Showing posts with label Steve Hogarth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Hogarth. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Marillion and Fish: The Top 100 Songs/Top 20 Albums


Fish-era Marillion


Steve Hogarth-era Marillion

Marillion & Fish

Top 100 Songs/
Top 20 Albums

This list was originally posted on 4/25/2015 in honor of Fish’s birthday. He was born Derek Dick on April 25, 1958. From 1981 to 1988, he was the lead singer of British neo-progressive-rock group Marillion. They had their greatest success with 1985’s Misplaced Childhood, a #1 album in the UK. After the follow-up album, 1987’s Clutching at Straws and the live album The Thieving Magpie in 1988, Fish left the band for a solo career.

Fish released 11 studio albums as a solo act from 1990 to 2020. He claimed that his 2020 album, Weltschmerz, would be his last solo effort. Meanwhile, Marillion replaced Fish with Steve Hogarth. From 1989 to 2016, they released thirteen studio albums. The first three, Seasons End (1989), Holidays in Eden (1991), and Brave (1994) were all top-10 albums in the UK. Both acts have built devoted fanbases by asking fans to pre-order releases as a means of financing studio albums. They’ve also both released multiple live albums through their websites that are not always available through convential retail outlets.

Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers.

Spotify Podcast:

Check out the Dave’s Music Database podcasts Marillion: The Best of the Fish Years, 1981-1988 (premiere: March 1, 2022 at 7pm CST) and Marillion: The Best of the Hogarth Years, 1989-2022 (premiere: March 8, 2022 at 7pm CST). Both are based on this list. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm CST for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards for Marillion:

Awards for Fish:

Top 100 Songs by Marillion and Fish

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs are by Marillion unless noted otherwise.

DMDB Top 5%:

1. Kayleigh (1985)

DMDB Top 20%:

2. Incommunicado (1987)
3. Script for a Jester’s Tear (1983)
4. Warm Wet Circles (1987)
5. He Knows You Know (1983)
6. Sugar Mice (1987)
7. Garden Party (1983)
8. Lavender (1985)
9. Heart of Lothian (1985)
10. Lady Nina (1985)

11. Shortcut to Somewhere (Fish with Tony Banks, 1986)
12. Freaks (1985)
13. A Gentleman’s Excuse Me (Fish, 1990)
14. Estonia (1997)
15. Market Square Heroes (1982)
16. Hooks in You (1989)

Beyond the DMDB Top 20%:

17. Sympathy (1992)
18. The Hollow Man (1994)
19. Punch and Judy (1984)
20. Assassing (1984)

21. Childhood’s End? (1985)
22. Fugazi (1984)
23. Beautiful (1995)
24. Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury (1994)
25. Easter (1989)
26. The Uninvited Guest (1989)
27. She Chameleon (1984)
28. Forgotten Sons (1983)
29. Solo (Fish, 1993)
30. No One Can (1991)

31. After Me (1989)
32. Cliché (Fish, 1990)
33. Blind Curve (1985)
34. Cover My Eyes (1991)
35. Pseudo Silk Kimono (1985)
36. Big Wedge (Fish, 1989)
37. Chelsea Monday (1983)
38. Tux On (1987)
39. Bitter Suite (1985)
40. Credo (Fish, 1991)

41. That Time of the Night (1987)
42. Lords of the Backstage (1985)
43. A Collection (1991)
44. Another Murder of a Day (Fish with Tony Banks, 1991)
45. Cinderella Search (1984)
46. Just Good Friends (Fish, 1991)
47. Going Under (1987)
48. Hold Your Head Up (Fish, 1992)
49. The Web (1983)
50. Fortunes of War (Fish, 1994)

51. The Party (1991)
52. Incubus (1984)
53. Dry Land (1991)
54. The Last Straw (1987)
55. Internal Exile (Fish, 1991)
56. You’re Gone (2004)
57. This Party’s Over (Fish, 2020)
58. Don’t Hurt Yourself (2004)
59. Jigsaw (1984)
60. Slainte Mhath (1987)

