rockinbrian19

A Prog Rock Feast on April 24th with new releases by both bands. And then a week later we get a new release from Rush.

fiver

I'm definitely looking forward to both releases...Marillion's one of my top 5 favorite groups. I had a hard time getting into their last release Marbles, however. I hope the new one is better.

Not a Rush fan, however, so I'll pass on that one.

Michael

mndtrp

Not a big fan of Marillion or Rush. However, I am looking forward to anything Porcupine Tree puts out. Their last album and dvd were awesome.

I'll definately be seeing the Tree when they roll through Denver in May.

edclem

Sweet! Thanks for the heads up. I hadn't ever listened to Porcupine Tree before seeing them on tour with Opeth (I knew their connection beforehand, but had never heard their music)

Great news. Hopefully, they'll swing through Minneapolis on the next tour.

neocheddar02

Awesome! I forgot Porcupine Tree had a new album coming out!

What can anybody tell me about Marillion?

fiver

neocheddar02

I'm a huge marillion fan. They started out in the early '80s with a different lead singer than they have now named 'Fish'. In those days, the lyrics were probably tighter and more poetic than today, but the singing was not quite as pleasant to listen to (although I love Fish's albums). Their first album sounds like it owes a lot to Genesis but I find it very wonderful. After the first four studio albums and a live album, Fish left and a new lead singer named Steve Hogarth joined and has remained the lead singer since then. The music after this point drifted away a bit from the band's progressive roots to incorporate more pop music elements as well, and Steve's voice is less flawed than Fish's was. An interesting thing about the last two albums that Marillion released (Anoraknophobia and Marbles) is that they pre-sold the album on their web site in order to raise funds to actually MAKE the albums which is still a pretty novel concept that I don't think I've seen any other bands replicate.

Recommended Albums:

Fugazi, Misplaced Childhood, Afraid of Sunlight, Anoraknophobia, Brave, Season's End.

Albums to save for last (not bad but are either more poppy or just not as accessible)

Radiation, Holidays in eden, Marillion.com, Marbles

Marillion has been one of my top 5 favorite bands since I first happened to pick up Season's End in the early '90s...I rushed out to pick up everything else in their catalogue the next day and I've been a huge fan since. I don't always like everything they do, but they've given me such listening pleasure over the years that I'll plunk down my money as soon as I hear an album is coming out.

Michael

mndtrp

Go here, and get a free Crash Course disc sent to your house. It contains songs from several of their albums.

http://www.marillion.com/music/racket/crash.htm

idjit dragon

Script For A Jester's Tear and Misplaced Childhood were the two that did it for me back in the day

Cheers

Martin

LiquidSky

I'm looking forward to new Porcupine Tree.

neocheddar02

Wow...thanks for the reply, I'll definitely take your advice

It looks like you have to pay a few dollars for the sampler, plus shipping (it's roughly $5) EDIT: I emailed them-it seems you just need to contact the site and they'll send you a cd?

Thank-you! I guess I'll have to sample a few different albums and check out the style.

I'll admit you all have sold me, I'll check 'em out ASAP, thanks for all of the replies!

neocheddar02

I just checked out their Myspace page and listened to a sample of their new album and a few other songs; I loved what I heard from the new album. I really liked the song 'Neverland' and 'You're Gone,' so maybe I'll look into 'Marbles,' despite not receiving a recommendation from anyone yet.

And then from there, I suppose I'll sample a few other albums.

rockinbrian19

For me the first 4 studio albums (Script for a Jesters Tear, Fugazi, Misplaced Childhood, and Clutching at Straws) from Marillion were the best. My Favorite among the four was Clutching at Straws. After Fish left I tried to keep listening to them but to me the magic just was not there. Then one day I saw Marbles in the store and gave it a listen and loved the album. Great headphone album, very ambient music. After that I picked up the Marbles on the Road DVD which is also great.

rmorgan

Let me be the first, then, to heartily recommend Marbles. It's probably my favorite Marillion album. Full disclosure, I prefer Hogarth to Fish. If you can swing it, order the two-disc version available only at Marillion's website.

fiver

The change in lead singers for Marillion always seems to be fairly divisive among the Marillion community despite the band having a much longer history with Hogarth than they had with Fish...they really are two different bands almost with their sound and I love them both. I do find that some of their albums click with me right away while others take a longer time. Radiation is probably my least favorite album by far, and that's saying a lot considering how much I love this band; I would not recommend it until going through every other album. I've started to warm to it a little more after a few years but it did absolutely nothing for me when it was first released.

