Trollheart

A lot of people hate Marillion, firstly for being (somewhat deservedly, at least in the beginning) a bit of a Genesis clone for the eighties, and later the Fish/Hogarth schism developed, setting some Marillion fans at each other's throats in a real Ozzy/Dio way.

Personally, I loved Marillion from day one, when I heard "Market square heroes" and later bought "Script for a jester's tear" (although I was initially disappointed the former was not on the latter) and followed them through many changes, musically as well as personnel, but I've never lost my love for or appreciation of this band. I think they did a huge amount to reinvigorate and revitalise prog rock in the 80s, and see them as one of the most important in the vanguard of what could possibly be thought of as the NWOBPR, maybe.

When Fish left I thought it was all over, but soon got into Hogarth's different style, and as albums to reassure fans after "Clutching at straws" saw Fish perform his swansong with the band, I think "Seasons end" and "Holidays in Eden" worked really well. The musical direction did not really start to change all that much until later, and "Splintering heart", "The king of sunset town" and the title to "Seasons end" still stand as great prog rock songs for me, while the triplet of "This town/The rake's progress/100 nights" that closes "Holidays in Eden" is still one of the best post-Fish compositions from Marillion.

After this they released their second concept album (third if you include "Clutching") in the exceptional "Brave", which I believe showed once and for all that Hogarth was his own man, not content to hang on the rapidly-disappearing coattails of the previous frontman, and he with the band created a true masterpiece to rival even "Misplaced childhood".

Recently Marillion have moved somewhat away from their progressive rock roots, and in truth we'll never hear songs the calibre of "Script", "Forgotten sons", "Grendel" or "Emerald lies" again, but I still think Marillion remain a potent force in prog rock, if for nothing else than as an inspiration for new bands who are only just getting to grips with the prog rock principles.

Fish, on the other hand, has remained true to his original vision for Marillion in his solo work, releasing some amazing albums, one of the best of which in my opinion is "Raingods with zippos", but his catalogue has been a little hit and miss. "Suits" had some great songs, as had "Sunsets on empire", but there was some filler, whereas "Fellini days" I find more than a little hard to really get into. I enjoyed "Field of crows" immensely, and am looking forward to his latest effort.

Whether it's Marillion with Fish or Hogarth, Fish on his own or the likes of Transatlantic, The Wishing Tree or the H Band, I'll always be a fan of anything to do with Marillion. For me, they really introduced me to "modern" progressive rock, music I thought could only be played by "older" bands from the 60s and 70s, and helped to not only keep prog rock alive, but to flourish and grow, passing the baton to a whole new batch of hopefuls.


Anyone care to comment?

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018