61. Angel Face (Fish with Tony Banks, 1991)
62. Most Toys (2007)
63. White Russian (1987)
64. Just for the Record (1987)
65. White Feather (1985)
66. The King of Sunset Town (1989)
67. Waterhole (Expresso Bongo) (1985)
68. Living with the Big Lie (1994)
69. Torch Song (1987)
70. Hotel Hobbies (1987)

71. Question (Fish, 1992)
72. Made Again (1994)
73. Lady Let It Lie (Fish, 1994)
74. Something in the Air (Fish, 1991)
75. Man of a Thousand Faces (1997)
76. Grendel (1982)
77. State of Mind (Fish, 1989)
78. Half-Full Jam (2008)
79. The Voyeur (I Like to Watch) (Fish, 1989)
80. Vigil (Fish, 1990)

81. The Great Escape (1994)
82. Incomplete (Fish, 1999)
83. See It Like a Baby (2007)
84. The Company (Fish, 1990)
85. Lucky (Fish, 1991)
86. Margaret (1983)
87. Dear Friend (Fish, 1991)
88. Whatever Is Wrong with You? (2008)
89. Boston Tea Party (Fish, 1993)
90. Runaway (1994)

91. Cannibal Surf Babe (1995)
92. Apeman (Fish, 1993)
93. Berlin (1989)
94. Garden of Remembrance (Fish, 2020)
95. Family Business (Fish, 1990)
96. Emerald Lies (1984)
97. Thank You Whoever You Are (2007)
98. Three Boats Down from the Candy (1982)
99. Power (2012)
100. I Will Walk on Water (1992)

Top 20 Studio Albums by Marillion and Fish

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by album’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, critics’ ratings, and awards. Albums are by Marillion unless noted otherwise.

1. Misplaced Childhood (1985)
2. Script for a Jester’s Tear (1983)
3. Clutching at Straws (1987)
4. Brave (1994)
5. Seasons End (1989)
6. Fugazi (1984)
7. Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors (Fish, 1990)
8. Marbles (2004)
9. Holidays in Eden (1991)
10. Internal Exile (Fish, 1991)

11. Afraid of Sunlight (1995)
12. Anoraknophobia (2001)
13. Raingods with Zippos (Fish, 1999)
14. Weltschmerz (Fish, 2020)
15. Songs from the Mirror (Fish, 1993)
16. This Strange Engine (1997)
17. Sunsets on Empire (Fish, 1997)
18. Field of Crows (Fish, 2004)
19. 13th Star (2007)
20. Happiness Is the Road (2008)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 4/25/2015; last updated 3/8/2022.

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Friday, March 4, 2022

Marillion: A Retrospective (1989-2022)

Marillion

The Hogarth Era: 1989-2022

The Beginning

The neo-progressive rock band Marillion formed in 1978 in Aylesbury, England, adapting their name from J.R.R. Tolken’s book The Silmarillion. By the time of their first release, 1982’s “Market Square Heroes” single, only guitarist Steve Rothery and drummer Mick Pointer remained from the original lineup, although the latter member didn’t stick around long. Most of the ‘80s was marked by Rothery, bassist Pete Trewavas, keyboardist Mark Kelly, drummer Ian Mosley, and singer/lyricist Derek Dick (aka “Fish”). It was Fish who gave the band its identifiable sound and stage presence that drew comparisons between the band and early Genesis. For more on this era, check out the Marillion profile page: The Fish Years (1981-1988).

Fish left the band in 1988 and was replaced in 1989 by Steve Hogarth on vocals. John Helmer also came on board as a lyricist, although he wasn’t an official member. Since 1989, the band’s lineup of Rothery, Trewavas, Kelly, Mosley, and Hogarth has remained constant.

