Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Marillion
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1989
Rating: 4/5
In 1989, Marillion found themselves at a major turning point in their career. Charismatic singer Fish, who many fans saw as the band’s central figure, had left not long before to pursue his solo career. With the loss of this seemingly irreplaceable frontman, the band’s fate hung in the balance for a while, and it looked like carrying on without him would be impossible. Against all expectations, instead of looking for a Fish clone, Marillion made an incredibly bold move and a radical switch that would end up changing their musical direction in a big way. For their new singer they picked the then almost unknown Steve Hogarth, previously the vocalist and keyboardist of the obscure pop band The Europeans. Hogarth really was a radical shake-up for the band, especially compared to his predecessor, since vocally he cut every last comparison to the '70s prog rockers (Genesis first and foremost) once and for all. Hogarth was a completely different type of singer from the Scottish giant, who always liked to look deep into a glass and wrote mostly deeply personal poetry. Aside from a polished sense of drama, Hogarth had not the slightest thing in common with Fish (and vice versa), and that’s exactly what speaks loudest about how right the choice was. Hogarth swaps Fish’s theatrical charisma and personal poetry for a wide, multilayered vocal range, often full of romantic pathos. And Fish’s fatalism and sarcasm in expression and lyrics are happily replaced with “new hope” (he did get some help with the lyrics from his friend John Helmer). With his approach, Mr. H undoubtedly brought more pop influence to Marillion too, which they would work into individual pieces more and more, taking the first step in breaking away from the neo-prog sound. “Seasons End” was a stylistic transition album for Marillion, since it’s both the first album of the new, art rock era and the last one that can still be called neo-prog. Even though they had been seen until then as the driving force and “fathers” of the genre, after this album they started drifting further and further away from it.
“The King Of Sunset Town”, which is about the Tiananmen Square massacre (the Square of Heavenly Peace, as we’d say), when the Chinese Communist Party crushed peaceful student demonstrations with tanks and Deng Xiaoping finally became the “king of the sunrise city” (and it even rhymes!), is the pivotal opener that ushers the listener into this new era of their music and introduces Hogarth as the new singer in a mighty way. It starts with a quiet intro of electronic effects that slowly build up an ambient mood. That lasts until the whole band bursts in with a grand gesture and creates a majestic atmosphere. Rothery shines with a great riff that pulls the listener in instantly and convinces them the band is still very much alive and determined to carry on with a new chapter. The key moment comes at 2:30, when the real “king of sunset town,” Hogarth, comes in with total confidence and a hugely convincing voice, and especially through the excellent choruses proves what a great singer he is and that Marillion hit the jackpot with him. The gorgeous ballad “Easter”, which is about the struggle for (Northern) Irish independence, is without a doubt the most majestic and most emotional piece on the album, and also one of the best things in their whole history. Rothery and Hogarth shine here in all their glory: Rothery with his delicate acoustic guitar playing and brilliant use of arpeggios, Hogarth singing with unspeakable pathos. The song gets an extra lift from Rothery’s phenomenal solo, one of the best of his career. It’s followed by a great outro with dramatically grand vocals, wonderful riffs and deep layers of keyboards that create a dreamy atmosphere, one that carries the listener above the clouds in an instant and gives them a fresh push even when it feels like nothing is going the way it should. Without a doubt one of the most beautiful ballads in the history of rock music. “The Uninvited Guest” is the first pop-flavored track on the album, alternating between a calm and a punchy rhythm backed by mighty guitar riffs, plus Hogarth’s dramatic delivery, where through the sarcastic lyrics he gets fully into the role of the “uninvited guest.” Rothery once again serves up a witty solo, typical of him, and brings this solid piece to its close. The title track “Seasons End” is an eco-conscious song dealing with the already topical issue of global warming and the end of the traditionally cold British winters, and it’s the first of the two longer epics on the album. An extremely melancholic piece, soaked in very subtle singing, delicate riffs and mighty layers of keyboards, with the piano leading the way. The melancholy is released by a subtle guitar solo and a great addition of Kelly’s ambient synths. With it, Marillion proved they were still masters of grand, expressive prog epics like the ones they made with Fish. The again more pop-oriented “Halloway Girl”, inspired by a female prisoner, is yet another of their “awakening” and pompously melancholic songs that became typical of the Hogarth era. It’s packed with witty passages on Trewavas’s bass guitar, rich keyboards, melancholic guitar passages and dramatic choruses with