Marillion - Where should I start?

**Yodelgoat** · 05-31-2015

I've never taken the opportunity to hear their stuff. My daughter is dating a guy who, it turns out is a big fan of Marillion, and seems to be a fan of borderline progressive music. A nice guy with a good job who treats my daughter well - and he likes Prog - Whats not to like about him? Ive turned him on to some new bands he was totally unaware of - and he told me I have to give Marillion a whirl.

So, where to start? I'm all ears.

**ThomasKDye** · 05-31-2015

I'm going to be first and alone to suggest This Strange Engine for latter-day Hogarth-Marillion. It's got a lot of great songs and a solid prog epic in the title track. I think it's a solid doorway for the, shall we say, moodier stuff which became the Hogarth-Marillion's stock in trade.

I'll let others decide on Fish-Marillion, though Clutching At Straws is my personal favorite.

**Progatron** · 05-31-2015

Prepare yourself for the Fish v. Hogarth debate.

Personally, I started with the Fish era. I got into Marillion about 1990, when they had only just switched to Steve Hogarth, and their current material didn't appeal to me as much as it wasn't as overtly 'proggy' as the early, Fish-era stuff which is very much influenced by all the usual suspects, and had the keyboard solos and dramatic vocals I loved at that time. (I still love those albums, but nowadays more as a nostalgia trip... lyrically they are very much "drunken poet" if you know what I mean.)

Time passed, and once I discovered Brave, I was floored and immediately began to seek out more of the Hogarth-era. Over time, I fell more and more in love with their albums until Marillion 2.0 overtook Marillion 1.0 as one of my favourite bands. Hogarth brings more to the table IMO (again, I like Fish too)... he's a musician, for one... not just a singer/lyricist. I love his voice, and I love the way their music matured over the years.

Anyway, where to start? With Clutching At Straws for the Fish-era, Seasons End for the transitional period from one singer to the next, or Marbles for the more recent sound of the band (many will say it is their finest hour... Brave is my personal favourite though... but it's very dense and I wouldn't recommend it to the first-time listener in the same way I would not recommend Tales or The Lamb right away).

Enjoy the discoveries!

**SteveSly** · 05-31-2015

Prepare for a plethora of answers to this question. As others have mentioned already there are two distinct eras to Marillion. The first 4 albums with Fish on vocals and everything else with Hogarth. I am one of those people who love both eras about equally, but others will differ. As to where to start…..that’s tough. You could go with a compilation as a sampler. “Best Live” is a two disc live set that gives a great introduction to what they are all about. For studio albums I might start with the two disc version of “Marbles” from 2012 which is one of their all-time best IMO. I think their most recent album “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” is also very good. For the Fish era “Misplaced Childhood” is still their all time classic to me, although it is a little bit dated today. Although Marillion have never made a pure dud, they do have some albums that are pretty weak, but most of their catalogue is really good.

**JKL2000** · 05-31-2015

First off, ask her boyfriend!

Next, you can get a free sampler CD or internet download here:

https://www.marillion.com/account/registerCC.php

The CDs are nice, and they update them every couple of years. Their albums vary a lot, so while I like almost all of them, I'd say be sure to check out several albums. There are no duds IMO.

**moecurlythanu** · 05-31-2015

Depends. If you're going to keep going, no matter what, hear them in chronological order. (You should be able to hear everything on youtube, I would think.) If you want to jump in with higher quality and then bail when you hit one you're not into, I would start with 'Afraid Of Sunlight' or the 2 disc 'Marbles.' 'Brave' is my personal favorite, but the 2 I mentioned are probably a better entry point.

**Digital_Man** · 05-31-2015

Misplaced Childhood is probably the best place to start. If there is one album that saved prog in the eighties it's probably that one. It is regarded as their best by many. Clutching at Straws is great too but it's more subtle and less acessible(even though I actually like it more than MC).

**Wounded Land** · 05-31-2015

^ ^ ^

I agree with this. Misplaced Childhood is a safe place to start.

**Scott Bails** · 05-31-2015

Marillion, IMO, is a great band to discover in chronological order. Especially for the first eight or nine releases, where they were still developing and evolving. So, I'd start with Script for a Jester's Tear.