The Players

  • John Helmer (lyricist: 1989-present)
  • Steve Hogarth (vocals: 1989-present). Born 5/14/1959 in Kendal, England.
  • Mark Kelly (keyboards: 1982-present). Born 4/9/1961 in Dublin, Eire.
  • Ian Mosley (drums: Curve Air, Marillion: 1983-present; Iris for Crossing the Desert: 1996). Born 6/16/1953 in London, England.
  • Steve Rothery (guitar: 1978-present; Wishing Tree: 1996). Born 11/25/1959 in Brampton, South Yorkshire, England.
  • Pete Trewavas (bass: 1982-present; Iris for Crossing the Desert: 1996). Born 1/15/1959, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, England.

Studio Albums

Compilations

This page highlights the compilations below.

Seasons End (1989):

After Fish left Marillion, the band recruited Steve Hogarth, the former keyboardist and sometimes vocalist of The Europeans, as their new lead singer. He was “quite similar in sound and style to Fish himself.” JB “Hogarth set to work, crafting new lyrics to existing songs with lyricist and author John Helmer.” WK

The subsequent album became Seasons End and, like its four Fish-predecessors, landed Marillion in the top 10 album charts in the U.K.

  • Hooks in You (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas, John Helmer) [2:54] (8/29/89, 49 AR, 30 UK) SH, B2, BM
  • The Uninvited Guest (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas, John Helmer) [3:43] (11/27/89, 53 UK) SH, B2
  • Easter (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas) [5:56] (3/19/90, 34 UK) SH, B2, BM, 02, 06
  • The Space B2

Holidays in Eden (1991):

Like its predecessor, Holidays in Eden, would hit the top 10 in the UK, but then Marillion were in for a long commercial drought. The latter, “considered to be Marillion’s most commercial and mainstream album” WK featured songs Hogarth “wrote in partnership with the band [as well as] the song Dry Land which Hogarth had written and recorded in a previous project with the band How We Live.

  • Cover My Eyes (Pain & Heaven) (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas) [3:55] (5/28/91, 34 UK) SH, B2, BM
  • No One Can (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas, John Helmer) [4:40] (7/22/91, 26 UK) SH, B2, BM, 17
  • Dry Land (Hogarth, Colin Woore) [4:41] (9/23/91, 34 UK) SH, B2, BM
  • Waiting to Happen B2

Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other

Marillion

Released: 1992

Recorded: 1982-1992

Peak: -- US, 27 UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: (1) Cover My Eyes (2) Kayleigh (3) Easter (4) Warm Wet Circles (5) The Uninvited Guest (6) Assassing (7) Hooks in You (8) Garden Party (9) No One Can (10) Incommunicado (11) Dry Land (12) Lavender (13) I Will Walk on Water (14) Sympathy

Rating:

3.872 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other:

In the UK this was released under the name A Singles Collection. The Six of One title is a reference to the fact that the compilation contains six songs from the Fish era and six from the Hogarth era. The versions of “Warm Wet Circles” and “Assassing” are remixes. Also, there are actually fourteen songs on the collection. “I Will Walk on Water” and “Sympathy” are new. The latter is a cover of a song by Rare Bird.

Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

  • Sympathy (Mark Ashton, Graham Stansfield, David Kaffinetti, Stephen Gould) [3:27] (5/11/92, 17 UK) SH, BM
  • I Will Walk on Water (Hogarth, Kelly, Mosley, Rothery, Trewavas) [4:11] (5/11/92, --) SH

Brave (1994):

“Marillion’s record label, EMI, gave the band a higher budget for the next album and the result of 15 months labor was Brave, a concept album that mixed classic symphonic progressive rock with standard rock.” AJ The album “marked the start of the band’s long-time relationship with producer Dave Meegan. An independent film based on the album, which featured the band, was also released. While critically acclaimed, it did poorly commercially, but it is now considered to be one of the best progressive rock albums to come out of the ‘90s.” WK

  • The Great Escape [6:12] (1/10/94, --) B2, 02, 04, 06, 07, 08, 09
  • Made Again [5:01] (1/10/94, --) B2
  • Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury [7:13] (4/15/94, 53 UK) B2, BM