I was a little disappointed that this new album was not produced in the same way as the last two albums. "Helping" the band make the album by pre-reserving a copy before it was even made was a pretty neat feeling; plus, the special packaging was a nice extra 'thank-you' from the band. Anoraknophobia and Marbles won't fit on my cd shelf, my 2nd cd of Anoraknophobia won't stay in its spindle, but damn if the packaging isn't cool I just hope that Marillion returning to a standard disribution method means they are getting more airplay and more sales...they deserve it.

I could talk all day about Marillion; unfortunately, my wife can't stand Marillion (or prog music in general) so I tend to listen with the head phones ON.

Michael

fiver

Just got the new Marillion cd (pre-ordered from the UK site) on Friday even though it's release date is Monday in the UK. Listening to it right now; on first listen, it seems like they are progressing from Marbles territory which, as I mentioned before, has not managed to grow on me yet as much as others. Certainly, if you liked Marbles you would love this album. I'll probably end up playing Marbles and Somewhere Else constantly to see what I really think of them together. The playing is certainly great and Steve Hogarth is in fine voice on this record.

Visit www.marillion.co.uk and give them a try if you haven't heard them before; there is a free sampler cd available there (none of the tracks on this cd are from the Fish era, naturally).

Now I can't wait for the new Porcupine Tree cd at the end of the month. Just saw the cover on Amazon and loved it.

Michael

bunkaroo

For all you PT fans, if you like Steven's side project Blackfield, they put out their second release a month or two ago. Another awesome record from SW. A definite grower.

Phodg

Fiver is right - I started listening to and going to see Marillion in 1983. Probably saw them 25+ times over the next 4 or 5 years, from festivals (Milton Keynes, Donington) to Xmas gigs in Aylesbury. After Fish left, I bought "Season's End" when it was released. And hated it. I've tried to listen to bits now and again over the years, but Marillion post-Fish just doesn't sound right to me (even after all these years). But I have every Fish solo album and like them all. I'd rate the first 4 Marillion albums as Fugazi, Script, Clutching and then Misplaced, although it depends on my mood. They're all great IMO.
The lead singer change was very divisive among Marillion fans. To each his/her own.

Dobby

I think that "Brave" is their best album. So hypnotic.

fiver

Phodg: I completely understand where Fish-only fans are coming from so I don't begrudge them their tastes...the change in the band is like night and day really; however, since I listened to Season's end back to back with Fugazi originally (before I knew about the different singers I just picked up both because of their covers) and enjoyed the different styles immensely.

My favorite album out of all of theirs is Afraid of Sunlight with the unusual "Cannibal Surf Babe" being a particular oddball song that I just feel really good listening to.

I'm listening to Season's End right now...been awhile actually since I put it on...remembering why I fell in love with this band in the first place. I could kick myself for not making it to see them when they toured the US a few years ago (I think it was just a few select cities).

I haven't been able to get into Fish's solo material as much though. Phodg, if you could recommend how to approach it that might help. I was spinning "Raingods with Zippos" the other day (which I've heard repeatedly is one of his better albums) and just couldn't connect with it like his Marillion material.

To me, there is no band that affects me on a raw emotional level like Marillion does.

Michael

rmorgan

Can't argue with that; before Marbles, Brave was my favorite as well. Honestly, which one is my favorite depends on my mood.

Dobby

Just bought the new Marillion cd today and I must say I am very VERY dissapointed. The sound quality is gawd awful and the songs are just plain cheesy. I couldn't even listen to it anymore after 3 songs.

However the new Porcupine Tree cd is awesome as expected.

MovieExchange

I can't beleive that no one recommended the CD "6 Of One, 1/2 Dozen Of The Other" for anyone wanting to check out Marillion. It's a good representation of their 4 albums with Fish and the first 2 with Hogarth.

Personally I'll always prefer the Fish era. Maybe Marillion has changed after Holidays in Eden and Season's End, but with Hogarth I saw them turning into just another pop band, whereas with Fish they had songs with passion and meaning.

fiver

I wouldn't recommend "6 of one.."...it's a pretty old sampler and really doesn't give a newcomer any idea what marillion actually sound like today...not 20 years ago. Visit Marillion's myspace page or get the sampler off of their website for a more up to day idea of what they sound like.

If someone wants to get into the band for just the Fish era, they'll be sorely disappointed when they try the more modern albums.

Michael