Whoa, indeed.
Back when I discovered Transatlantic (after Dream Theater), I decided to check out the other 3 parent-bands Transatlantic's members came from. Spock's Beard came to me easily, as did nearly all of Neal's music up to that time (around 2005 when I discovered them). The Flower Kings came next, not long after, and I quickly lapped up all they had available, anxiously awaiting their next outing (which was Paradox Hotel, an album I didn't quite get into at release, but is now a top 3 TFK album for me). And then there was Marillion.
After SB and TFK, I wasn't really getting into Marillion myself, neither Fish or H era stuff, and I tried. Hard. A lot. Several times. I bought a few of their albums, spun others online, and nothing clicked with me. It wasn't until after Happiness Is The Road that I started to really get into them. Marbles clicked, then so did Season's End and Brave, and slowly but surely, the other albums started sounding good to me. I was getting into them, even Fish era stuff, while dated, started sounding good too.
I think Marillion is a fairly dense band, by that, I mean they've got a sound that is hard to get into, unless you're already opened up to it, or something like it. It's hard to pin down what they sound LIKE, other than themselves, but for whatever reason, their unique sound kind of makes a barrier for a lot of new fans.
I went through a phase of buying up a TON of Marillion stuff, from studio albums, to going on eBay to buy out-of-print Racket Record exclusives (like older Marillion Weekend shows on DVD and CD, or making-of albums, or other random live shows). I spent more money than I care to account on getting a lot of Marillion albums, and I was totally in love with the band and their sound. I missed out on the crowd-funding for HITR, but when Sounds That Can't Be Made came up, I pledged and eagerly awaited the album. I got the gorgeous book-cased CD with a wonderful chipboard slipcover. It's an amazing addition to my collection.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the pre-order campaign for FEAR, and will have to resort to the retail edition. I have to say, though, in the years since STCBM, I've died down on my love for Marillion. Still a great band, yes, but I'm not AS obsessed as I was before. I haven't scoured their Racket Records shop for new Marillion Weekend shows or live albums, and I haven't really listened to them all that much in the last couple of years (I blame Haken and Big Big Train for being the "newer" bands in my life that I have obsessed over).
TL;DR - I can completely resonate with the feel that Marillion is just too hard to get into, so don't feel bad and don't feel pressured to get into them. If you try again in a few years, you may find yourself liking them as I did.
-Marc.
Topic: Marillion (Read 180720 times)
