Marillion - Marbles
Marillion
Marbles
2004 Intact Records
Produced by Dave Meegan & Marillion
Personnel:
h (Steve Hogarth) - vocals, keyboards, additional guitar
Steve Rothery - acoustic and electric guitars
Mark Kelly - Keyboards, synth programming, samples
Pete Trewavas - bass guitar, vocals
Iam Mosley - drums and percussion
Marillion broke big in the middle of the 1980s with its odd brand of very oblique art-rock (read: Prog), then something weird happened -- their iconoclastic vocalist lyricist left to have a solo career (and rumors had it to also further drown himself in booze and other chemicals) at the height of their fame in 1987. Instead of breaking up, they hired another rather impressive vocalist and went into a cult-hero status band ever since. Their newest release, Marbles however, may change that.
At a time when art-rock has made a bit of a comeback in some rather odd places (art-rock fathers King Crimson touring with Tool, Peter Gabriel's rather successful return, and the arrival of bands like Dream Theater, Mars Volta and Coldplay, who all exhibit variations on art-rock themes). When I was told that Radiohead recorded OK Computer under the influence of Marillion's grand-opus Brave I couldn't say I was particularly surprised, as the parallels were uncanny. Now Marillion has returned the favor and done what it has always done; absorb and assimilate current trends into their collective sound without losing sight of what their core sound is. The result is probably the best album in a decade, and one of the best of 2004.
The band has always leaned toward balancing a fine line between ambitious arty pretentions and the sweetly simple pop excursions. In this case, the mix is a fluid trip that has hints of Stingish popcraft (circa The Soul Cages, late period Pink Floyd expanse, inherently quirky wordplay (a la Radiohead or Coldplay), and the lush production dynamics of Peter Gabriel or Massive Attack. The mix of art-rock with folk, jazz, light bits of elecronica and whatever else they deem to fit comes out as a mostly coherent work nonetheless. Songs range from the almost inane pop-ditty of Don't Hurt Yourself, which is really the only throwaway track here, to 10+ minute mini-epics like The Invisible Man and Ocean Cloud, which eschew pretentious instrumental wankery in lieu of actually creating moods and grooves that segue together well and make for a quite pleasant listen. Many of these tracks would make for great remixes in completely different contexts, as the melodies and sounds could easily fit comfortably in other contexts.
This is not to say that Marillion are not players. Rothery has some choice guitar work here, occasionally reminiscent of his earlier work with the band, but not sounding dated or forced. Kelly has never sounded fresher and more contemporary, and the rhythm work is flexible enough to traverse from slinky grooves to odd-time rock on a dime. Hogarth has a respectable range and is expressive, particularly on tracks like The Invisible Man, and The Damage.
All in all a great release. For those who still need some convincing, the single for You're Gone is out, and Marillion.com has a free cd sample offer for those who need to really get their feet wet before taking the plunge. Of note, Marbles is available in 3 versions; a single cd available in most stores, a 2cd special edition available online, as is the extra luxurious 2cd campaign edition which comes with a 128 page hardbound booklet and a dustjacket.
As the band themselves state on their press material, "welcome to a better way of life".
---
You might like this album if you like:
Sting - Soul Cages
Pink Floyd - Division Bell
The Dream Academy - Remembrance Days
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Radiohead - OK Computer
Peter Gabriel - Up
Marbles
2004 Intact Records
Produced by Dave Meegan & Marillion
Personnel:
h (Steve Hogarth) - vocals, keyboards, additional guitar
Steve Rothery - acoustic and electric guitars
Mark Kelly - Keyboards, synth programming, samples
Pete Trewavas - bass guitar, vocals
Iam Mosley - drums and percussion
Marillion broke big in the middle of the 1980s with its odd brand of very oblique art-rock (read: Prog), then something weird happened -- their iconoclastic vocalist lyricist left to have a solo career (and rumors had it to also further drown himself in booze and other chemicals) at the height of their fame in 1987. Instead of breaking up, they hired another rather impressive vocalist and went into a cult-hero status band ever since. Their newest release, Marbles however, may change that.
At a time when art-rock has made a bit of a comeback in some rather odd places (art-rock fathers King Crimson touring with Tool, Peter Gabriel's rather successful return, and the arrival of bands like Dream Theater, Mars Volta and Coldplay, who all exhibit variations on art-rock themes). When I was told that Radiohead recorded OK Computer under the influence of Marillion's grand-opus Brave I couldn't say I was particularly surprised, as the parallels were uncanny. Now Marillion has returned the favor and done what it has always done; absorb and assimilate current trends into their collective sound without losing sight of what their core sound is. The result is probably the best album in a decade, and one of the best of 2004.
The band has always leaned toward balancing a fine line between ambitious arty pretentions and the sweetly simple pop excursions. In this case, the mix is a fluid trip that has hints of Stingish popcraft (circa The Soul Cages, late period Pink Floyd expanse, inherently quirky wordplay (a la Radiohead or Coldplay), and the lush production dynamics of Peter Gabriel or Massive Attack. The mix of art-rock with folk, jazz, light bits of elecronica and whatever else they deem to fit comes out as a mostly coherent work nonetheless. Songs range from the almost inane pop-ditty of Don't Hurt Yourself, which is really the only throwaway track here, to 10+ minute mini-epics like The Invisible Man and Ocean Cloud, which eschew pretentious instrumental wankery in lieu of actually creating moods and grooves that segue together well and make for a quite pleasant listen. Many of these tracks would make for great remixes in completely different contexts, as the melodies and sounds could easily fit comfortably in other contexts.
This is not to say that Marillion are not players. Rothery has some choice guitar work here, occasionally reminiscent of his earlier work with the band, but not sounding dated or forced. Kelly has never sounded fresher and more contemporary, and the rhythm work is flexible enough to traverse from slinky grooves to odd-time rock on a dime. Hogarth has a respectable range and is expressive, particularly on tracks like The Invisible Man, and The Damage.
All in all a great release. For those who still need some convincing, the single for You're Gone is out, and Marillion.com has a free cd sample offer for those who need to really get their feet wet before taking the plunge. Of note, Marbles is available in 3 versions; a single cd available in most stores, a 2cd special edition available online, as is the extra luxurious 2cd campaign edition which comes with a 128 page hardbound booklet and a dustjacket.
As the band themselves state on their press material, "welcome to a better way of life".
---
You might like this album if you like:
Sting - Soul Cages
Pink Floyd - Division Bell
The Dream Academy - Remembrance Days
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Radiohead - OK Computer
Peter Gabriel - Up
posted by theloniusfunk at 1:31 AM
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