At a time when synth-pop was all the rage, and unassuming ditties ruled the charts, Marillion's debut album, Script For A Jester's Tear nodded proudly to such ambitious forebears as Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Lead vocalist Fish, in fact, bore an uncanny sonic similarity to Gabriel, a fact that his penchant for onstage theatrics did little to discourage. In turn, the rest of the band offered a '70s-flavored blend of Floyd/Camel-like melodic guitar lines, Rick Wakeman-with-an-attitude multi-keyboard cascades, and odd-metered rhythms. EMI. 2004.
Script for a Jester's Tear,Marillion,Rock/Pop
Script for a Jester's Tear [Import]
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00004UFTU Release Date: 2004-01-20 |
Tracks:
- Script For A Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- The Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
Album Description
At a time when synth-pop was all the rage, and unassuming ditties ruled the charts, Marillion's debut album, Script For A Jester's Tear nodded proudly to such ambitious forebears as Pink Floyd and Peter Gabriel-era Genesis. Lead vocalist Fish, in fact, bore an uncanny sonic similarity to Gabriel, a fact that his penchant for onstage theatrics did little to discourage. In turn, the rest of the band offered a '70s-flavored blend of Floyd/Camel-like melodic guitar lines, Rick Wakeman-with-an-attitude multi-keyboard cascades, and odd-metered rhythms. EMI. 2004.Customer Reviews:
Fair price, product in excellent conditons.......2007-05-13
Brilliant 80's prog (but seek the 2-disc edition).......2007-02-04
Although accused of "sounding too much like early Genesis", Marillion actually sounds less like them than most of the other neo-prog bands. First of all, Marillion has a strong, punchy, 80's sound that is a nice variant on the prog theme - at times they're even almost heavy metal (for the 80's, Marillion and Iron Maiden seemed to be your best bet for nice, melodic, energetic instrumental passages), although the keyboard-rich sound gives them a different sound than metal. Lead singer Fish reminds one of early 70's Peter Gabriel, but Fish is a much stronger singer - savage and over-the-top, with florid rolled "r"s (he kind of reminds me of Van Der Graaf Generator's singer Peter Hammill, too). Unfortunately, Fish toned down his singing soon after this album, but it was fantastic here and (to a lesser degree) on "Fugazi". Guitarist Steve Rothery is more reminiscent of Pink Floyd's David Gilmore than Genesis's Steve Hackett, he has that lovely feel that really sets him above many others. The lyrics are also distinctive - Fish's topics are more heavy metal than prog (drugs, sex/romance, etc.), but his lyric writing is much more florid and poetic than any metal singer (excepting maybe Fates Warning's John Arch).
My only caveat is, either buy the 2-disc version or pick up "B-sides themselves", because there's almost a whole album of great songs you'll miss out on from this era of the band if you don't ("Three Boats Down From the Candy", "Market Square Heroes", and the 20-minute epic "Grendel" are all as top-notch as the songs on this disc).
Marillion's next CD ("Fugazi") is nearly as good, but after that they never really achieved this sound again - they lost a lot of the energy and edge of this CD, tending towards a mellower, more rambling sound reminiscent of later Pink Floyd, U2, and alternative rock (although with some brilliant stuff on every album, especially "Anoraknophobia").
"When You Kissed Your Prince and Found Your Frog".......2006-11-13
Marillion sounds a little like early 1970s Genesis, though the production is a little more 1980s, and so are a couple of the keyboard tones. Lead singer Fish sounds like an angrier, more melancholy Peter Gabriel as well, which is interesting. The feel of the music is very different from Genesis though, particularly on this album. The atmosphere of the record is more like an album by The Smiths, and the lyrics, though theatrical and melodramatic at times, are more socially conscious, like in "Forgotten Sons", a song about the tensions of Northern Ireland. Fish is a unique lyricist, he bends metaphors in a very interesting way, and it makes for some curious imagery against his descriptions of the life around him, whether it be in the unrequited love in "Script for a Jester's Tear" or in his descriptions of a snobby "Garden Party". Though it isn't a concept album, there are a few lyrical themes that run through the record, (the idea of life being like a play, sons and fathers, etc) which are interesting to think about.
