Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Marillion
Label: Castle Communications
Released: 1999
Length: 62:28
Rating: 3.5/5
The legendary art rockers Marillion, Britain’s best-kept musical secret, went for what is probably the most unremarkable title imaginable for their eleventh studio album, »Marillion.com«, inspired by their official website. Once you know the story behind the record, though, it feels almost like a no-brainer. Before recording »marillion.com«, the cult five-piece from Aylesbury came up with an innovative campaign, calling on fans via their website to chip in and co-fund the release of their third and last album for Castle Communications. The fan response blew past all expectations, but the commercial performance of »marillion.com« was below average, as it was their first album that failed to crack the top 40 of the UK chart. It probably didn’t help that it was also the first album without a single official single. Still, »Deserve« was picked as the promo single, while »Rich« became a special single for Brazilian radio. As a thank-you to the loyal fans who helped fund »Marillion.com«, Marillion printed their photos in the album booklet.
The musical results were pretty mixed, and to be honest, »marillion.com« is one of their less inspired efforts, with one big miss in »Built-in Bastard Radar«, though a couple of tracks still belong in the elite of the British cult art rockers’ overall catalog. »Marillon.com« features quite a bit of risky, bold cross-genre experimentation, and it’s actually a pleasant surprise that the album as a whole turns out to be a very solid effort. On the excellent closing epic »House«, for instance, they dabbled in dance/trip hop and jazz fusion, with surprisingly good results. »House« and »Deserve« feature guest wind players (saxophone, trumpet), making this the Marillion album with the most jazz elements, even if they’re pretty “shy” about it.
Singer Steve ‘Mr. H’ Hogarth was once again helped with the lyrics by longtime collaborator John Helmer, whose work on this one was his last with Marillion until 2012, when he contributed the lyrics to »Pour My Love«. It’s also worth noting that »Marillion.com« sounds great, with a production that was modern for its time, and in fact much better than on the rather average predecessor »Radiation« (1998), as the band joined forces with the cult musician and producer Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Storm Corrosion, Blackfield). Incidentally, in 1997 Wilson had worked as a musician, songwriter, and producer with former Marillion singer Fish.
One thing you can’t possibly accuse »marillion.com« of is monotony or rehashing what we’ve heard before, since every track is its own distinct chapter and a thoroughly unique example of artistic eclecticism. The complex and rather enigmatic »A Legacy« gives the listener a deceptive impression in the first few seconds that it’s a slow album intro, but after the first run-through it flips into energetic waters, ruled by a hefty guitar line from Steve Rothery. The multi-voice chorus feels a little monotonous despite H’s moving vocal contribution, but Rothery and especially keyboardist Mark Kelly, with his lively layering of assorted synth textures, make sure this fundamentally pretty average piece grows on you considerably after repeated listens.
A considerably more interesting track is, by Marillion standards, the pretty hard-hitting art rocker »Deserve«, where the energetic sax and trumpet passages and Pete Trewavas’ complex bass lines come as a surprise. This combination adds a pinch of jazz fusion and even glam to the structure of the song, somewhat reviving the spirit of the legendary Roxy Music. The distinctly ambient and melodic power ballad »Go!«, where H’s heart-wrenching singing really comes into its own, is also an interesting experiment, built from layered synth textures and delicate chords on a 12-string guitar, culminating in a hypnotic chorus. There’s a thrilling epic finish too. It’s one of those praiseworthy moments on the album that offer clear proof that Marillion haven’t lost their long-standing, sophisticated knack for creating gorgeous melodies that, with their magic, whisk an empathetic listener off to some parallel world in an instant.
The solid but unexciting »Rich«, with its funky melody and handclaps, is almost a pop-rock, completely easygoing number compared to the rest of »marillion.com«, and once again something totally new in Marillion’s songwriting catalog up to that point. The hit potential is certainly there, but the energetic guitar passages, the countless bits of fooling around on the Hammond organ, and H’s complex, at times almost grimacing singing still add up to something too experimental for this track to ever accidentally “slip through” onto some commercial radio station. Ambient-wise, a much deeper piece is the superb power ballad »Enlightened«, which, on the wings of delicate 12-string chords and H’s melancholic vocals, manages to capture the soul of a mature band that has traveled a truly huge distance and gone through several astonishing sonic evolutions since their otherwise majestic neo-prog beginnings.
The bizarre hard alt-rock hybrid »Built-in Bastard Radar« is, as mentioned, by far the worst track on »Marillion.com« and one of the worst moments of their entire career. Neither a mighty hard rock guitar line nor a lush layer of Hammond organ can rescue its general chaos and its downright silly lyrics about “machos” and “hunters”. The same goes for H’s vocoder-drenched vocal mugging, which is completely superfluous and feels like a failed attempt to please the average taste of the so-called MTV generation. Luckily the rest of the album is at a high level, and the bad taste is thoroughly washed away by the excellent power ballad »Tumble Down the Years«, which with its central arrangement even faintly recalls The Beatles classic »Here Comes the Sun«, and above all, with its positive atmosphere, sunny acoustic guitar melody, and melodic chorus, brings back memories of some of the best past achievements from H’s era.
The strongly experimental and ambitious »Interior Lulu«, where Marillion remind us that at heart and soul they’re still progressive rockers first and foremost, comes off as very interesting as a whole, despite a slow, somewhat sleepy opening section full of unusual rhythmic variations, and ranks among the better moments on »marillion.com«. After the first run-through comes an unexpected twist into a fiery, chaotic section dominated by searing guitar passages and furious drum fills from old hand Ian Mosley. Mr. H is once again superb as a heart-wrenching lyricist. The central section, led by Rothery’s guitar soloing, is a real feast for the ears and one of the ambient highlights of »Marillion.com«. Only the closing ethereal trip hop epic »House« tops it, with its indescribable melancholy on the wings of turbulent trumpet passages marking a new milestone in Marillion’s experimental catalog up to then, and even one of the best closers of any of their albums. Kelly especially shines here, layering synth textures to build a deeply melancholic atmosphere, as does Hogarth, who with an exceptionally emotional vocal performance proves once again why he’s one of the best art rock vocalists.
With »Marillion.com«, Marillion made one of their strangest studio experiments. It’s not without its flaws, but they’re easily outweighed by plenty of bright moments, packed with bold, thrilling forays into sonic territory they’d never explored before. On individual tracks you could clearly feel that Marillion were having a blast with experimental freedom and pushing the boundaries of art rock, but on the other hand they still wanted to taste and recapture at least some of their past commercial success, including by winning over the hearts of younger generations who didn’t remember Marillion as a neo-prog attraction of the eighties. Commercially and sonically, »Marillion.com«, like its predecessor »Radiation«, didn’t pull that off. On the sonic side, they only managed it in 2001 with »Anoraknophobia«, a commercial flop that is still one of their most beloved albums among fans today.
Lineup
Steve Hogarth – vocals, keyboards, percussion
Steve Rothery – guitar
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards
Ian Mosley – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Ben Castle – saxophone on “Deserve”
Neil Yates – trumpet on “Deserve” and “House”
Andy Rotherham – additional handclaps on “Rich”
Production
Marillion and Steven Wilson
Track list
1. A Legacy (6:16)
2. Deserve (4:23)
3. Go! (6:11)
4. Rich (5:42)
5. Enlightened (4:59)
6. Built-in Bastard Radar (4:52)
7. Tumble Down the Years (4:33)
8. Interior Lulu (15:14)
9. House (10:15)
