Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Marillion
Label: Castle Communications
Released: 1997
Running time: 70:49
Rating: 4.5/5
In 1996, English art rock champions Marillion finally became ‘masters of their own fate’, as their long-running contract with the infamous label EMI came to an end. Neither the band nor the label had any intention of extending the deal, since the members of Marillion were fed up to the back teeth with EMI’s reps setting all kinds of conditions on how to boost commercial success, a short-sighted vision that had little to do with the innate artistry of this legendary English prog rock outfit. So they decided to move to the smaller, independent label Castle Communications, where they would go on to release three studio albums over the following years.
»This Strange Engine«, their ninth studio album, marked a new stylistic shift compared to its excellent predecessor »Afraid Of Sunlight« (1995). Interestingly, at a time when they no longer cared about commercial success at all and wanted to make music mainly for their own enjoyment and the delight of their loyal fans, Marillion came up with a few songs with real hit potential, in different circumstances, of course. Every single member of the band tried something new on »This Strange Engine« and tested their musical and songwriting chops. Keyboardist Mark Kelly, for instance, delivers a heap of majestic orchestral arrangements like on no Marillion album before, giving individual tracks a truly imposing atmosphere.
Guitarist Steve Rothery had never used acoustic guitar as extensively in his career as he does on this album, where he contributes a string of pastoral-tinged arrangements. Bassist Pete Trewavas helps out with acoustic guitar in places, and once again serves up some downright inspiring, inventive bass lines. Drummer Ian Mosley, the oldest member of the band, uses his innate rhythmic dynamism to diligently stitch the individual arrangements together and keeps every track perfectly cohesive. Steve ‘H’ Hogarth is once again outstanding in testing his vocal range, and as a writer of socially and emotionally aware lyrics he had reached a new level of maturity. His friend and longtime collaborator John Helmer still helped him with most of the lyrics, but H wrote the words for the title track himself, an autobiographical masterpiece and the best composition on the whole album.
The fact that »This Strange Engine« is much more acoustic-leaning than any of its studio predecessors is proven right away by the opening, positivity-driven power ballad »Man Of a Thousand Faces«, which also came out as a single. A mighty arrangement on Rothery’s acoustic guitar is joined by Hogarth’s heartfelt, deeply personal singing, creating a hugely catchy melody that lodges itself in the listener’s ears in an instant. The artistic nature of this superb opener is most obvious in Kelly’s symphonic synth textures and fragile electric piano arrangements. The epic finale is an especially interesting touch, with Hogarth’s mighty vocals backed by majestic choral harmonies.
»One Fine Day«, a melancholic ballad laid over fragile piano arrangements, where H is once again the picture of extraordinary emotional depth as he sings, is a fairly atypical but inventive piece, as it features a bluesy guitar phrase, which is quite a rarity for Rothery. The sudden shift into a symphonic section is an especially interesting twist. »80 Days« was the album’s second single, which is no surprise, since it’s an acoustic-driven song with plenty of symphonic flourishes on the keyboards, and with its pleasant chorus, uplifting lyrics (which carry H’s autobiographical touch, memories of the previous concert tour) and easy melody, it’s tailor-made for the car radio. Lighter compositions like this one, with their damn hypnotic choruses, were nice proof that Marillion still had an exceptional knack for writing potential hits in them back then.
The contemplative power ballad »Estonia« became a Marillion classic soon after release and is without doubt the best-known song on »This Strange Engine«. The lyrics were inspired by real events, after Hogarth met Paul Barney, the only British passenger to survive the sinking of the ferry Estonia, in which 852 people died in the middle of the Baltic Sea on September 28, 1994. This superb track also has a mighty atmosphere, built from moving acoustic guitar arrangements, majestic symphonic keyboard flourishes and cleverly constructed tempo shifts. »Memory Of Water« is a shorter melancholic ballad where H’s ‘suffering’ vocal is accompanied by dramatic orchestral arrangements. Its atmosphere is just subtle enough that the whole thing doesn’t sound like some deadly dull requiem. The spirited art rocker »An Accidental Man« comes off far more interesting, with its faster tempo and mighty guitar passages dominating over the rustling sound of organs. The enigmatic chorus is accompanied by a string of interesting rhythmic nuances and electronic effects.
»Hope For The Future« is perhaps even the most unexpected musical experiment on »This Strange Engine«, as it gradually morphs from an opening acoustic ballad, through jazzy rhythmic finesses on Trewavas’s bass, into a danceable ‘cocktail jazz’ number, especially once a guest trumpet comes in and, alongside assorted percussion, creates an almost Caribbean atmosphere. But the best track on »This Strange Engine« sits right at the end of the album, in the form of a 15-minute (the track is actually half an hour long, but there’s only 15 minutes of real music) title epic. This autobiographical tale by Hogarth, about his life journey from childhood through major turning points, contains a string of complex arrangements and interesting tempo shifts.
After a relatively calm, acoustic-ethereal intro, full of contemplative moments on piano and where H once again shines as he sings his deeply personal messages, comes a shift into an energetic, almost punchy section with hefty guitar phrases and a series of inventive keyboard passages. Kelly’s synth solo is even one of the best of his career, while the Trewavas-Mosley rhythm duo works at full steam the whole time. Still, after a shorter ballad-like section, where H once again opens up his wounded heart over gentle piano arrangements, followed by a brief guest sax spot, the title of main ‘solo star’ goes to Rothery, whose ‘weeping’ solo weaves the ambient magic that makes Marillion so cherished among music connoisseurs to this day. Right at the end, after almost fifteen minutes of complete silence, comes a funny moment where you can hear H’s uncontrolled laughter over the sound of piano.
»This Strange Engine« doesn’t come up much when people list the best Marillion albums, but it’s still one of the most interesting art rock albums of the nineties, with which this legendary British band successfully opened the first chapter of a whole new era. Marillion hadn’t been ‘stars’ for several years by then, in fact that unintended status had already ended with the close of the eighties, but regardless, the album reached a pretty solid number 27 on the UK charts of the time. A lot of the credit goes to their exceptionally loyal fans, the kind only a handful of comparable, successful and long-lived rock bands can boast. Those loyal fans, together with the then newborn internet, played a key role, so to speak, in helping Marillion get through the late nineties too, when they had plenty of trouble with Castle Communications.
Line-up
Steve Hogarth – vocals, backing vocals, additional keyboards and percussion
Steve Rothery – guitar
Mark Kelly – keyboards, backing vocals
Peter Trewavas – bass guitar, backing vocals
Ian Mosley – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Charlton & Newbottle School Choir – choir on “Man of a Thousand Faces”
Tim Perkins – balalaika on “Estonia”
Phil Todd – saxophone on “This Strange Engine”
Paula Savage – trumpet on “Hope for the Future”
Production
Marillion
Track list
1. Man of a Thousand Faces
2. One Fine Day
3. 80 Days
4. Estonia
5. Memory of Water
6. An Accidental Man
7. Hope for the Future
8. This Strange Engine
