Rank the Marillion albums - Hogarth era

[progeezer's ghost]

Like several here (evidently), I have a deep appreciation for all things Marillion, so this is quite the challenge. This order changes depending on my mood, but their best (imho) is quite possibly my second favorite album of all-time by anyone.

1.) Brave
2.) Season's End
3.) This Strange Engine
4.) Holidays in Eden (2cd special edition)
5.) Marbles (2cd)
6.) Afraid of Sunlight (LOVE Beautiful!)

7.) Sounds That Can't Be Made
8.) .com (Though, to be fair, it's literally been years since I've heard it. Perhaps it's aged well. )
9.) Happiness is the Road
10.) Anoraknophobia
11.) Somewhere Else
12.) Radiation

[Kcrimso]

1. Afraid of Sunlight
2. Marbles
3. Anoraknophobia
4. Brave
5. Seasons End
6. Sounds That Can't Be Made
7. This Strange Engine
8. Marillion.com
9. Holidays in Eden
10. Happiness is the Road
11. Somewhere Else
12. Radiation

[Spiral]

Sounds That Can't Be Made has two songs I still struggle with: the title track (which most seem to love but it's kind of plodding to me) and Pour My Love, which just is pretty meh.

It's always fascinating how different opinions of these things still are. I've just adored those songs from close to day one. "Sounds" benefits hugely from the electronic(ish) edge, or whatever you want to call it, they add to the sound design with those sonic textures and tidbits on the fringes. It's a great way of reinforcing the theme of the whole thing. "Pour My Love" may not show the best taste in keyboard tones, but it's gorgeously written and sung. Top-notch for sure.

But Gaza, Montreal, and The Sky Above the Rain are all top tier stuff, and that's what, almost 30 minutes of music?

Meanwhile "Montreal" has improved for me with familiarity, but it still gets skipped maybe half the time. It's still just too meandering and too inane lyric-wise. "Sky" is well-done for what it is, but I can't help wishing it was a wee bit less repetitive and grandiose.

i find ... “lucky man” (unbearable old-fogeys-pub-plod-rock) ... all but unbearable

Speaking of repetition. I've always enjoyed "Lucky Man"'s groove and the nice chord progression in that chorus, but it certainly cycles through the same pattern too long for its own good. Not that a bit of padding is anything unusual for these guys of course, but this is one of those rare times it becomes a noticeable (if minor) flaw for me. It probably didn't hurt that I first heard it live on the summer tour while still looking forward to the album, which helped it make a damn good first impression.

[JKL2000]

I like parts of the title track, but parts are just kind plodding for me as I said. Pour My Love is just kind of lyrically boring IMO. It might still grow on me.

I don't love Lucky Man, but it does sometimes come across better live.

I really like the lyrics for Montreal, but I think you have to be into h's descriptions of life on the road, which I am. I love parts like the bit about watching Leonard Cohen on TV.

[Spiral]

I like parts of the title track, but parts are just kind plodding for me as I said. Pour My Love is just kind of lyrically boring IMO. It might still grow on me.

I guess plodding can be a fitting description for that tempo. I can also see how "Pour My Love" would seem trite, but I think it's phrased in a way that's pretty and poetic. (Again personal experience can be a factor--it hit me when my family was dealing with a loss.) It's also true Helmer doesn't have h's way with words.

I really like the lyrics for Montreal, but I think you have to be into h's descriptions of life on the road, which I am. I love parts like the bit about watching Leonard Cohen on TV.

I do like h's travelogues--just not in this form. Lyrics consisting (mostly) of straight prose, with little or no rhyme & rhythm in their own right, are always tricky to match with a melody and make it feel natural. There are little recurring motifs that emerge with time, but it wouldn't surprise me if this song always remains somewhat polarizing.

And to get really nitpicky: it's not perfect symmetry unless Leonard Cohen was also in a UK hotel room watching a live Marillion video on the telly as well.

[JKL2000]

And to get really nitpicky: it's not perfect symmetry unless Leonard Cohen was also in a UK hotel room watching a live Marillion video on the telly as well.

And singing a song about it!

[Bigpicturekeys]

Tough to rank but my faves are Brave (for alot of reasons) Season's End, Afraid of Sunlight, This Strange Engine, Holidays In Eden, Marbles and Sounds That Can't Be Made. I have all the others and probably need to revisit them with new ears.

[ProgUK]

I have recently returned to listening to progressive music after a three year absence. I was on a jazz fusion sabbatical, LOL. Anyway i thought i would revisit Marillion, as i used to be a fan, but got sick of them by Anaraknophobia. So to cut along story short, i re-approached them with fresh ears in hopes of putting together a killer compilation. Here was the result:

1. HOLIDAYS IN EDEN
(Best Tracks:Splintering Heart, Party, No One Can, HIE, Dry Land)

2. AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT
(Gazpacho, Beautiful, AOS, King)

3. SEASONS END
(King Sunset Town, Easter, After Me, Space)

4. MARBLES
(Invisible Man, Angelina, Neverland)

5. BRAVE
(Great Escape, Made Again)

6. SOUNDS THAT CANT BE MADE
(STCBM, Pour my Love)

7. THIS STRANGE ENGINE
(Man of 1000 Faces)

8. RADIATION
(Three Minute Boy)

9. SOMEWHERE ELSE
(Faith)

Couldn't find one song i liked on Anaraknophobia, or .Com, and i have not listened to Happiness yet. All told i think i have an awesome playlist though!

