How would you suggest the band write then collaboratively? Unless you want the band to be run like a dictatorship by Rothery or Hogarth...
I don't think the band is going to change their working method at this stage of the game, I just wish that they had Dave Meegan sifting through the hours and hours of jams to build the songs around.
...or you could love
Does it matter that this waste of time is what makes a life for you?
$81 Canadian with shipping! Glad I trust the band.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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An authority on how to write music? Not necessarily. I know I'm not.
And I assumed it was all in your opinion to begin with. It's just a vague criticism to say they should "write better", as that is entirely subjective.
We will probably just have to agree to disagree with regard to how Marillion write songs these days, as I don't hear any prevalent aimlessness in their music and I believe what they are doing is working for them. YMMV of course.
"what's better, peanut butter or g-sharp minor?"
- Sturgeon's Lawyer, 2021
I'm a loyal Marillion fan, so will inevitably pre-order this closer to the time.
However, I'm not a blinkered, rose-spectacled, deaf and naïve Marillion fan, so it's been a long time since I assumed every album they release would be equally good.
For what little my opinon's worth, I thought Sounds That Can't Be Made was mostly a return to top form after two very weak albums, with Happiness Is The Road being more admirable for its packaging and photography than any of the music contained within its two beautiful little hardback books. Somewhere Else was only slightly better, although I think most of the songs worked better live.
But in the meantime they've put out stacks of excellent live albums from their convention weekends, and I've got no doubt that the band is musically as capable as ever when playing live. I hope that album 18 is a strong set of contrasting songs, in different tempos, with vivid textures, proper guitar solos rather than moody noodling, and H singing his heart out rather than mumbling in a fey manner. At their best, Marillion is a band I really love. At their worst, I'm still rather affectionate about them (but without necessarily having to adore the harvested fruits of their labours).
What I personally like about Somewhere Else is that it is concise. This has not been the case with much of their output since they went independent IMHO. Sometimes that's a positive, sometimes it's not.
Unfortunately that album was raked over the coals so I can't really see them returning to that sort of sound.
Went in on the standard edition on this one. Marillion are probably my favourite band so I was bound to get it eventually anyway.
i feel their albums have been consistently hit and miss since Marbles...there're tracks that are great and then tracks that are just mediocre per each album.
Excellent post, and I agree with most of what you say. I'd switch SWE and HITR. HITR could have been a solid single album containing the best material since Marbles, but there's too much of the singer/songwriter meandering doodling that to my ears is more atmospheric than melodic. I thought STCBM was alright, but after the first week or two post-release I've barely returned to it.
It would just help if YO had any explanation behind it. It's one thing to say "well, I wish they'd be more concise/more epic/more whatever" or "I prefer this quality or that one" and elaborate on why you think things work. We can all agree or disagree about that. Merely saying "write better" does come across as pretty presumptuous without anything more behind it.
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