Marillion Survivor 2011 - Discussion & Results

[The Letter M]

At the top of this post, I will update each album's survivor results as they are finished. Each of the band's main 15 (16 counting HITR as two) albums will be represented, as well as Survivors for Fish-Era B-Sides, H-Era B-Sides, and then Consolation Rounds.

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Script For A Jester's Tear
1. Script For A Jester's Tear
2. He Knows You Know
3. The Web
4. Forgotten Sons
5. Chelsea Monday
6. Garden Party

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Fugazi
1. Fugazi
2. Incubus
3. Assassing
4. Emerald Lies
5. She Chameleon
6. Jigsaw
7. Punch And Judy

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Misplaced Childhood
1. Heart Of Lothian
2. Childhoods End?
3. Bitter Suite
4. Kayleigh
5. Blind Curve
6. Lavender
7. White Feather
8. Pseudo Silk Kimono
9. Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)
10. Lords Of The Backstage

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Clutching At Straws
1. Sugar Mice
2. The Last Straw
3. Hotel Hobbies
4. Warm Wet Circles
5. That Time Of The Night (The Short Straw)
6. White Russian
7. Torch Song
8. Incommunicado
9. Just For The Record
10. Slàinte Mhath
11. Going Under

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Seasons End
1. Seasons End
2. Easter
3. Berlin
4. The Space...
5. The King Of Sunset Town
6. After Me
7. Hooks In You
8. Holloway Girl
9. The Uninvited Guest

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Holidays In Eden
1. 100 Nights
2. The Party
3. Splintering Heart
4. Cover My Eyes (Pain And Heaven)
5. Waiting To Happen
6. Holidays In Eden
7. The Rakes Progress
8. Dry Land
9. This Town
10. No One Can

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Brave
1. The Great Escape
2. Runaway
3. Living With The Big Lie
4. Alone Again In The Lap Of Luxury
5. Goodbye To All That
6. Brave
7. Hard As Love
8. The Hollow Man
9. Made Again
10. Paper Lies
11. Bridge

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Afraid Of Sunlight
1. Afraid Of Sunlight
2. Gazpacho
3. Beautiful
4. King
5. Out Of This World
6. Beyond You
7. Afraid Of Sunrise
8. Cannibal Surf Babe

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This Strange Engine
1. This Strange Engine
2. Estonia
3. Man Of A Thousand Faces
4. One Fine Day
5. 80 Days
6. An Accidental Man
7. Memory Of Water
8. Hope For The Future

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Radiation
1. A Few Words For The Dead
2. Under The Sun
3. Born To Run
4. These Chains
5. Three Minute Boy
6. Cathedral Wall
7. Now She'll Never Know
8. The Answering Machine
9. Costa Del Slough

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marillion.com
1. Interior Lulu
2. House
3. Tumble Down The Years
4. A Legacy
5. Deserve
6. Go!
7. Rich
8. Built-In Bastard Radar
9. Enlightened

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Anoraknophobia
1. Quartz
2. This Is The 21st Century
3. If My Heart Were A Ball
4. Between You And Me
5. Separated Out
6. Map Of The World
7. The Fruit Of The Wild Rose
8. When I Meet God

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Marbles
1. Neverland
    The Invisible Man
3. Ocean Cloud
4. Angelina
5. Genie
6. The Only Unforgivable Thing
    Don't Hurt Yourself
8. You're Gone
9. Fantastic Place
10. The Damage
11. Drilling Holes
12. Marbles I-IV

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Somewhere Else
1. Somewhere Else
2. A Voice From The Past
3. No Such Thing
4. Thankyou Whoever You Are
5. The Other Half
6. See It Like A Baby
    The Wound
    Faith
9. Most Toys
    The Last Century For Man

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Happiness Is The Road, Volume 1: Essence
1. Happiness Is The Road
2. Trap The Spark
3. A State Of Mind
4. Essence
5. Liquidity
6. Nothing Fills The Hole
7. Wrapped Up In Time
8. This Is The Life
9. Woke Up
10. Dream Street
11. Half-Full Jam

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Happiness Is The Road, Volume 2: The Hard Shoulder
1. The Man From The Planet Marzipan
2. Especially True
3. Older Than Me
4. Asylum Satellite #1
5. Thunder Fly
   Real Tears For Sale
7. Throw Me Out
   Whatever Is Wrong With You
9. Half The World

