Posts tagged Steve Hogarth

(Review from progarchives.com)

It did make sense that after releasing four studio albums: “Seasons End”, “Holidays in Eden”, “Brave” and “Afraid of Sunlight” the band’s Hogarth era released a full fledge official live album. By this time the band has gathered enough material for a live show featuring Hogarth as front man.

“Made Again” is a 2CD set that chronicles the Holidays in Eden, Brave, and Afraid of Sunlight tours. Each song is performed on a bedrock of the band’s chemistry and onstage energy.

The first CD has a nice collection of songs from Seasons End, Holidays in Eden, and Afraid of Sunlight. Also worthwhile are the two Misplaced Childhood pieces. For the most part this CD has a diverse cross section of tracks from the Hogarth era. The most notable thing here is that “Lavender” is much like the single version of the track, which had an extended guitar solo, and it segues into the Lost Weekend part of Bitter Suite (which utilizes the same riff from Lavender), which is a fun live addition.

The second CD is the entire Brave album. It’s well performed and there are subtle differences and additions with this incantation of this album as opposed to other live versions and the studio version of the album itself. The crowd really seem to get into it as well, with them going along for the entire 73 minute ride, even drowning out Hogarth’s introduction to “Made Again”. The version of Great Escape here is phenomenal (as with the song “Brave”).

Marillion are not generally what might be described as adventurous in their live performances, sticking by and large to the Script. Yet it’s always a delight to hear the band live.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
CD1
01. Splintering heart (6:33)
02. Easter (6:28)
03. No one can (4:44)
04. Waiting to happen (5:09)
05. Cover my eyes (4:06)
06. The space… (6:35)
07. Hooks in you (3:02)
08. Beautiful (5:35)
09. Kayleigh (4:04)
10. Lavender (4:20)
11. Afraid of sunlight (6:55)
12. King (7:27)
CD2
01. Bridge (3:26)
02. Living with the big lie (6:49)
03. Runaway (4:46)
04. Goodbye to all that (0:41)
05. Wave (1:22)
06. Mad (1:24)
07. The opium dew (2:38)
08. The slide (4:10)
09. Standing in the swing (2:12)
10. Hard as love (6:58)
11. The hollow man (4:33)
12. Alone again in the lap of luxury (6:44)
13. Now wash your hands (1:15)
14. Paper lies (5:34)
15. Brave (8:39)
16. The great escape (1:18)
17. The last of you (2:42)
18. Falling from the moon (3:27)
19. Made again (5:25)

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(Review from progarchives.com)

Marillion’s 2004 album has the familiar feel of their Hogarth era output. Yet It’s more “Seasons End” / “Brave” than “Radiation” / “Anoraknophobia”.

It is both a telling and courageous move, especially after their apparent distaste in recent time for being labelled progressive, that the album opens with a thirteen minute track, “The Invisible Man”. This is indeed pure progressive which passes through various emotions and time changes. There’s a bit of “Seasons End” (track) cascading guitar, and a lovely choral keyboards backed section which finds Hogarth at his emotive best, as the band rocks out behind him. A wonderful opening track.

“Fantastic place” once again feels very “Seasons End”, with some lovely guitar and “orchestration”, building to a fine crescendo ending. The final track, “Neverland” is the other feature track, running to 12 minutes. The highlight of the track is the excellent guitar work, with it’s echoes of Dave Gilmour. The track is more reminiscent of the “Afraid of Sunlight” album, especially “Out of this world”.

The single “You’re Gone” which Marillion fans managed through excellent collusion to get into the top 10 of the UK singles chart is also included here, and in truth makes for a better album track than single. This double CD edition also includes an excellent 18 minute track, “Ocean Cloud”.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, hammered dulcimer
- Steve Rothery / guitar, bass
- Pete Trewavas / bass, acoustic guitar
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Mark Kelley / keyboards
with
- Carrie Tree / additional vocals (3)

Track List:
CD1
01. The Invisible Man – 13:37
02. Marbles I – 1:42
03. Genie – 4:54
04. Fantastic Place – 6:12
05. The Only Unforgivable Thing – 7:13
06. Marbles II – 2:02
07. Ocean Cloud – 17:58
CD2
01. Marbles III – 1:51
02. The Damage – 4:35
03. Don’t Hurt Yourself – 5:48
04. You’re Gone – 6:25
05. Angelina – 7:42
06. Drilling Holes – 5:11
07. Marbles IV – 1:26
08. Neverland – 12:10

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(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com)

The band, still unhappy with their record label situation, decided that it would be trying a radical experiment by asking their fans if they would help fund the recording of the next album by pre-ordering it before recording even started. They result was over 12,000 pre-orders which raised enough money to record and release Anoraknophobia in 2001. The band was able to strike a deal with EMI to also help distribute the album. This allowed Marillion to retain all the rights to their music while enjoying commercial distribution.

The title appears to have been Marillion’s attempt to demonstrate that they do after all have a sense of humour, and are not as serious as they appear to be. At the time of this release, the band were becoming increasing conscious of their “progressive rock” tag, and the associated dinosaur references which came with it. This resulted in them attempting to, as they saw it, turn their back on progressive and seek to be acclaimed by the media with making “current” music.

