SCRIPT FOR A JESTER'S TEAR

The year was 1983. Progressive was a genre forbidden to be talked about in the press at the time. Or so it seems. Nevertheless for some musicians it did not matter. Music came first and if some punters decided prog was no more, then some would prove them wrong. And Script For a Jesters Tear was one of the first and surely the strongest one to emerge that year, showing the world prog music was alive and well and having a great breed!.

I still remember how I felt at the time as the sole human being who still enjoyed prog music. When I heard this album I was completely bowled over. Yes, the singer has a voice so similar to Peter Gabriel it misled a lot of people to believe they were copying early Genesis (some very ignorant ones still do!) Poor Fish! Was he guilty of having a similar voice? But the music was quite original, exciting and new. The lyrics were so unique! Fish proved to be one of the true poets fo his time (Twelfth Night's Mann was another). Every track here is a gem. Contrary to Genesis fantasy stories, the subjects here are much more down to earth, dealing with drugs , personality crises, the irish conflict, the hollywood lure, etc. All songs are wraped up with great melodies, the band played brilliant and unlike 70's too much keyboard oriented work, this new british acts would give the guitar a proeminent play.

This album is a a neo prog classic and worth all the praising it has been giving since its release more than 20 years ago. No wonder Marillion was considered the main figure of the neo prog movement. How many bands star with a work as powerful as this one? And how many delivered such great albums in a row? (I'm talking about Marillion WITH Fish, of course). Highly recommended to anyone who likes prog music in particular or good music in general.