The one problem I have with this album is the 8 minute track "The Web". The music's all right, but there is this very, very, very high pitched synthesizers weaving in and out for atmosphere, and it's kind of painful to listen to on headphones, even though its not that loud a sound. It's just something about the frequencies it runs through. Spoils the song for me a bit.
The CD booklet of this remaster, though a little thin, contains lyrics for each of the songs and an introduction by Mark Wilkinson (the artist behind the cover art), describing how he came up with the cover, and how the sheet music on the jester's table went on to be a hit for Kajagoogoo. I don't know whether he was being serious or not about that, though.
There's a two disc version of this CD floating around, which contains a few B-sides and stuff on the second disc, including "Market Square Heroes" and Marillion's 20 minute epic "Grendel" (based on the Beowulf sequel of the same name by John Gardner). I'm kind of wishing I'd gotten that release now, but it's all right. I got a very good deal on the one disc edition, and those B-sides are available elsewhere, (on the "B-Sides Themselves" compilation, for instance).
There's great music on this CD, but for a newcomer to Marillion, I'd go for their third album "Misplaced Childhood" instead. It's a concept album, it's a little more acessible and it has Marillion's biggest hit "Kayleigh".
1983... Gabriel back with Genesis? - not quite, it's a new band ..........2006-02-01
Listening to it at home that night, the first track made me think of what would have been the first new track after the "Lamb lies down on Broadway", it just sounded so Gabriel period Genesis. By the end of the album I played it again it was fantastic one of the best albums I had ever heard. The lead singer (Fish) was very emotional both lyrically and in his vocal style - and also sang with great passion. Guitarist Steve Rothery seemed very talented and at times reminded me of Steve Hackett (who was in Genesis from 1971 - 1977). Mark Kelly - Keyboards was also very accomplished, as was drummer Mick Pointer on drums and Pete Trewavas on Bass (who would also join up with Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard) and Roine Stolt (Flower Kings) to form a superb "sideline" band called "Transatlantic" in 2001).
Certainly the intensity and emotion of the lyrics / vocals and music combined were captivating to me and it was an album that I played over and over and seemed to find something new in each listening. The songs build beautifully and contain a number of changes (of the 6 tracks 4 are over the 8 minute mark (Script for a Jesters Tear / Chelsea Monday / The Web / Forgotten Sons), Garden Party clocks in at 7 minutes. (The shortest track is "He Knows You Know" at just over 5 minutes). The title track was a highlight for me together with the song about drugs - "He knows You Know", "Garden Party" (which would go on to become an in concert favourite) and "Forgotten Sons" (which reminded me a lot of "The Knife" from Genesis (from Tresspass - 1970). "The Web" is a very well put together track with "Chelsea Monday" providing brilliant guitar work (both electric and acoustic) and again very well put together, very emotional.
In summary, a stunning debut album from a band that sounded so "Gabriel style Genesis" to me that had Genesis released it I would have been over the moon. It is really that good. Fish's lyrics and powerful vocal delivery together with Steve Rothery's exceptional electric and acoustic guitar work really carry this album to another level.
For me this is an extremely enjoyable album from start to finish. I enjoy listening to it as much today as I first did almost 24 years ago. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, it's superb.