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Fish-Era B-Sides
1. Grendel
   Cinderella Search
3. Market Square Heroes
   Three Boats Down From The Candy
5. Charting The Single
6. Lady Nina
   Freaks
   Tux On


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H-Era B-Sides
1. Sympathy (Holidays In Eden)
   How Can It Hurt (Holidays In Eden)
3. Number One (Anoraknophobia)
   Say The Word (Somewhere Else)
5. Icon
   Live Forever
   It's Not Your Fault
8. The Bell In The Sea
   The Release
   A Collection
   Circular Ride

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Consolation
1. Ocean Cloud
2. Berlin
3. Bitter Suite
4. Assassing
5. Living With The Big Lie
6. Bitter Suite
7. A State Of Mind
8. Beautiful
9. No Such Thing
10. Older Than Me
11. Tumble Down The Years
12. Splintering Heart
13. Man Of A Thousand Faces
14. If My Heart Were A Ball
15. The Web
16. Born To Run

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Finals
1. The Invisible Man
2. Neverland
3. Ocean Cloud
 4. The Great Escape
 5. House
 6. Incubus
 7. Berlin
 8. Afraid Of Sunlight
 9. Seasons End
10. Happiness Is The Road
11. Trap The Spark
12. Interior Lulu
13. He Knows You Know
    Easter
15. Quartz
16. Childhoods End?
17. This Is The 21st Century
18. Grendel
19. This Strange Engine
20. Sugar Mice
    Somewhere Else
22. The Party
23. Estonia
    A Few Words For The Dead
25. The Last Straw
    Runaway
27. Fugazi
    Heart Of Lothian
    Gazpacho
30. Cinderella Search
    Sympathy
32. Script For A Jester's Tear
    Under The Sun
    A Voice From The Past
    How Can It Hurt
36. 100 Nights
    The Man From The Planet Marzipan
    Especially True

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-Marc.

[The Letter M]

So, as you may noticed, I am doing HITR as separate albums, allowing for 4 songs from the WHOLE album to move into the finals. Being a double album with more songs than most of their other albums, I figured it would be fair to do so. As such, two of it's songs also go into Consolation (the two 3rd Place tracks from each Volume's Survivor).

This posed a problem as to how I would approach Marbles, in that it is ALSO a double album, but not divided in two volumes like HITR. As such, my idea was to allow the TOP FOUR songs to move into the Finals, with the 5th Place song moving to Consolation. Being one of the band's stronger H-Era albums, I figure allowing the top 4 to move on would be fair in that, like HITR, it's also a double album with a LOT of material that, IMO, is worthy of Finals placement. Otherwise, I would only do the Top 2, like every other album in this survivor, and the 3rd place song would move into Consolation.

If there's a clear consensus to do it the former way, then I'll approach it when the time comes (which, at the rate this Survivor will move, won't be til waaaay later in the year). If some see it as unfair to allow about a THIRD of the album's main songs (4/11, since 4 songs are the shorter, "Marbles" pieces), then I'll stick to the latter and allow only Top 2 to move on. Also, I was thinking, for Marbles, to allow multiple-voting in the first round, just to get the "Marbles" pieces out of the way (because let's face it, none of those four would make it past the first round anyway, right?).

Feedback on this would be GREATLY appreciated in the next couple weeks before I begin the survivor! Thanks!

-Marc.

[tri.ad]

I generally approve of everything you said; I'd handle the Marbles survivor a bit different, though. Seeing as Marbles I-IV is basically one big piece, I suggest treating it as such, making this album survivor contain 12 instead of 15 songs. It may get voted out in the first round anyway, but it might have a chance of being treated a bit better imo.

I'm not sure about whether the B-sides should be included or not. I'm afraid that this survivor won't attract more than, say, ten people, and the B-sides aren't really well known (unless you have the remastered albums as double CDs).

However, all in all, I'm very glad that someone is finally tackling this.

[The Letter M]

I generally approve of everything you said; I'd handle the Marbles survivor a bit different, though. Seeing as Marbles I-IV is basically one big piece, I suggest treating it as such, making this album survivor contain 12 instead of 15 songs. It may get voted out in the first round anyway, but it might have a chance of being treated a bit better imo.

