Another Week Another Vinyl: Marillion: Misplaced Childhood
Marillion is the kind of band that should be terrible, but somehow defied the obstacles placed in front of them. 80s prog rock is about as good as the 90s boy band sensation. It was the genres lowest period with even established prog powerhouses losing their grip on music. Marillion was one of the very few who were able to create progressive music that didn't fall into all the traps that made 80s prog so appalling.Misplaced Childhood is the bands magnum opus - a truly incredible concept album that is as poetic as it is musically impressive. Lead singer Fish - yes I said Fish - is nearly a clone of Peter Gabriel - if you're going to imitate, you might as well imitate the best. Both his voice and delivery echo Gabriel's to the highest degree. On that note, musically Marillion is quite similar to the style of Genesis - the Hackett/Gabriel era of course.
I was lucky enough to pick up an excellent vinyl copy of this album that borders on NM condition. Hisses and cracks are essentially non-existent and the cover looks like it was printed within the past year. Although I must say, the cover art for this album is pretty lame. For three dollars, an album this good is an absolute steal.
posted by Jeff at 1:53 PM
8 Comments:
I reviewed this one awhile back. It's the only Marillion release I've ever reviewed. Although I reviewed the 2CD 24bit remaster, not the vinyl.
To me Fish-era Marillion is what Genesis would have sounded like in the 80s had Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett never left. I also like Fish's solo debut, Vigil In a Wilderness of Mirrors.
The only other Fish era Marillion that I have is Clutching At Straws which I also enjoy, just not as much as Misplaced Childhood.
Perplexio - I never heard any solo Fish material. All I know is that he left the band to go solo, I never really looked out for his material. I'll check it out though.
I also have Clutching at the Straws, and I think it's a pretty good album, but nowhere near as good as Misplaced Childhood.
Bob_vinyl pointed out this review to me, and I had to comment. I was a HUGE Marillion fan throughout the latter half of the '80s, and even took a few days off from my senior year of high school to fly to San Francisco and visit friends so we could all see them in concert. We even did face paint (Fish always painted his face early in his career) and walked around the streets of SF. It sounds dorky now, but at the time, the whole thing was an incredible coming-of-age kind of experience.
Anyhow, I used to have all the Fish-era vinyl -- LPs and 12"s. I sold it all as a package deal on eBay for like $50 a few years ago so I could buy some Christmas gifts for an awesome kid.
Although they certainly came into their own on this album, the earlier albums are good for what they are. Melodramatic and bombastic? Yeah, but there are worse things to be. Tormato and Drama being two examples of worse things to be.
Excellent deal for three bucks I'd say! I think Misplaced Childhood is a great album! The entire first side blew me away....
Their debut album, Script for A Jester's Tear was pretty good too.
taotechuck - Nothing wrong with a little bombast and melodrama. It's what prog is all about. I haven't listened to any Marillion besides Misplaced Childhood and Clutching at the Straws, but seeing how big of a fan you are makes me want to look our for some more stuff. Lastly, I agree, Tormato and Drama were crap.
Drew - Both sides are amazing, but the first side is absolutely phenomenal. I'm going to keep an eye out for Script for a Jester's Tear the next time I go to the record store. I've never heard it before.
Hey now, I LOVE Drama. Machine Messiah and Tempus Fugit are f*cking brilliant!
As for Fish's solo material, I recommend checking out his solo debut, Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors in particular. His other solo stuff hasn't really grabbed me.
As for post-Fish Marillion, Brave is pretty good.
I have to go back and listen to this again. To be honest, I haven't thought much about Marillion since the 80's. A good buddy of mine, who was a Genesis fanatic, slapped this on a cassette for me back in 85 and I was impressed. He would write bits from the lyrics on desks in high school and sign them as "The Jester's Tear" Haven't seen Dave in 20 years.
Fish is definitely an excellent writer, though. Great review, as usual.
Perplexio - I can't disagree that "Tempus Fugit" is an awesome song. Overall though, I can do without those albums.
Sean - I had no idea that Marillion had such a following in the 80s. I figured when I wrote this post that I would get zero comments. I guess that's what happens when you miss out on those decades.
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