magic.......2006-01-29
Blood,Sweat&Tears,Styx,Kansas,The Alan Parsons Project,Glen Hughes,The Boomers YYZ,Terence Trent D'Arby,Demis Roussos and Aphrodite's Child,Chris Rea,Supermax, Sam Brown,Vaya Con Dios,Clannad,Incognito,Jamiroquai,Infectious Grooves etc.] On ,the radio you can listen to Led Zeppelin,The Who,Rod Steward
Black Sabbath and other bands that i used to like,but come on-every day,365 days a year,only the most popular songs[ by their opinion],i'm sick and tired of it!But let's get back to Marillion. I love the music,the lyrics. All 4 studio albums with Fish are a work of art.There is an album called "B'sides Themselves",import-i recomend it to everybody who is into Marillion.Expand your mental outlook "...but don't be fooled by the radio,the T.V.or the magazines,they'll show you photographs
of how your life should be,but they're just someone else's fantasy..."-STYX "The Grand Illusion"1977
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Never Records Group ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00003652Q Release Date: 1999-12-07 |
Tracks:
- Script For A Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- The Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
Tracks:
- Market Square Heroes (Battle Priest Version)
- Three Boat's Down From The Candy
- Grendel (Fair Deal Studios Version)
- Chelsea Monday (Manchester Square Demo)
- He Knows You Know (Manchester Square Demo)
- Charting The Single
- Market Square Heroes (Alternative Version)
Album Description
24 bit digitally remastered with a bonus disc never before released in the U.S. with over 40 minutes of music of alternate versions of album tracks, B sides, studio takes and demos. Deluxe 28 page booklet featuring full lyrics and detailed accounts from the band. Booklet also features never before seen photographs. First time domestically available since 1991. Bonus tracks 'Market Square Heroes' (Battle Priest Version), 'Three Boats Down From The Candy', 'Grendel' (Fair Deal Studios Version), 'Chelsea Monday' (Manchester Square Demo), 'He Knows You Know' (Manchester Square Demo), 'Charting The Single' and 'Market Square Heroes' (Alternative Version). 1997 release. Double slimline jewel case.Customer Reviews:
Excellent debut album.......2007-03-29
"Garden Party" has its moment, it is an entertaining song.
As far as I can remember, I never liked "He knows you know".
"The Web" is a good one but is a bit less interesting musically, the quality of musical transitions is questionnable.
The remaster is better than the original recording, but as another reviewer said, the sound is a bit dated, some older albums sounds better but you must remember that it is a debut album, so money is probably the reason for the lower quality production. In my opinion, the drum player is good but not great. The band make a good move when they included Ian Mosley in the band for the following album. The guitar has too much "reverb" in my opinion. Overall, a very good debut.
The bonus cd include another version of "Grendel" As you might know, Fish doesn't like this one and I agree with him. The ending section is cleary a pale copy of the ending section of "Supper's Ready" (Genesis)
The voice of Fish is not very good in the last part of Grendel.
You'll find some good tracks on the bonus cd like "Market Square heroes" and "Charting the single" the rest is for die hard fans I would say.
Soulcraker.......2001-10-19
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF ALL TIME.......2001-09-21
Not just a Genesis clone........2001-08-05
Often derisively referred to as "prog-lite," neo-prog was much more rich and melodic than your average rock music, but not quite the ostentatious extravaganzas that Yes and Genesis were producing in their heyday. The focus on emotionally deep or insightful lyrics and intricate, dynamic, and theatrical pieces of music were common qualities, I'd say. To me, "Script for a Jester’s Tear," this album's title track, is the definitive neo-prog song. Beginning with an ominous intro consisting of just piano and voice, it then proceeds to move through different tones and movements like a prog epic. A bouncy synth line falls into a moment of emotional desperation, conveyed oh so well by Steve Rothery's marvelous guitar. After a delicate and solemn passage, the emotional climax hits like a ton of bricks, with Fish's emotion-packed query "Can you still say you love me?" atop a layer of cool synths and harpsichords carrying the song to the end.
The song is absolutely outstanding...my meager words can't do it justice. It encapsulates everything that was great about Marillion w/Fish. Fish's ability as a wordsmith and poet would put just about any "real" poet to shame. Rothery's guitar sings with all the emotion of, well, a singer! His heartbreaking solos and even just his perfect sense of atmosphere make him one of the best guitarists alive. ....Mark Kelly, on keyboards, couldn't floor you with a solo like Rick Wakeman, but he new how to create an added level of emotion with simple subtleties. Marillion,be it with Fish or Hogarth (I'm a big fan of both), was never a band about showing off...it was about beauty in music, emotional contact, and memorable songs.
The other songs are all excellent, not quite as good as the title track, but "Chelsea Monday" and "Forgotten Sons" are pretty close. The end of "Forgotten Sons" is stunning, especially. The songwriting has held up remarkably after all these years, which is a sign of great music. The production is dated though, even with the remaster...some high notes are a bit harsh, and the drums are obnoxiously loud in the mix (snare drums shouldn't sound like that). Nonetheless, given the quality of the music and the time this was recorded, the production inadequacies can be forgiven.
