Marillion Fugazi

At the conclusion of the Script for a Jester's Tear tour, Marillion decided to give drummer Mick Pointer his marching orders, replacing him momentarily with Camel's Andy Ward and later by American studio whiz Jonathan Mover. Mover's recruitment proved to be short-lived, as Fish ushered in Steve Hackett's drummer/percussionist, Ian Mosley, whose spot-on drumming was the perfect foil for Marillion's meticulous musicianship. With Mosley, the band set out to record its sophomore effort…

At the conclusion of the Script for a Jester's Tear tour, Marillion decided to give drummer Mick Pointer his marching orders, replacing him momentarily with Camel's Andy Ward and later by American studio whiz Jonathan Mover. Mover's recruitment proved to be short-lived, as Fish ushered in Steve Hackett's drummer/percussionist, Ian Mosley, whose spot-on drumming was the perfect foil for Marillion's meticulous musicianship. With Mosley, the band set out to record its sophomore effort. The first track to emerge from the Fugazi sessions would be "Punch and Judy" (which EMI released as the album's first single)…

After Fish's departure, Marillion teetered on the brink of collapse: The frontman's distinct voice and poetic prose made him the defining member of the band. One can only imagine how record executives held their collective breath as Steve Hogarth was brought in to take the reins. His first outing with band, 1989's Season's End, removed all doubts about the band's future. Hogarth's unique, expressive voice fit Marillion perfectly; on the full-throttle rock assault of "The Uninvited Guest" or the emotional "After You," Hogarth's singularity is unmistakable. The heartfelt "Easter," with its imaginative electric-acoustic arrangement, is another showcase for Hogarth's talents…

1988's The Thieving Magpie is a sprawling double-disc live set which manages to tie up virtually all the loose ends from Marillion's years with charismatic frontman Fish. Like 1984's Real to Reel mini live album, Magpie offers mostly sterling performances packed with both feeling and technical precision, which often times manage to better their studio counterparts thanks to their road-worthy fluidity. But unlike that seamlessly assembled mini live album, it does suffer from the occasional silence between tracks, or even noticeable variations in sound quality, crowd noise, and general ambiance. Sure, most listeners won't give a hoot about such details when faced with the sheer creative breadth (some would say absurdity) of such Marillion magnum opuses as "Fugazi," "Script for a Jester's Tear," and "Chelsea Monday" to name but a few…

Live performance by prog-rockers Marillion, recorded in the summer of 1987, when they were basking in the success of 'Kayleigh', their biggest hit to date. Original vocalist Fish leads the band through renditions of their latest successes, as well as old favourites such as 'Script For a Jester's Tear'…

Essential: a masterpiece of Progressive Rock music
I cannot wait anymore to review this record: This record contains maybe the best guitar solos in the history of music. It is not a question of speed here; it is rather a question of sounding near the perfection.