I'm not sure about whether the B-sides should be included or not. I'm afraid that this survivor won't attract more than, say, ten people, and the B-sides aren't really well known (unless you have the remastered albums as double CDs).

However, all in all, I'm very glad that someone is finally tackling this.

Hmmm, that's a good point, making "Marbles" as "Marbles I-IV" as s single track/option in the polls. This would leave 12 songs, and so, I would run the survivor as normal, with the Top 2 songs going to Finals and the 3rd place going to Consolation.

As for the B-Sides, I know many aren't known, especially the H-Era ones, but I figured I'd speed-round those, probably do 2-options each for the first couple rounds, and get a few out of the way. I may play it by ear or wait to see how much more feedback I get on this.

Also, like my Spock's Beard Survivor where I did Neal-Era and Nick-Era halves, I had also thought of doing separate Fish-Era and H-Era Survivors. Would this be more appropriate for this band, or less?

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Any more input from any Marillion fans here?

-Marc.

[tri.ad]

Not too fond of the "era halves" idea, to be honest. Granted, their style changed significantly after Seasons End, but the transition wasn't abrupt enough to justify such a distinction imo. I'd say let's keep it all in one big competition.

[The Letter M]

Not too fond of the "era halves" idea, to be honest. Granted, their style changed significantly after Seasons End, but the transition wasn't abrupt enough to justify such a distinction imo. I'd say let's keep it all in one big competition.

That was kind of my feeling too. The first two "H" albums had some resemblence to their former selves, but you're right - the transition was more gradual over the late 80's and 90's.

Keeping it one big comeptition, though, means the Finals will have about 38 competing songs. It'll be a LOOOOONG Finals.

-Marc.

[Dittomist]

Yes, this is going to be a very long, heated survivor and that's just fine with me.

[skydivingninja]

I really hope this won't turn into a "oh man they sucked after Fish left get all the Fish songs to the top ten with an odd H-song or two" finals.  I mean, not even the Genesis survivor was like that, but it seems that on the Internet most people prefer Fish-era.

I'll still participate, and I'm looking quite forward to voting on the albums I have.  And I'll do whatever it takes to make sure "Neverland" wins this whole thing.

[ClairvoyantCat]

Go H era!


Also, I'm hoping for any one of the holy trinity in Marbles to do well (Invisible Man, Ocean Cloud, Neverland) and of course Goodbye To All That!

[tri.ad]

Keeping it one big comeptition, though, means the Finals will have about 38 competing songs. It'll be a LOOOOONG Finals.

-Marc.

The Finals of the Rush Survivor has had 40 songs for the last three years. *shrugs*

[The Letter M]

I plan on starting with SFAJT on March 1st! Get ready, folks!

As usual with my Survivors, each round will run 2 days each, but unlike my past Survivors, I will only run each album to determine the Consolation Round song, so there won't be any "Best Song" Final Round. I'm only doing this to cut out a round per album (which shaves off about 36 days from the whole Survivor). HOWEVER... if it seems like the voters are voting EVERY day, and with great regularity, I may make each round ONE DAY, rather than TWO, and in that case, I will run each Album to finish and determine the best song.

If I can get commitment from you guys about voting on a daily basis, I will totally run these a round/day. LET ME KNOW GUYS!

-Marc.

[tri.ad]

I plan on starting with SFAJT on March 1st! Get ready, folks!

As usual with my Survivors, each round will run 2 days each, but unlike my past Survivors, I will only run each album to determine the Consolation Round song, so there won't be any "Best Song" Final Round.

Great. A "best song" round is pretty much a waste of time when the two remaining songs advance to the Finals anyway.

Also, I'm pretty excited for the survivor.

[skydivingninja]

GO NEVERLAND GO!

[The Letter M]

Script For A Jester's Tear Final Round Results:
Script For A Jester's Tear    2 (40%)
He Knows You Know    3 (60%)

The title track, as decided by 3 out of 5 fans, is the best on the album, but both it and "He Knows You Know" make it to the finals!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Fugazi Final Round Results:
Incubus    2 (66.7%)
Fugazi    1 (33.3%)

Final ranking updated in the initial post here. We're moving right along! Looks like MC will carry us into April and by the end of that month, we'll be through the Fish-Era albums. Question is, should I do the Fish-Era B-Sides after Clutching At Straws? Or just move along to Seasons End?

