It is funny how I see the comments on this band over at View from the Porch – folks get surprised that anyone else listens to them. I have to agree. I was the only one in my group in high school / college that listened to them but whenever they come up folks start chiming in on what a great album Misplaced Childhood was.
Marillion while Fish was the lead singer was probably one of the greatest bands to go nowhere in the old USA. . . I got all the Fish albums (now on CD too) and a few of the after Fish ones but they are not as good and I admit I gave up on them after “This Strange Engine”.
Anyway as a public service to those who want to know the albums with Fish that were out here in order are:
Script for a Jesters Tear
Fugazi
Misplaced Childhood
Clutching at Straws
B-Sides Themselves
The first non Fish one was Seasons End and it is ok, has a few good tracks on it but after that they went down hill. . ..
Anyway after all this talk of Marillion I am now going to have to dig out the CDs and give them all a good listen again. . . it has been way too long.
4 comments:
It’s always great to come across someone write and reflect on Fish-era Marillion. They were an immensely talented band that was criminally underserved by their US record label and management at the time. It almost pains me to ponder the music that might’ve followed CAS had they remained intact. I agree that Marillion took a musical nosedive after Fish’s departure. Those of us who followed the band at their gigs or kept up with them in the pages of Kerrang always knew that Fish was the beating heart of the band (literally), but time has shown that Fish also took the true melodic component of Marillion’s music with him. Somehow, the others determined that suspended chords and groaning are an adequate substitute for lyrical melody. They are not. Nor do they suffice to eclipse the old ghosts that continue to linger and haunt this band to the present day.
Pierroth
I agree but I don't want to sound like I am bad mouthing them. All I can say is the sound changed after Fish left and for me I personally did not like the new direction they went in. They were still good, just not for me as they continued to evolve.
There was just something Magic about them with Fish that was gone and I missed it too much to stay with them. I may have liked the new sound if I didn't know what the old one was if that makes any sense. . .
Fair enough, JD. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I am badmouthing them (their individual talent is unquestionable), but, rather, that the overwhelming majority of their music since 1989 has lacked a certain integral heart and direction.
In hindsight, considering how radically they have veered off the original course and how the vibe has changed, they should've changed the name of the band after Fish left.
I'd also like to add that in addition to the above-listed studio albums, there are also some fine live collections from the Fish era which do a pretty good job of capturing the band's musical essence at the time.
Real to Reel 1984
Brief Encounter 1986 (EP with live tracks)
La Gazza Ladra 1988
Curatin Call 2005 (box set comprised of previously unreleased concerts spanning the entire Fish era. Out of print but well worth it if you can find it).
Pierroth
Not saying you bad mouthed them in the comments, more afraid I came across that way. . . I liked seasons end but as you say, they weren't the same after Fish and I agree the sound changed enough that they should have changed names.
I caught them in a Boston club just after he left and we didn't know yet and the crowed was chanting "where is Fish" but did not get an answer. They were still good, just different
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