only the first half of the 2nd...so can you say SCORE!!!

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