**gingernut** · 05-31-2015

Originally Posted by Yodelgoat

I've never taken the opportunity to hear their stuff. My daughter is dating a guy who, it turns out is a big fan of Marillion, and seems to be a fan of borderline progressive music. A nice guy with a good job who treats my daughter well - and he likes Prog - Whats not to like about him? Ive turned him on to some new bands he was totally unaware of - and he told me I have to give Marillion a whirl.

So, where to start? I'm all ears.

You are going to get a lot of different opinions. Clutching At Straws and Misplaced Childhood from the Fish era for sure. Can't say I'm over familiar with the Hogarth era although I do like most of Afraid Of Sunlight.

**Progatron** · 05-31-2015

As per my initial recommendation, one from roughly each 'era'...

...from Clutching At Straws

...from Seasons End

...from Marbles

**Father Tiresias** · 05-31-2015

Originally Posted by Scott Bails

Marillion, IMO, is a great band to discover in chronological order. Especially for the first eight or nine releases, where they were still developing and evolving. So, I'd start with Script for a Jester's Tear.

Though I am a MUCH bigger H-era than Fish-era Marillion fan, I think this is sage advice. You are in for a real treat. I discovered them about 10 years ago, and they quickly became my favorite band.

**Polska** · 06-01-2015

I'd personally go with Clutching at Straws and Marbles. If you don't like either one you won't likely enjoy the others.

**Rufus** · 06-01-2015

Fugazi & Brave

**Zalmoxe** · 06-01-2015

You will get as many answers as opinions expressed. No wait, two have agreed that "Misplaced Childhood" is the best place to start. That's odd!!! Anyway, you will have to make the trip for yourself. Thankfully, there are a lot of clips on YouTube where you can listen to some of the songs or even the entire albums. It is true that the two eras are somewhat different. Fish era more theatrical and perhaps closer to what the progressive rock sounded like in the 70s. Hogarth's era is more neo. Both have great albums and amazing songs. I like most of the albums put out by the band when Fish fronted them. "Clutching..." is probably my favorite, but all of them are great. From the Hogarth era, "Seasons...", "Brave" and "Afraid..." stand out for me and I must say that I kind of lost track of their most recent releases, mostly because the band failed to get and keep my interest in their music. Again, that is just me and you will most likely have a different opinion. The bottom line is that if you embark on this trip (to discover the music of Marillion), one way or the other, you will not be disappointed.

**ItalProgRules** · 06-01-2015

For the Fish era, Clutching at Straws

For the H era, I'm not the one to answer. Tried and tried but it never clicked with me.

**everyday** · 06-01-2015

Fish era - Script
H era - Season's End

**snowsnow** · 06-01-2015

Fish era - Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at Straws
H era - Seasons End and Marbles

As another poster mentioned, This strange Engine is a fine album too - contains my fav opening track from the band plus the superb title track.

**Facelift** · 06-01-2015

Originally Posted by Yodelgoat

I've never taken the opportunity to hear their stuff. My daughter is dating a guy who, it turns out is a big fan of Marillion, and seems to be a fan of borderline progressive music. A nice guy with a good job who treats my daughter well - and he likes Prog - Whats not to like about him? Ive turned him on to some new bands he was totally unaware of - and he told me I have to give Marillion a whirl.

So, where to start? I'm all ears.

Where to start? You mean he's not giving you a thumb drive with all the albums on them?

Bad boyfriend.

**Flightwave** · 06-01-2015

Happiness is the Road Part 2 - The Hard Shoulder. Good mix of epic prog and lighter radio friendly stuff.

**Father Tiresias** · 06-01-2015

Originally Posted by Zalmoxe

Hogarth's era is more neo.

I don't hear any "neo" in H-era Marillion.

**spacefreak** · 06-01-2015

Start with any of the Fish albums. Forget all the rest!

**Paulrus** · 06-01-2015

A lot of this will come down to the type of prog you lean towards. If you're more of a fan of classic prog (read: Gabriel-era Genesis) then the earlier Fish stuff is a safer bet. But if you prefer more modern, song-based prog then the later Hogarth-era albums are where to go. That said, many of us (myself included) enjoy both eras because they scratch different musical itches. When I'm in the mood for neo-prog with twiddly keys I pull out Fugazi or Clutching at Straws (I'm not a fan of Misplaced Childhood -- hasn't aged well for me). But when I want more contemporary musical textures and a more mature approach to emotions and performance I pull out Marbles or Afraid of Sunlight.

With Marillion Your Mileage May REALLY Vary.