Afraid of Sunlight (1995):

Afraid of Sunlight “considerably altered the band's approach with great success – it is the most consistent Marillion release to date.” AJ Nonetheless, it was the band’s last album with record label EMI. “One track of note…is Out of This World, a song about Donald Campbell, who died while trying to set a speed record on water. The song, in turn, inspired an effort to recover both Campbell and the Bluebird K7, the boat which Campbell crashed in…The recovery was realized in 2001, and…Hogarth and Steve Rothery were invited to the occasion.” WK

  • Beautiful [5:12] (5/29/95, 29 UK) B2, BM
  • King [7:03] B2
  • Afraid of Sunlight [6:52] B2, 01, 02, 04, 06, 07, 08, 09, 12, 17
  • Cannibal Surf Babe [5:45] B2
  • Out of This World [7:54] 02, 04

Best of Both Worlds, Disc 2

Marillion

Released: February 1997

Recorded: 1989-1996

Peak: --

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: (1) The Uninvited Guest (2) Easter (3) Hooks in You (4) The Space (5) Cover My Eyes (6) No One Can (7) Dry Land (8) Waiting to Happen (9) The Great Escape (10) Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury (11) Made Again (120 King (13) Afraid of Sunlight (14) Beautiful (15) Cannibal Surf Babe

Rating:

3.873 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Best of Both Worlds, Disc 2:

The first disc in this collection focused on the Fish era (1982-88) while this disc focuses on the Steve Hogarh era (1989-1996). The versions of “The Uninvited Guest,” “Easter,” “Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury” and “Beautiful” are radio edits. “Hooks in You” is an alternate mix.

This Strange Engine (1997):

“Following Afraid of Sunlight, the bandmembers split up briefly to record side projects. Hogarth released Ice Cream Genius under the name H, Rothery formed the Wishing Tree (which produced Carnival of Souls), and Mosley and Trewavas joined Iris for Crossing the Desert. The Rothery and Hogarth projects were both very acoustic in nature, and when the band re-formed for This Strange Engine…Marillion's style changed again to a softer sound.” AJ

The album received little promotion from the new label. “Marillion scheduled a European tour, but keyboardist Kelly posted an Internet message stating that the band would not tour the United States due to a lack of record company support. Fans of the band worldwide joined forces to raise over $60,000 to underwrite the tour, and the band undertook its largest North American tour since Holidays in Eden.” AJ “The band's loyal fanbase, combined with the Internet, would eventually become vital to the band's existence.” WK

  • Man of a Thousand Faces [7:33] (4/16/97, 98 UK) BM, 02, 04
  • Estonia [7:57] 06, 07, 08, 09, 12

Radiation (1998):

“Tenth album Radiation saw the band taking a drastically different approach in an effort to sound more modern and reflect the influence of more modern bands like Radiohead,” WK “specifically OK Computer.” AJ “The album was received by fans with mixed reactions.” WK

  • Under the Sun [4:05] 01
  • Three Minute Boy [6:01] 17

marillion.com (1999):

Marillion.com “flagged their newly launched web-site and record label” MC “and showed some progression in the new direction.” WK

  • Rich [5:04] 01, 02
  • A Legacy [6:17] 01

Anoraknophobia (2001):

”The band, still unhappy with their record label situation, decided that it would be worth tapping into their loyal fanbase” WK again. “The revolutionary concept of asking their fans to pre-order and pay for the recording costs an album some 12 months in advance of its release…hit the headlines in 2001.” MC “Over 12,000…fans pre-ordered and an additional deal was struck with EMI to market the resulting Anoraknophobia album.” MC “This allowed Marillion to retain all the rights to their music while enjoying commercial distribution.” WK

  • Between You and Me [5:58] BM, 02, 04, 06
  • This Is the 21st Century [11:08] 01, 02, 04
  • Quartz [9:10] 17