“Anoraknophobia” is certainly different to their previous releases, but it’s not as different as the band perhaps liked to think. Seen in retrospect, and in the context of both previous and subsequent releases, it is a natural progression (oops, nearly used the progressive word there!).

The opening track, “Between you and me” is a straight forward piece of pop rock, with some U2 like guitar. Later, “Separated out” continues in a similar vein, with something of a wall of sound driving the beat. That track is dedicated to the band’s fans, and the fact that they are prepared to stand up and be counted, despite “ridicule for their dedication to the cause”. “Map of the world” is the most commercial track on the album, with an almost Beach Boys feel to the high vocals on the very catchy chorus. That’s really about it though in terms of up tempo songs, the remainder being ballad based. “When I meet God” typifies much of the Hogarth era Marillion output, with its delicate vocals and dreamy atmosphere. The punch-line here is the reference to “God” as she. “This is the 21st century” works remarkably well — this 11 minute track has an extended instrumental section.

Though not one of the best albums of the era; “Anoraknophobia” is enjoyable, with some strong melodies and fine performances.

Line-up:
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Pete Trewavas / bass

Track List:
01. Between You and Me – 6:26
02. Quartz – 9:07
03. Map of the World – 5:01
04. When I Meet God – 9:15
05. The Fruit of the Wild Rose – 6:57
06. Separated Out – 6:15
07. This Is the 21st Century – 11:05
08. If My Heart Were a Ball, It Would Roll Uphill – 9:30

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(Review from dprp.net)

Zodiac is the name of the venue in Oxford, where Marillion played four consecutive sold-out shows in July 1999. The four shows have been recorded and a compilation is now featured on this live album.

Each night featured a short acoustic set in which some of the song-arrangements from the Oswestry shows were played. The songs in this short set varied each night. The songs picked for this album are a beautiful Sugar Mice (with a piano solo replacing the guitar solo) and The Answering Machine, to which Ben Castle’s saxophone is a great addition.

An interesting track is part of “Goodbye to All That” (sections Wave, Mad, The Opium Den and The Slide) off the Brave album. They previously had played this song live, tied in between the songs Man of a Thousand Faces and Three Minute Boy, here it’s standalone.

Castle joins the band once again for an excellent rendition of “Berlin”. With “Cathedral Wall” the band shows that they are still capable of writing songs that are impressive in concerts. The heavily played Waiting to Happen is another one that makes you musing of days gone by.

Despite questionable song choices and sound quality, this is quite an enjoyable album. The band shows to be still in top-shape and especially Pete Trewavas has to be commented on his playing, as this was his first live performance after his accident seven months ago back then.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / bass

Track List:
01. Rich (5:42)
02. The uninvited guest (4:38)
03. Goodbye to all that (9:19)
04. Afraid of sunlight (8:00)
05. Deserve (5:03)
06. Sugar mice (5:49)
07. The answering machine (4:11)
08. Berlin (8:33)
09. Cathedral walls (7:20)
10. Waiting to happen (5:54)
11. Garden party (7:37)

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(Review from progarchives.com)

“This Strange Engine” proved to be more progressive than most of the previous Hogarth era Marillion albums, while retaining all the best qualities from those albums. The band themselves came to resent their progressive tag, and tried hard later to disown it, but when they can produce music such as this, it’s hard to see what their problem was.

The tracks are generally longer, peaking with the title track clocking in at almost 16 minutes. This track is an excellent piece of progressive, with superb guitar work, and plenty of space for the band to stretch themselves beyond their previous self imposed boundaries. This is especially true of the albums which immediately preceded this one.

The first track “A man of a thousand faces” starts in fairly typical Marillion fashion, but slows towards the end to an almost tribal recital, very effective too. There are a number of mellower tracks to follow, such as “One fine day”, “Estonia”, and “Memory of water”. They sit well together, creating a relaxed and pleasant mood for the album. There are some livelier numbers, such as “Hope for the future”, and “An accidental man”, but the general feel is smooth and melodic.

Yet another undervalued album deserving of greater appreciation.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards
- Mark Kelly / keyboards, backing vocals
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars, backing vocals
- Pete Trewavas / basses, backing vocals
with
- Charlton & New Bottle School Choir / chorus (1)
- Tim Perkins / Balalaika (4)
- Paula Savages / trumpet (7)
- Phil Todd / saxophone (8)

Track List:
01. Man of a Thousand Faces
02. One Fine Day
03. 80 Days
04. Estonia
05. Memory of Water
06. An Accidental Man
07. Hope for the Future
08. This Strange Engine

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(Review from progarchives.com)

“Brave” is probably the most challenging, dense album in their whole discography that is known to cause bafflement on the first play but if the listener is prepared to stick with it, it will repay untold rewards. It continues to reveal new layers even many years after the first listen. Although not always a comfortable listen, it’s always a compelling one.

