Marillion - Script For a Jester's Tear 4/3/2020 Deluxe Edition (4CD/Blu ray/4LP) + Documentary

Me too. In fact it took me a while before I could come to grips with the fact that not all their songs sounded like that.

 

New Fish looks amazing...

 

Excited about that one. The finished songs brought to it were all good pop tunes, but I'm curious if there are some alternate arrangements. And there's a tantalizing bit of "Eric" on an earlier release plus a live run-through of "This Town" that I hope get included. Not my favorite H-era album, but it most certainly has its moments.

As for Script, it's my least-favorite of the Fish era, but I really liked some of the versions on The Thieving Magpie live album. Hoping the remix does this justice to make the studio version something I can listen to. It's the only Marillion album that I really never put on, instead going to live versions.

 

Also an obvious one (in my opinion because I share that opinion).

 

That's a really good Fish song.

 

I get ya. Rather dense or something. I have a soft spot for it due to stumbling onto the band opening for Utopia, they were awesome live even if the songs were tough to wrap your head around. But I got a HUGE poster for $5 and that as much as the performance made me a fan for life-smartest marketing decision ever, everyone who saw it asked about the band.

 

I gave in and went ahead and preordered the CD/Blu-ray edition via Marillion’s website. Hell, I’ll probably end up buying every single one of them. The deluxe edition I’m really anticipating is Fugazi. This album is in dire need of a remix.

 

He remixed Hackett because Hackett gave him the opportunity and he accepted; the Genesis stuff has never been an option (as of yet). I'm sure he'd take the opportunity if it was offered, at least for certain albums.

 

I don't really think Marillion ever got the drummer seat truly right, but the drums on the original Script are pretty terrible...I much prefer later live versions of all that material to the original studio LP just because the drumming is better.

 

What do you mean by this?

 

Really? I feel that Mosley sound so good in that seat that he's just about perfect for them. It was immediately clear to me when hearing Real to Reel.

 

Indeed. It was like when Collins replaced Mayhew in Genesis. Mayhew couldn’t play any of the difficult technical parts (odd time signatures, quick changes in tempi, etc.) that Genesis needed him to play and the same applies to Mick Pointer. Mosley simply was the man for the job and they’ve never felt any need to change drummers, which tells me a lot.

 

Not a fan of either of their drummers. Mick Pointer was amateurish, at best, and Ian Mosely is kind of boring (and rushes his fills...it's like having a picture frame on the wall that's just so slightly hung at an angle). Marillion didn't need a Mike Portnoy style heavy hitter, but I wish Mosley could play with just a little more intensity when the time calls...his style is just a little too laid back and lightweight for me. Doesn't mean I don't love their music, but I always wonder what it'd have sounded like with the same band but a tighter, more dynamic drummer.

 

I couldn’t disagree more. Mosley isn’t a lightweight. I like the fact that he’s not an overly flashy player and there’s plenty of intensity in his playing. He simply doesn’t let himself get carried away from an emotional standpoint and I think this kind of restraint is more musical than someone who can play polyrhythms with one foot while sweating on the snare head. There could be no other Marillion drummer but Mosley and the other members in the band certainly have never felt the need to replace him.

 

It's just a personal preference. His drumming does nothing for me. I never said they needed Buddy Rich or Neil Peart, but I'd just have been interested to hear them with a different, more distinctive drummer. Part of it might be the way he's mixed on their recordings, but I've watched so many live Marillion videos from the H era and I just find his playing uninspiring. It's not about being flashy, but it is about being distinctive...think Roger Taylor on so many Queen songs or Jeff Porcaro on "Lowdown" or Phil Collins on some of his solo stuff like "Don't Lose My Number." Not flashy, but it stands out in the mix and arrangement. Ian does his job and doesn't get in the way, and that's probably why he's been there so long...no one likes a drummer who oversteps his boundaries, I get that. It's just my least favorite part of the band.

 

It’s okay and is it okay that I disagree with you? I thought the mixes in each subsequent Marillion album got better and better. Mosley sounds fine to me and he’s really a remarkably fluid drummer and exactly what Marillion needed.

 

I think the new mixes of Brave and Sunlight really help the presence of his drums and improve the drum sounds considerably, so there's that.

 

I was only ever a Fish era Marillion fan and although Script isn’t a classic album it’s a decent debut effort and was out of time when it appeared in March 1983. I got the album on release and had the sleeve autographed by all five musicians while they were doing promo attendances in local record shops. It’s no longer part of the collection but that’s OK. I don’t actually like my albums to be signed if I’m honest.
As for drummers - I’ve never had a problem with Ian Mosely - he was a much better drummer than those that came before him and was right for the music certainly the albums I know well.
Looking forward to the remix of Script - hopefully it sounds warmer but not too different in content. Again I’m not much of a fan for messing with stuff from my formative years such as the Genesis albums and most of the Tull records. Aqualung is the exception and that SW remix has become the standard version for me.

 

Just a heads up, I just ordered this on Deep Discount for $33.00. All the other prices I've seen have been around $50.00.

 

I bought mine for $34 (not including shipping) through Marillion’s website as I would rather the money go directly to them without some middle man interfering.

 

I didn’t like the sound of the remix of Brave at all. The guitar sounded more coarse and less warm. Also, there’s the problem with gapless playback, especially noticeable from the transition of Bridge into Living with the Big Lie. Yeah, complete garbage and a botch job from Wilson (whose remixes I really like in general, especially of King Crimson and Yes).

 

So far, the only Marillion remix I really enjoyed was Afraid of Sunlight. I thought this was one of the best remixes I’ve heard in a long time. Michael Hunter did a fantastic job, IMHO.

 

no gap on the Apple Music version. Must’ve just been a CD defect. But I never liked the original mix...drenched in reverb and lacking clarity on individual layers, so nowhere to go but up for me.

 

Actually, Walrus, perhaps you can help and I know this is an off-topic question, but it seems that when I go to burn the CD via Apple Music, I opt for gapless playback before burning the disc, but it continuously puts 2 second gap between tracks. This is really annoying as I had it set on “Automatic” and then to “None” but I’m still ending up with a 2 second gap. Any idea what it could be?

 

No idea, although you can't burn a CD from a streaming service (directly, anyway). Granted, if you're burning from files, definitely use something else that isn't iTunes. Is it doing it on all tracks or just between the first two tracks? Also can you open up the files and see if it's a burning error or actually 2 seconds of silence at the end of the file?