This remastered edition is especially great because it features the Fish-Marillion's epic, "Grendel." It's a 20 minutes piece, and tends to remind one of a bit of "Supper's Ready." Originally found as a b-side of Market Square Heroes, this important song sits alongside other rarities, like "Charting the Single" and "Three Boats Down from the Candy." The bonus disc is great, all in all, and important for a more complete understanding of this great band.
It Changed my Life!.......2001-03-08
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Alex ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000008I51 Release Date: 1994-05-13 |
Tracks:
- Script for a Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Disky Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000005RPZ Release Date: 1996-10-28 |
Tracks:
- Script for a Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
Album Details
Reissue of the Original Album. Special Price.
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Toshiba EMI Japan ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000AU1O4G Release Date: 2005-11-07 |
Tracks:
- Script for a Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
Tracks:
- Market Square Heroes [Battle Priest Version]
- Three Boats Down from the Candy
- Grendel [Fair Deal Studios Version]
- Chelsea Monday [Manchester Square Demo]
- He Knows You Know [Manchester Square Demo]
- Charting the Single
- Market Square Heroes [Alternative Version][Alternate Take]
Album Description
Japanese remastered pressing of the 1983 album comes in a miniature LP sleeve. EMI. 2005.
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Pid ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD ASIN: B000005K23 Release Date: 1997-10-07 |
Tracks:
- Script For A Jester's Tear
- He Knows You Know
- The Web
- Garden Party
- Chelsea Monday
- Forgotten Sons
- Market Square Heroes (Battle Priest Version)
- Three Boats Down From The Candy
- Grendel (Fair Deal Studios Version)
- Chelsea Monday (Manchester Square Demo)
- He Knows You Know (Manchester Square Demo)
- Charting The Single
- Market Square Heroes (Alternative Version)
Album Description
EMI release, their 1983 debut album digitally remastered to24 bits resolution at Abbey Road from the original 1/2'masters, plus a seven track bonus disc with the rare tracks'Three Boats Down From The Candy' & 'Market Square Heroes'(Alternative Version) and five previously unreleased tracks:'Market Square Heroes' (Battle Priest Version), 'Grendel'(Fair Deal Studios Version), 'Charting The Single' andMarket Square demo versions of 'Chelsea Monday' & 'He KnowsYou Know'. 13 tracks total. Double slimline jewel case. 1997release.Customer Reviews:
My favorite Marillion's album.......2004-04-27
As he says, "Script for a jester's tear" sounds depressing. Somebody else told me my music was morbid (I guess the church organ sound disturb most).
Couple of years later, my favorite song is no more "He knows you know" but "Script of a jester's tear" (Fish voice is nice on this song). Second favorite is "The web"(I find the guitar solo is so nicely done in it). "Forgotten sons" is another great song (very mood and instrument changing). The average song on this album is "Chelsea monday" and the most depressing one with fake like church organ sound.
No matter what they say, I just like it.
Has any debut album sounded so good?.......1999-07-29
A Classic - I never get tired of listening to this one.......1999-06-19
One of the best Marillion albums ever!!!!!.......1999-03-16
The one Marillion CD to hold and cherish!.......1998-12-22
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Script for a Jester's Tear
Marillion Manufacturer: Proper Us ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005QK39 Release Date: 2001-11-06 |
Tracks:
- Script for a Jester's Tear - Marillion
- He Knows You Do - Marillion
- The Web - Marillion
- Garden Party - Marillion
- Chelsea Monday - Marillion
- Forgotten Songs - Marillion
- Market Square Heroes
- Three Boats down from the Candy
- Crendel
- Chelsea Monday
- He Know You Do
- Charting the Single
- Market Square Heroes
Tracks:
- Market Square Heroes - Marillion
- Three Boats Down From The Candy - Marillion
- Grendel - Marillion
- Chelsea Monday - Marillion
- He Knows You Know - Marillion
- Charting The Single - Marillion
- Market Square Heroes - Marillion
Customer Reviews:
Understood?????.......2006-01-08
Music is sublime.
