SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

I'll give myself a level 2 on this album as I have heard 5 of the 6 tracks on it. (close enough). In fact, the first track I heard from it was Garden Party when MTV played it for a while in 83. I didn't quite know what to make of it at the time, but I knew that I immediately loved it! MTV didn't know what to do with Marillion though, as they kept trying to feature them on Headbanger's Ball and seemed to consider them to be a metal band. (I remember Bruce Dickinson as a guest VJ playing Kayleigh a few years later.) It wasn't until the early 2000s when I became active online, that I began to learn more about Marillion and hear more of their music. While I have never owned a physical album, I have really had the opportunity to dive in in the age of streaming. So, without further fanfare, let's dig into the script!

Track 1 - Script for a Jester's Tear

We begin with the title track in which Fish begins singing with Mark Kelly's piano playing right from the get-go. The song is very theatrical, and (as has been said many times before) is reminiscent of Gabriel era Genesis. I love when the band kicks in at 1:25, then really changes things up at around 1:45. When we hit "the game is over" at 2:30. The tempo picks up even more and we get the first Steve Rothery guitar solo on the album. There is another short verse followed by a second guitar solo. I love the harmonized guitar lines. Things chill out at 4:05 and get very quiet for a moment. They have acquired Genesis' penchant for great use of dynamics to keep the music interesting. We have mid-tempo power chords at 5:45 as the band amps things up again. After a vocal section, Rothery has another short solo between verses. The song closes out on this section with a long fade-out. Superb track.

Track 2 - He Knows You Know

We fade in with a guitar riff, keys, and vocals. The rhythm section gives some accents, and we're off. There is a quiet part at around 1:40 and we kick back in at around 2:14. Mark Kelly is featured next on a simple but effective synth solo, followed by a Rothery guitar solo. While this all seems to be in 4-4 there is a lot of rhythmic variation happening underneath it all. Cool song.

Track 3 - The Web

This is the one that I don't think I've heard before. This one starts out a bit rock-ier than the first 2. However, after an opening verse, things come down to a quieter part with clean guitar arpeggios underneath. We pick back up again following that. At around 2:30 we have an even quieter part that begins with whispered vocals. The keyboards play a countermelody with the vocals starting at around 3:30. A guitar solo follows, with a lot more flashy fast playing than Rothery normally tends to do. Killer drum fills from Mick Pointer start at around 4:40 and herald a change of rhythm as the solo continues. The previous rhythm returns at around 5:05, while the solo still continues. The solo concludes around 5:30 and Fish returns with vocals. There is another quiet section around 6:15. There is a 6-8 keyboard pattern, then the rest of the band gives accents as they come back in to accompany a keyboard solo in 6-8. The solo is good, but the tone he is using needs a bit more presence. There is another verse and the song concludes. Pretty good track, but not my favorite on the album. Rothery gets a heck of a long time to solo, though, which is a plus.

Track 4 - Garden Party

Ah yes, my gateway Marillion song that I heard over 40 years ago and made an impression that never left. Still one of my faves from the band. Mark Kelly's synth pattern fades in, joined by accents from the rest of the band, then Fish's vocals. I love how Fish rolls his R's. I love how the band playing accents over the keyboard part builds tension. I also love the quiet parts with minimal instrumentation. I like the accelerated tempo as the keyboard solo starts. Trewavas has a nice bass line here. One of my favorite parts is the bridge following the keyboard solo (I'm punting?. etc. especially that rolled R on reclining. I'm guessing MTV played an edited version to censor the F bomb in this section). This is such a fun track. Very British! (Maybe that's why they never took off in the US in a big way.)

Track 5 - Chelsea Monday

After some ambient sounds, Trewavas plays a mid-tempo bass riff, and the vocals begin with more atmospheric types of sounds from the band. The band kicks in fully at around 2:10 with a soaring Rothery solo. While he showed that he can play faster, more traditional rock licks a couple of songs ago, this is where I think he really excels as a soloist. There is a quieter part following the solo with Fish singing in a recitative type of style?half spoken half sung. I love the keyboard tone at 5:20. Fish seems to be having a conversation starting at around 6:25. It seems like the song is coming to a close at 7:10, but not quite yet. There is a quiet closing section still to come before we wrap it up.

Track 6 - Forgotten Sons

We start with a radio being tuned to a channel, then a high energy, quick tempo riff begins. The opening verse has echoes after each line to effectively repeat each phrase. The tempo and rhythm change at around 50 seconds in. The keyboard and vocals are featured with band accents (a common device on this album). A guitar solo follows. But Fish comes back in practically screaming! Very dramatic vocals. Things drop out around 2:15 with a distorted guitar riff with different spoken word parts layered over the top. The band comes back together over Trewavas' bass riff and Rothery's funky guitar part with Pointer keeping a groove on the drums. Sustained keyboards ride over the top. After a short lull where the bass rhythmically repeats a single note, the band starts playing staccato accents while Fish does a spoken part that sounds like 2 different people at the same time are overdubbed. As we proceed through the section, things build in intensity. There is a brief pause in the music while Fish says, "Halt who goes there, Death, approach friend." Then there is a slightly quieter section where the band plays steadily as Fish sings about the horrors of war. Kelly occasionally plays trumpet-like parts that sound like bugle calls. And we close with a "Picardy third" (a major chord to end a piece in a minor key).

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

Wow, Fish sure keeps things intense, doesn't he? What really impresses me is that 3 of the 5 members on this debut album are still in the band more than 40 years later! There was a brief period where they tried to find the right drummer a few times before settling on Ian Moseley who remains to this day. Then, of course Steve Hogarth replaced Fish after he left the band and has remained in place for 35 years. But they certainly came to their debut album with a fully formed sound right away. This is a fantastic album, but I think they will reach their artistic peak with Fish a couple of albums later. I'll give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Clicking 4, but really 4.5!!