-Marc.

[Dittomist]

Hmmm, I think the b-sides should be at the end. So I would go to Season's End after Clutching at Straws.

[lonestar]

Missed this one completely, but I don't come to this board much, just saw it in Marc's sig.  I'll try to follow up to Brave, since I fell out of Marrillion after that(I know I need to get Marbles, everyone says it's their best album, and if it's better than Clutching at Straws, that would be quite a feat).

[Dittomist]

Yes, you need to get Marbles for sure. I have all of Marillion's albums and it is indeed my favorite. I also recommend checking out Anoraknophobia

[lonestar]

I will, no real reason for not following them, that was just when my kid was born, after Brave, and life kinda changed a bit then. 

[The Letter M]

Misplaced Childhood's Final Results:
Heart Of Lothian    2 (40%)
Childhoods End?    3 (60%)

Looks like, by one vote "Heart Of Lothian" is the BEST song on the album!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Clutching At Straw's Final Round Results:
Sugar Mice    3 (42.9%)
The Last Straw    4 (57.1%)

And with that, you guys voted "Sugar Mice" the best song off CAS! Now we're on to the rest of Seasons End!

-Marc.

[lonestar]

Clutching At Straw's Final Round Results:
Sugar Mice    3 (42.9%)
The Last Straw    4 (57.1%)

And with that, you guys voted "Sugar Mice" the best song off CAS! Now we're on to the rest of Seasons End!

-Marc.

[tri.ad]

Clutching At Straw's Final Round Results:
Sugar Mice    3 (42.9%)
The Last Straw    4 (57.1%)

And with that, you guys voted "Sugar Mice" the best song off CAS! Now we're on to the rest of Seasons End!

-Marc.

It's the other way round, but don't tell anyone.

[The Letter M]

Seasons End's Final Round Results:
Easter    2 (66.7%)
Seasons End    1 (33.3%)

Looks like, with only 3 voters, the band's 5th album's title track is the best on the album! Now to continue with the rest of Holidays In Eden!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Holidays In Eden's Final Round Results:
The Party    4 (100%)
100 Nights    0 (0%)

Well that was pretty unanimous! Now on to the rest of Brave, and hopefully more voters!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Forgot to bump this for Brave's final round results, but here is Afraid Of Sunlight's final round results:
Gazpacho    3 (60%)
Afraid Of Sunlight    2 (40%)

We are now down with the EMI-Era and the first four H-Era albums, and now on to the next batch! We are nearly halfway done with the studio albums!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Forgot to update this with This Strange Engine's Final Round Results, but here are the...

Final Round Results for Radiation:
Under The Sun    2 (66.7%)
A Few Words For The Dead    1 (33.3%)

Now we continue with the first of 3 really good albums, marillion.com. Despite the cheesy name, it's got some good music and even sports Steven Wilson as producer on a few tracks! Personally one of my favorite 90's Marillion albums, especially the final two tracks!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Final Round Results for marillion.com:
Interior Lulu    1 (25%)
House    3 (75%)

Prog-fans rejoice, the longest track on the album places first once again! (Following in the footsteps of "A Few Words For The Dead" and "This Strange Engine" - if "This Is The 21st Century" places 1st for Anoraknophobia, I'm developing conspiracy theories...)

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Final Round Results for Anoraknophobia:
Quartz    2 (33.3%)
This Is The 21st Century    4 (66.7%)

Quartz wins, and rightfully so, it's a good song, but both of these are definitely the two best on Anoraknophobia! Now on to the rest of Marbles!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

SUPER-BUMP!

With this Survivor nearing it's completion, I figured I'd bump this thread for everyone to see the results. After nearly a YEAR of running this, it's down to the Top Ten! It's been a fun run, but I think it'll be awhile before I tackle a Marillion Survivor again

Hopefully next time I'll get more voters and votes, but this was fun either way! I can't wait for Marillion's new album this year!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

And presenting, the Finals Rankings (in the OP)! Thanks again to everyone who participated in this (incredibly long) survivor!

-Marc.