great vocals. The deeply melancholic “Berlin”, dedicated to the then still divided city and featuring a great saxophone part, already points to their future artistic directions and the exploration of new territories. After a calm, balladesque intro comes a decisive turn on guitar and saxophone, joined by a mighty “awakening” vocal. In the middle comes a somewhat more obscure and subdued section full of various building sounds, which slowly leads the piece into the closing passage, one of the best on the album, thanks in large part to Rothery’s guitar mastery (a whole gallon of inventive riffs and yet another superb solo) and Hogarth’s soaring vocal. “After Me” is a simple but very pretty acoustic ballad that doesn’t reach the expressive heights of “Easter,” but is still one of those pieces that feel made for Hogarth’s voice. Rothery is no slouch here either: on acoustic guitar he nicely proves he’s every bit as much a master as on electric, offering a series of energetic and emotional riffs. To close, he once again delivers a juicy solo that sends the song to seventh heaven. Next comes the zippy, punchy “Hooks In You”, one of three singles from the album. Here Marillion show up in a different light again, as it’s an effective mix of hard rock and pop rock that’s definitely closer to hair metal than to prog. Still, it has a great chorus, a powerful rhythm and a bunch of tasty guitar passages. It’s an energetic catalyst that shows off their versatility and freedom from genre baggage. The album closes with the mighty epic “The Space…”, where all the strengths of early and “new” Marillion come together very effectively to deliver the album’s peak. A superb neo-prog epic, soaked in excellent orchestral arrangements, mighty guitar passages and dramatically pompous vocal expressions that really carry it off somewhere into space, even though the lyrics are about personal emptiness. Here you can especially admire Hogarth’s exceptional vocal range and undiminished drama, something in which he certainly surpassed his predecessor.
The reissue also includes a bonus CD with a few smaller goodies. The 12-inch version of “The Uninvited Guest” sounds even more pop rock and falls a bit short of the original in expression, while “The Bell In The Sea” and “The Release” are tracks that will surely delight all fans of the band. In its rhythm, “The Bell In The Sea” is something of a forerunner of their later pop rock experiments. The same goes for “The Release”, a classic pop rock energy catalyst that has a lot in common with some Gilmour-era Pink Floyd as well as early U2. Both clearly foreshadow the pop rock direction of their next album. The remaining extras are demos of some of the album’s tracks, recorded at Mushrom Farm studio. These will be interesting only to the band’s most devoted followers, since on most of them you can hear that they predate the polish and that the band wasn’t a hundred percent ready on them yet.
“Seasons End” is without a doubt the most important album of Marillion’s career, since on it they made the crucial stylistic turn that won them plenty of new fans and also cost them plenty of old ones, who couldn’t come to terms with Fish’s departure and the change in style. It’s a superb album, full of dynamics, stylistic variety, hypnotic melodies and forward-looking vision, so I won’t be exaggerating one bit if I call it a masterpiece. Even though the neo-prog sound they built with Fish still dominates, the numerous pop elements and rich ambient curtains are already the beginning of a new, even more experimental era. With Hogarth, who handled an extremely difficult task with flying colors and proved himself both a great singer and a musical visionary, Marillion got a fresh boost and opened a new chapter that meant new experimental challenges and sculpted them into a true definition of diversity as they drifted further and further from genre restrictions. It’s a bit ironic that with Hogarth, whose voice seems made for pop, they would never again repeat the commercial success they had with Fish, even though they would create some pieces (the next album first among them) that, with more effective promotion, would surely have landed at the top of the charts. As it is, they’ll forever remain “England’s best kept secret”. Their music would keep evolving artistically well into the new century, while their neo-prog peers from the '80s more or less stayed within genre boundaries.
Lineup
Steve Hogarth – vocals
Steve Rothery – guitar
Pete Trewavas – bass guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards
Ian Mosley – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Jean-Pierre Rasle – pipes (2)
Phil Todd – saxophone (6)
Production
Nick Davis
Track list
1. The king of Sunset town (8:02)
2. Easter (5:57)
3. The uninvited guest (3:52)
4. Seasons end (8:07)
5. Holloway girl (4:27)
6. Berlin (7:43)
7. After me (3:19)
8. Hooks on you (2:54)
9. The space… (6:14)
Album length: 50:41
Bonus CD on the 1997 reissue:
1. The uninvited guest (12″ version) (5:03)
2. The bell in the sea (single) (4:19)
3. The release (single) (3:44)
4. The king of Sunset town (Mushroom Farm demo) (5:32)
5. Holloway girl (Mushroom demo) (4:47)
6. Seasons end (Mushroom demo) (8:01)
7. The uninvited guest (demo) (3:53)
8. Berlin (Mushroom demo) (8:02)
9. The bell in the sea (demo) (4:52)
Album length: 48:30
Total length: 99:11
