Script For a Jester's Tear

marillion dies fishless,,fish lives on.Occasionally it hurts to start following a band , seeing them live ,and buying cd's ,and DVD's ,and sell the band to your buds ,and somewhere around the fourth release , an amazing ,terrible ,black cloud sets itself around the band ,as the singer leaves,or a different , and almost impossible search begins to fill that hole , or they just break-up.I was turned onto MARILLION ,by a buddy who owns a record and cd,dvd shop,he advised me to get in bed with them on a high note , buy "MISPLACED CHILDHOOD".It was on .....from the first listen it grabbed me,and now I was a fan.I picked up SCRIPT FOR A JESTERS TEAR ,THEN FUGAZI AND CLUTCHING AT STRAWS, THELIVE ,THIEVING MAGPIES ,REEL TO REAL, 6 OF ONE, then found through my buddy "FISH" left ,but the band replaced him and continued forward.Marillion released their first fishless album ,called "SEASONS END" I asked him if I should by this , and do you still like the band .He advised me not to buy it. So I bought it and everything was different ,the vocals ,lame lyrics ,but it takes you on a journey, and I fell in love with it and continue to. Everything after that one are unlikeable to me.This is the bands first release ,and I cherry picked my faves ,and skipped what I knew I needed to give a listen to. I bought their first DVD which was called the same as the album ,i got up and took a shower as my girl wanted to watch it.As i dried down I asked her if she put something else on , and who is that ? It was a track I would skip ,As I listened I was captivated by its eerie haunting melody.The title track is just awesome ,"CHELSEA MONDAY" ,about a young naiive girl who wanted to become a star , against her managers ,(FISH") , heady advice."FORGOTTEN SONS" is a politicly charged song of rebellion in the war ,and how they join forces with the dark side. The guitar work is great.."THE WEB" has the dark ,eerie, haunting sound ,but it is one of the best songs here.. :HE KNOWS YOU KNOW" was a top 10 song over the pond.TO SUMMARIZE , I LOVE MARILLION WITH FISH ,NOT HOGARTH AND HIS FALSE FALSETTO....

I had started my exploration of Marillion's music with the free download from their website titled "Crash Course", songs which featured Steve Hogarth on vocals, and, (as far as I could tell), no Fish. So, I decided I not only wanted to hear Fish, but hear an early representation of him. Therefore, I wound up getting an imported copy of the debut album, "Script For a Jester's Tear".The album starts with the somber title song, a song on which Fish's vocals are particularly emotional and poignant. Next comes a more rocking tune "He Knows You Know", a song I like especially when Fish starts singing the part "You've got venom in your stomach, You've got poison in your head". "The Web" is arguably the weakest track on the disc, but thematically stays consistent with the title track, as the song goes "But even jesters cry". Another strong track on the disc is "Garden Party", which starts off with birds chirping and muted conversation as a synth takes over, then the band joins in (by the way, the bass sounds very nice on this song). This song is for me the one that reminds me most of Genesis w/ Peter Gabriel. Definitely a good tune, and one I hear that Marillion played many times in concert as their closer. Next comes "Chelsea Monday", a more brooding piece about a young woman who wants the flash and glitter of stardom, but sadly not what's more valuable. Lastly, there is "Forgotten Sons", a sad song about the pain and waste of war. This was a strong track to close the album with.On the whole the album is excellent, and one I can recommend. I wanted to keep my review at 4 stars, but just couldn't. It will take a couple of listenings for this album to really grab you but when it does, I wouldn't be surprised if you, like I, feel inclined to check out more from Marillion.

While Marillion were always dogged by the Genesis Clone label, they really were an excellent band in their own right. The quality of the songwriting and musicianship is particularly strong on this, their magical debut.The first thing to grab you about Marillion is the haunting cover art of the superb Mark Wilkinson, who continued to work with fellow genius, Fish, after the big fella left Marillion. (Their lavishly illustrated book Masque is an absolutely essential purchase.)Script is one of those rare albums where every single track is a classic. Yet this double CD version is most definitely the one to go for, as Disc 2 contains further indispensible classics, such as Market Square Heroes (2 versions), the breathtaking Three Boats Down From The Candy (which perhaps more than any other track truly encapsulates the very core of Fish-Marillion's magic) and the epic Grendel, which has been described as their Supper's Ready.Just as Genesis carried on in name only when Peter Gabriel left, so too Marillion continued to (legitimately) use the name after Fish moved on. However, in each case, however well the remaining band members rallied and put out solid albums, a large part of the original magic left with the lead singers.If you only ever buy one Marillion album, let this be it... but... why stop at only one?I agree with reviewer Jorge that it is sad there had been no previous reviews of such a fine and defining album. It would be a tragedy if the original band and this magical album should be forgotten.

Bought as a gift son loved it !

Producto Alemán, de excelente calidad.El album como tal, es una joya musical.

Vraiment satisfait!

Bon treball

after a recent Marillion rebirth in my CD collection I'm now aquiring the full back catalogue of the 'early' (the best years in my opinion - sorry Steve H) albums. I'm regretting not buying this on vinyl back in the day now, as I've aged I feel I've come to appreciate artists like Marillion much more than I did when I was in my late teens to 20's when I just listened to ear thrashing metal! - I still do occasionally, but I've definitely mellowed in my 50's, & am swaying towards more prog rock like these guys, ELP, & Yes etc... This is a great album - its the 2017 remix. Each track now full on & beefy, 8 tracks of pure Marilliance! along with Fugazi.

Wenn man ein und dieselbe CD zwei mal hat, spricht das ziemlich eindeutig dafür, dass diese Musik gefällt. ;-) Ich habe die Originalpressung seit unzähligen Jahren in meiner CD-Sammlung stehen und habe mir nun auch den 2020-Stereo-Remix dazu gegönnt. Diese Scheibe ist einfach zuuuuu gut, um sie nicht auch noch remastered zu hören. Um ehrlich zu sein: Mir hat auch die Klangqualität der ersten Pressung gut gefallen, aber jetzt klingt alles noch etwas brillanter und differenzierter.Wer Fish und Marillion liebt, kommt einfach nicht um dieses Werk herum. Einfach großartig, was die Mannen um Derek William Dick hier fabriziert haben. Allerdings muss man sagen, dass man "Script for a jester's tear" nicht einfach "nebenbei" hören kann. Diese Musik MUSS man in einer ruhigen Stunde unter einem wohlklingenden Kopfhörer genießen, um alle Facetten erleben zu können. Ganz großes Kino. Wenn ich sterben sollte, muss die CD in meinen Sarg.