The concept is based around a girl’s thoughts of suicide on a bridge and what brought her to that decision. The beginning of the album appropriately called ‘Bridge’ sets the scene superbly, with the foghorn cries and Mark Kelly’s subtle, underplayed synthesiser motif that is genuinely affecting. This gives way to ‘Living With The Big Lie’ that rises in intensity to become a full-on assault with aggressive guitar work from Steve Rothery and manic vocals from Steve Hogarth.

The section of the album which runs from the epic, multi-sectioned ‘Goodbye To All That’ to ‘Hard As Love’ is perhaps the band’s most uncompromising work. The former is a multi-layered beast, ranging from gentle, near-ambient textures with pulsing bass from Pete Trevawas to a ‘King Of Sunset Town’- flavoured guitar break to the full-on heavy rock of ‘Hard As Love’, complete with aggressive Hammond organ runs from Mark Kelly. Meanwhile, the cathartic ‘Now Wash Your Hands’ and ‘Brave’ edge towards Peter Gabriel at his most soulful. It all still sounds fresh now, and shows the band are far from the anachronistic dullards they are unfairly painted as being by some of the British music press.

There are a few moments here that hint slightly at the band’s earlier and future sound; certainly ‘Runaway’, with that trademark Steve Rothery guitar sound and a brilliant yet not over- technical guitar solo, harks back to earlier classics like ‘Easter’. ‘The Hollow Man’ arguably edges towards their later classic ‘Fantastic Place’, having a similar piano/vocal ebb and flow, and the yearning strains of the Mellotron really add to this track too. ‘Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury’ was released as a single, but should have been a bigger hit, possessing a moving chorus with some of Steve Hogarth’s finest vocals and a rippling guitar motif from Steve Rothery.

The climax of the album is some of the most genuinely moving music they have produced, however. The reprise of ‘The Great Escape’ section, with even more pathos from both Hogarth and Rothery in their respective roles, packs a real punch, and ‘Made Again’ is a beautifully sparse climax featuring some delicate acoustic guitar and, for once, uplifting vocals and lyrics that at least send the listener out on a high after the emotional rollercoaster ride of some of the other tracks.

“Brave” was a remarkable achievement during an era where this type of music was often frowned upon.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals, keyboards, percussion
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses
with
- Tony Halligan / Uillean pipes
- The Liverpool Philharmonic / cellos and flutes
- Darryl Way / Orchestral arrangements

Track List:
01. Bridge – 2:55
02. Living With the Big Lie – 6:46
03. Runaway – 4:40
04. Goodbye To All That – 12:26
05. Hard As Love – 6:41
06. The Hollow Man – 4:08
07. The Lap of Luxury – 8:13
08. Paper Lies – 5:47
09. Brave – 7:56
10. The Great Escape – 6:30
11. Made Again – 5:02

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(Review from progarchives.com, progressiveworld.net)

Marillion’s second Hogarth era album was really the first to be devoid of any Fish influences, given that he had been involved in the rehearsals for much of the “Season’s End” album. “Holiday’s in Eden” is however a natural follow on from “Season’s End”, with no major change of sound or direction.

Though poppier, “Holidays In Eden” has everything that is typical of Marillion — from Steve Hogarth’s emotive vocals, Steve Rothery’s often light and whispy (and somewhat uncharacteristic) guitar phrases (but oh, those Rothery solos can be heard here, too), Pete Trewavas’ steadily throbbing bass, Mark Kelly’s feathery, atmospheric keys to the vital pulse of Ian Mosley’s drumming.

The opening and closing tracks, “Splintering heart” and “100 nights” are the most adventurous, both being slow powerful pieces, with some decent guitar. Melodies are strong throughout the album, especially on tracks like “No one can”, “Dry land” and the sing-a-long title track.

This edition includes a bonus disc containing over 40 minutes of unreleased material of alternate/demo versions.

Line-up:
- Steve Hogarth / vocals
- Mark Kelly / keyboards
- Ian Mosley / drums
- Steve Rothery / guitars
- Pete Trewavas / basses

Track List:
CD1
01. Splintering heart (6:54)
02. Cover my eyes (Pain and Heaven) (3:54)
03. The party (5:36)
04. No one can (4:41)
05. Holidays in Eden (5:38)
06. Dry land (4:43)
07. Waiting to happen (5:01)
08. This town (3:18)
09. The rakes progress (1:54)
10. 100 nights (6:41)
CD2 (Bonus)
01. Sympathy (single) (3:30)
02. How can it hurt (single) (4:41)
03. A collection (single) (3:00)
04. Cover my eyes (acoustic single) (2:34)
05. Sympathy (acoustic single) (2:30)
06. I will walk on water (Alternate ’98 mix) (5:14)
07. Splintering heart (live) (6:42)
08. You don’t need anyone (Moles Club demo) (4:04)
09. No one can (demo) (4:51)
10. The party (demo) (5:45)
11. This town (demo) (4:16)
12. Waiting to happen (demo) (5:31)
13. Eric (Video OST) (2:32)
14. The epic (Fairyground) (demo) (8:31)

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