Best of

Marillion

Released: July 22, 2003

Recorded: 1982-2001

Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): --

Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: (1) Garden Party (2) Assassing (3) Kayleigh (4) Lavender (5) Heart of Lothian (6) Incommunicado (7) Sugar Mice (8) Warm Wet Circles (9) Hooks in You (10) Easter (11) Cover My Eyes (12) No One Can (13) Dry Land (14) Sympathy (15) Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury (16) Beautiful (17) Man of a Thousand Faces (18) Between You and Me

Rating:

4.031 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Best of:

This is essentially a single-disc version of Best of Both Worlds as sixteen of these songs appear on that collection. There are only two songs on this collection to represent the four studio albums released since Best of Both Worlds.

Marbles (2004):

“The success of Anoraknophobia allowed the band to start recording their next album, but they decided to leverage their fanbase once again to help raise money towards marketing and promotion of a new album. The band put up the album for pre-order in mid-production, and the fans once again responded overwhelmingly.” WK “Displaying the influences of both U2 and Pink Floyd,” AJ Marillion’s thirteenth album, Marbles, was “intense…musically rewarding” MC and “packed full of atmospheric and stirring songs.” MC It “was released in 2004 with a 2-CD version…only available at Marillion’s website. As a thank-you gesture to the 17,000 fans who pre-ordered Marbles, their names were credited in the sleeve notes.” WK

The fan-funded marketing campaign met with astonishing success, landing “the singles You're Gone and Don't Hurt Yourself [on] the UK Chart in the Top 10 and Top 20 respectively…Following this, they released a download-only single, The Damage (live), recorded at the band’s sell-out gig at the London Astoria. It was the highest new entry in the new download chart at number 2. All this has succeeded in putting the band back in the public consciousness, making the campaign a success.” WK

  • You’re Gone [6:25] (4/19/04, 7 UK) 06, 07
  • The Damage [4:37] (10/11/04, --) 04
  • Neverland [10:57] 04, 06, 07, 08, 09, 12
  • Fantastic Place [6:12] 06, 07, 08, 09, 12, 17

Somewhere Else (2007):

2007 saw the release of Marillion’s 14th studio album, Somewhere Else. Once again, Marillion went to the fans to promote the album, offering them a first-week-only promo DVD with three live songs from the album. Marillion also hit up fans to buy digital downloads of lead single See It Like a Baby. Now that digital downloads counted toward singles sales on the UK chart, the hope was to do even better than the last time out and land a #1 song. Alas, the song peaked at a mere #45 in its first week out with many of Marillion’s fans saying they didn’t buy downloads.

  • Somewhere Else [7:51] 07, 08, 09, 12, 17
  • Faith [4:11] 07

Happiness Is the Road (2008):

Marillion went back to the studio quickly after Somewhere Else and went to work on their second double album. Released as two separate albums, known as Essence and The Hard Shoulder, the set focused on a disc’s worth of more introspective material and a disc of more straightforward fare respectively. Once again, Marillion proved their grasp of the digital age with an official release of the album through a P2P site that let people download the album for free. They also posted a free download of the song Whatever Is Wrong with You and let people create videos for the song and upload them on to YouTube for a contest to see which video would get the most viewings.

  • Whatever is Wrong with You [3:19] (10/1/08, --) 08
  • This Train Is My Life [4:53] 08, 09, 12
  • Asylum Satellite #1 [9:30] 09
  • Real Tears for Sale [7:36] 12

Less Is More (2009):

This was a collection of newly recorded versions of some of Marillion’s songs in a more acoustic setting.