[blueeyedsoul]

Afraid Of Sunlight
Marbles
Seasons End

All the rest

[JKL2000]

I have recently returned to listening to progressive music after a three year absence. I was on a jazz fusion sabbatical, LOL. Anyway i thought i would revisit Marillion, as i used to be a fan, but got sick of them by Anaraknophobia. So to cut along story short, i re-approached them with fresh ears in hopes of putting together a killer compilation. Here was the result:

1. HOLIDAYS IN EDEN
(Best Tracks:Splintering Heart, Party, No One Can, HIE, Dry Land)

2. AFRAID OF SUNLIGHT
(Gazpacho, Beautiful, AOS, King)

3. SEASONS END
(King Sunset Town, Easter, After Me, Space)

4. MARBLES
(Invisible Man, Angelina, Neverland)

5. BRAVE
(Great Escape, Made Again)

6. SOUNDS THAT CANT BE MADE
(STCBM, Pour my Love)

7. THIS STRANGE ENGINE
(Man of 1000 Faces)

8. RADIATION
(Three Minute Boy)

9. SOMEWHERE ELSE
(Faith)

Couldn't find one song i liked on Anaraknophobia, or .Com, and i have not listened to Happiness yet. All told i think i have an awesome playlist though!

I find it surprising that you like, for example, Pour My Love and Faith, but not This Is the 21st Century or When I Meet God. Or Quartz. And Enlightened or A Legacy from .com

And you think Made Again is one of the two best songs on Brave? For me it's far down on the list for Brave.

Just always interesting to see peoples' opinions on this stuff.

[ProgUK]

I find it surprising that you like, for example, Pour My Love and Faith, but not This Is the 21st Century or When I Meet God. Or Quartz. And Enlightened or A Legacy from .com

And you think Made Again is one of the two best songs on Brave? For me it's far down on the list for Brave.

Just always interesting to see peoples' opinions on this stuff.

Not sure. Just the melodies hit me more on those songs or something.

[JKL2000]

Not sure. Just the melodies hit me more on those songs or something.

Yeah, I understand really. It's cool you're revisiting those albums.

[3RDegree_Robert]

Afraid of Sunlight
Marbles
Brave
Sounds That Can't Be Made
This Strange Engine
Seasons End
Marillion.com
Happiness is the Road
Anoraknophobia
Somewhere Else
Holidays in Eden
Radiation

[JKL2000]

Afraid of Sunlight
Marbles
Brave
Sounds That Can't Be Made
This Strange Engine
Seasons End
Marillion.com
Happiness is the Road
Anoraknophobia
Somewhere Else
Holidays in Eden
Radiation

Interesting that .com is as high up in the list as it is. How come?

I like it, so just wondering what YOU like about it.

[3RDegree_Robert]

I just really liked it-almost every song-and think of it as a bit underrated I suppose. "Interior Lulu"-until the big prog explosion-is one of my very favorite Marillion moments (portion of a song) ever. "House" is out of character and a very successful "experiment". "Tumble" just has a great happy feeling to it.

To be honest, the 4-5 in the middle are all pretty evenly enjoyed by me. I do stand by Afraid of Sunlight as their finest moment-of that I'm very sure.

[PeterG]

I haven't heard a single Post-Piscus Marillion album. Where should I start?

[Progatron]

I haven't heard a single Post-Piscus Marillion album. Where should I start?

Probably with the first one, Seasons End, as the music is still largely in the Fish-era vein and there are a couple of Marillion classics on it with "Easter" and "The Space".

[SteveSly]

I haven't heard a single Post-Piscus Marillion album. Where should I start?

As you can see from this thread, opinions are all over the place. I would probably go with the 2 disc version of "Marbles" myself or for a good overview check out the 2 CD "Best Live" which shows how good they are in a live setting and has a nice selection of tracks from the Hogarth era as well as a few Fish era tracks.

[the winter tree]

This thread inspired me to dig out the Marillion albums from the last 20 years and give them a fresh listen. Most of the albums after AOS are patchy: one or two really great songs, several pretty good ones, and the rest varying from mediocre to annoying. MARBLES to me is the best post AOS Marillion album.

At their best they are quite amazing and moving. Kudos to them for trying new things and not sticking to the formula. There's always the skip button for the lesser tracks.

[ThomasKDye]

I find it bizarre that people find "This Strange Engine" so mediocre. It's got some great epics in "Man of 1000 Faces" and "This Strange Engine" and some really fine songs in between. Honestly, it's the last Marillion album I bought where I love every song.

[progeezer]

Estonia from TSE may be my favorite M ballad (yeah, better than Easter imho).

I feel the apathy for M.com in this thread, and it just surprises me. To me, "Go", "Tumble Down..." and the Lulu/House epic are among the best music of the h era. Chacun a son gout! (there is Google translate if you didn't take French).

[iguana]

“afraid of sunlight”. to reiterate: it's the first one where h-marillion finally sounded like themselves. originally a low-key release (on contractual obligation one year after “brave”) it has stood the test of time better than many others and its songs have become bona fide live staples for the band. i could post the lengthy review that i did for it once, but i'll refrain and restrict myself to saying “get. this. one.”

opinions will vary.

[Spiral]

“afraid of sunlight”. to reiterate: it's the first one where h-marillion finally sounded like themselves.

I'd say that about Brave, myself. AoS makes a great complement, though--they're sort of like yin and yang, showing all different facets of the group between them, and both are impeccable start to finish.

[SteveSly]

I find it bizarre that people find "This Strange Engine" so mediocre. It's got some great epics in "Man of 1000 Faces" and "This Strange Engine" and some really fine songs in between. Honestly, it's the last Marillion album I bought where I love every song.

I am a big fan. Not a bad track on it IMO and the title track is one of the greatest "epics" they have ever recorded IMO.

[Yaman Aksu]

To me the most interesting on TSE are
the title track
One Fine Day