Take the advantage of the extra disc....
Hey, like early Genesis? This is for you!.......2005-03-21
Some solo's almost seem to fly right off of Genesis albums into your face. The keyboard style is 100% tony banks, the accoustic guitar triplets, the simpler bass parts all michael rutherford trademarks, the highly emotional soaring lead guitar all steve hackett... honestly, what Genesis was doing at the time was much more interesting and original than this, no matter what prog purists think. Avoid unless you wish Peter Gabriel stayed in Genesis into the 80's and they made music like this.
A new beginning.......2004-11-01
Great debut.......2004-02-16
Anyway, this is one of the best debut albums I have ever heard, comparable to Tindersticks' first album, dEUS' "Worst Case Scenario" or Puressence's debut.
When this album was released, Marillion had a relative success in the UK, due to the single "Market Square Heroes" (which can be briefly spotted during the radio station tuning in the introduction of the last track - "Forgotten Sons").
The magic starts with the cover - a marvellous painting of a jester's trying to play "Yesterday" (The Beatles) in a violin. Like most progressive rock bands, the cover served as an introduction to the band's own world and took advantage of the vynil format (the back cover and the front cover form a single image).
The start is tremendous. For me, "Script For A Jester's Tear" is still Marillion's best song. The begginning of the song recalls "Dancing With The Moonlit Knight" from the Genesis album "Selling England By The Pound" with the first phrase sung without music (the music starts immediately after the first phrase). The song is divided into four parts. The first is mysterious and mellodramatic and ends with "...the game is over". The second section is very rythmical and the lyrical content is just the repetition of phrases sung in the first part. The third part starts with "I act the role in a classic style" and returns a soft and mysterious mood. The beautiful and unforgettable fourth part is very grandiloquent and starts with "the fool escaped from paradise...". The end is "can you still say you love me?" sung several times, recalling, in a certain way, the ending of another Genesis song: "The Musical Box" (from the album "Nursery Cryme") when Gabriel sings/begs "why don't you touch me?" lots of times.
"He Knows, You Knows" is also a great song. It was the first single of this album and is a shorter and balanced track, more suitable for radio listeners (if all the songs on the radio sounded so good...).
"The Web" is the longest theme and it is also fascinant with lots of different parts and great keyboards by Mark Kelly.
"Garden Party" was the second single. This is Marillion, particulary Fish, showing their sense of humour. It's a joyful melody, very different from most Marillion songs.
"Chelsea Monday" is the album's second best song. The bass (played by Peter Trewavas) is remarkable. It's a slow and subtle song.
"Forgotten Sons" is my least favourite although highly considered by the fans. Nevertheless, it has the Marillion's unique sound.
If you like the "Peter Gabiel Genesis era" you will surely love this album. Yet, Marillion have their personality and are something more than a Genesis copy. Trust me: hear it several times and feel addicted.
Dark masterpiece.......2004-01-09
Very much in the vein of Genesis' greatest symphonic years, A script for a jester's tear is a finely written, performed and produced set of music. Starting off with the title track, a lament of mental illness and depression, followed by the paranoia driven He knows you knows, this album has some of the greatest symphonic prog rock of the 80's (and then some). The record continues with The Web, followed by the lighthearted Garden party, a parody of the british high society reunions. Then comes the dark Chelsea monday about a female suicide. And perhaps leaving the best to last, the album closes with the almost epic (not quite 10 minutes long) Forgotten sons, the anti-war anthem of the band. This record is theatrically dark.
This remastered version, as well as sounding much better than the previous release, includes a second CD containing the bands singles from that era, including two versions of the afore mentioned Market Square Heroes, as well as the truly epic (not only in length!) Grendel. A perfect companion and a great complement for the original CD (although all this tracks can be found in slightly different versions in the B'sides themselves album, along with the live version of Margaret and a few other tracks).
As a side note, this is the only record of the band that doesn't feature Ian Mosley on drums, instead having Mick Pointer on skins.
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