  • Hard As Love [5:00] 09, 12
  • Interior Lulu [7:34] 09

Sounds That Can’t Be Made (2012):

  • Power [6:09] (7/17/12, --) 12, 17
  • The Sky Above the Rain [10:37] 12
  • Sounds That Can’t Be Made [7:19] 17

F.E.A.R. (Fuck Everyone and Run) (2016):

  • The New Kings [16:48] (7/8/17, --) 17
  • Living in F E A R [6:25] (9/21/17, --) 17

Crash Course Samplers

Marillion

In 2001, Marillion released a free, downloadable sampler of their music. As it says on their website, “Please don’t upload our music…our music costs a lot of money to make, and by buying our CDs, DVDs & merchandise direct from us you’re ensuring that we can continue to make music in the years to come…If you want other people to hear our music, just ask them to come to this page where the can download a ‘Crash Course’ sampler, with our compliments, for FREE.”

As of 2017, Marillion had released nine editions of Crash Course. The songs are also listed under the original studio albums with the raised number codes to indicate which Crash Course editions they appear on. 31 different songs have appeared on the samplers, representing all fourteen of the studio albums Marillion has released with Steve Hogarth. The 31 songs represent the equivalent of a 3-CD set.

01 Crash Course 2001
(1) This Is the 21st Century (2) Rich (3) Afraid of Sunlight (4) A Legacy (5) Under the Sun

02 Crash Course 2002
(1) Between You and Me (live) (2) This Is the 21st Century (3) Rich (4) Man of a Thousand Faces (5) Out of This World (6) Afraid of Sunlight (7) The Great Escape (8) Easter

04 Crash Course 2004
(1) The Damage (2) Neverland (3) Between You and Me (live) (4) This Is the 21st Century (5) Man of a Thousand Faces (6) Out of This World (7) Afraid of Sunlight (8) The Great Escape

06 Crash Course 2006
(1) Neverland (2) Fantastic Place (3) You’re Gone (single edit) (4) Between You and Me (5) Estonia (6) Afraid of Sunlight (7) The Great Escape (8) Easter (live)

07 Crash Course 2007
(1) Faith (2) Somewhere Else (3) Neverland (4) Fantastic Place (5) You’re Gone (single edit) (6) Estonia (7) Afraid of Sunlight (8) The Great Escape

08 Crash Course 2008
(1) Whatever Is Wrong with You (2) This Train Is My Life (3) Somewhere Else (4) Neverland (5) Fantastic Place (6) Estonia (7) Afraid of Sunlight (8) The Great Escape

09 Crash Course 2009
(1) Hard As Love (2) Interior Lulu (3) This Train Is My Life (4) Asylum Satellite #1 (5) Somewhere Else (6) Neverland (7) Fantastic Place (8) Estonia (9) Afraid of Sunlight (10) The Great Escape

12 Crash Course 2012
(1) The Sky Above the Rain (2) Power (3) Neverland (4) Fantastic Place (5) Hard As Love (6) This Train Is My Life (7) Real Tears for Sale (8) Somewhere Else (9) Afraid of Sunlight (10) Estonia

17 Crash Course 2017
(1) The New Kings (2) Living in FEAR (edit) (3) Power (4) Sounds That Can’t Be Made (5) Somewhere Else (6) Fantastic Place (7) Quartz (8) Three Minute Boy (9) Afraid of Sunlight (live 2003) (10) No One Can (Best Sounds Version)

An Hour Before It’s Dark (2022):

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 3/10/2011; last updated 8/5/2025.

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Marillion released An Hour Before It’s Dark

An Hour Before It’s Dark

Marillion

Released: March 4, 2022

Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK)

Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks:

Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Be Hard on Yourself (11/1/21, --)
    i. The Tear in the Big Picture [3:52]
    ii. Lust for Luxury [2:07]
    iii. You Can Learn [3:28]
  2. Reprogram the Gene
    i. Invincible [3:32]
    ii. Trouble-Free Life [2:01]
    iii. A Cure for Us? [1:29]
  3. Only a Kiss (instrumental) [0:39]
  4. Murder Machines [4:21] (2/3/22, --)
  5. The Crow and the Nightingale [6:35]
  6. Sierra Leone
    i. Chance in a Million [1:33]
    ii. The White Sand [0:53]
    iii. The Diamond [3:30]
    iv. The Blue Warm Air [2:24]
    v. More Than a Treasure [2:35]
  7. Care
    i. Maintenance Drugs [4:37]
    ii. An Hour Before It’s Dark [2:28]
    iii. Every Call [3:19]
    iv. Angels on Earth [4:56]

All songs written by Hogarth/Rothery/Kelly/Trewavas/Mosley.

Total Running Time: ??

The Players:

  • Steve Hogarth (vocals, percussion)
  • Steve Rothery (guitar)
  • Pete Trewavas (bass)
  • Mark Kelly (keyboards)
  • Ian Mosley (drums)

Quotable: -- “One of their most accomplished albums” – ProgRadar.org

About the Album:

Previous album, 2016’s F.E.A.R., “was more a dark and condemning comment on the government and the bureaucrats who ran the country.” PR On An Hour Before It’s Dark, Marillion “reflect on their own behaviour and put their finger in the wounds of time.” PR While the band call this “their most upbeat album in quite a while” PR they “do not shy away from uncomfortable topics.” PR

“This new release deals with the pandemic in a much more hopeful and enriching manner.” PR The album’s release “coincides with us hopefully seeing the pandemic diminishing rapidly and a sense of normality returning to everyday life and mirrors this new found feeling of optimism and promise.” PR

“Like its predecessor, [it] was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios” PR

“Be Hard on Yourself”
“The wonderfully dramatic Be Hard on Yourself” PR is “nine minutes of intense but fast paced music with Steve Hogarth’s distinctive vocals at the centre.” PR “It certainly opens the album in style.” PR

“Reprogram the Gene”
“Reprogram the Gene delivers a powerful missive with the hard edged guitar and drums driving the song along, aided and abetted by a sharp suited bassline and keyboards. Steve Rothery has been given free reign to deliver some mighty power chords and Ian Mosley delivers an utterly mesmerising performance behind the drum kit. There’s a determined and catchy feel to this song and it resonates throughout the album.” PR

“Only a Kiss” and “Murder Machines”
“The short, sweet instrumental, Only a Kiss segues into the second single from the album, the irrepressibly infectious Murder Machines, a song that was born in the challenging times of lockdown and social distancing and has become so much more than just a mirror of our times, more than a song that deals with the precious as well as dark sides of human relationships. Steve Hogarth is in fine voice, especially on the buoyant chorus and Rothery’s guitar just sings perfectly.” PR

“The Crown and the Nightingale”
This is “a record of, and for, its time, emotive and emotional and that is felt throughout the wistfully brilliant The Crow and the Nightingale, a nostalgic nod to Leonard Cohen.” PR The song “flows beautifully and shows the band’s thoughtful and contemplative side impeccably.” PR

“Sierra Leone”
“That reflective tone carries on into the sublime Sierra Leone, another great song that sees the band in a storytelling frame of mind. This is a set of musicians who are playing at a ridiculously high level and delivering some of their best songs of a long and illustrious career, a band who are comfortable with themselves and their music and it is really obvious. This track builds gradually, the tempo increasing almost imperceptibly, before Rothery’s guitar breaks out, accompanied by Hogarth’s ever more dynamic voice. There are lulls as it ebbs and flows elegantly, always holding your attention, a fine piece of music indeed.” PR

“Care”
“This superb and entrancing album comes to a close with one of Marillion’s finest ever tracks. In a long career of superlatives Care has to be right there at the top, a three part song that plumbs the depths of despair before rising through to end in promise and optimism. Pete Trewavas shows he is still one of the best bass players around and Rothery’s guitar is just transcendent, he really is at the top of his game. Mark Kelly delivers some bewitching keys throughout the album but none more so than here. This track really showcases the band’s impressive song writing abilities. Impassioned and passionate and, ultimately, uplifting, it is, possibly, the most perfect song they have ever written.” PR

Conclusion
“An Hour Before It’s Dark can truly be seen as one of their most accomplished albums. It is an outstanding piece of music that the band should be incredibly proud of.” PR

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First posted 3/4/2022.

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