At that time of the night When streetlights throw crosses through window frames Paranoia roams where the shadows reign Oh, at that time of the night
At that time of the night Your senses tangled in some new perfume Criticism triggers of a loaded room Oh, at that time of the night (From MarillionClutching at Straws,At that time of the night)
回想當年聆聽搖滾樂之初，總覺得流派眾多而令人眼花撩亂，至於所謂的「經典」專輯更是”找”之不盡、”聽”之不竭，各派高手自有獨門絕招而成為一方霸主。 Yes 的90125、King Crimson 的In the Court of the Crimson King、Pink Floyd 的The Dark Side of the Moon、Genesis的Selling England by the Pound……
前面列舉的「經典」之作，其實只是刻意挑選出Progressive Rock 的這些元老做為引子，從而80 年代衍生的 Neo-Progressive Rock 最具代表性的Marillion才是我這次想要推介的樂團。 但事實上，我必須承認在最初聽到Marillion的當下，我應該還不曾想過這些喜愛的樂團自有一條隱形的血脈相連著吧！
http://marillion.com/band/pressroom.htm#biog Marillion are one of the UK music scene’s best kept secrets; purveyors of soulful, powerful, and often deeply-moving music, with a long-standing reputation for blistering live shows which have earned them an impressive and faithful global fanbase. Steve "h" Hogarth fronts the band (original lead-singer, "Fish", having departed in 1988) and brought a new heart and energy to the band when arriving in 1989 and becoming lead-vocal/lyricist. Predictions of doom were swiftly dispelled, as across a further TWELVE albums, Hogarth – along with existing members Steve Rothery (guitar), Mark Kelly(keyboards), Pete Trewavas (bass), and Ian Mosley (drums) – reinvigorated and constantly redefined Marillion’s sound. They forged into new musical territories with a succession of inventive, emotional albums, displaying little regard to the vagaries of the musical "Fashion Police", or radio playlists. The line-up remains unchanged to this day. After the release of 1999’s ‘marillion.com’ the band banished the spectre of record company pressure once and for all by launching their own record label (the aptly-named Intact imprint) and freeing themselves up to produce some of the finest music of their career.
以上是Marillion 在官網中的自我介紹，如果想要追溯這個樂團更早的陣容及其非凡的成就，或可直接參考維基百科及其他網路資料： http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marillion Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist and frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve Hogarth in early 1989. While the Fish era was more commercially successful, the band have enjoyed Top 10 albums and singles in the UK under the leadership of both singers. The band continue to tour internationally, and were ranked 38th in Classic Rock's "50 Best Live Acts of All Time" in 2008
http://www.books.com.tw/exep/cdfile.php?item=0020131572 已邁入第30年歷史的海獅合唱團Marillion，是由第一任主唱Fish、吉他手Steve Rothery、鼓手Mick Pointer於1979在英國Aylesbury所成軍。在第一任主唱Fish領軍的10年之中，Marillion一共發行了《Script for a Jester’s Tear》（UK #7）、《Fugazi》（UK #5）、《Misplaced Childhood》（UK #1）、《Clutching at Straws》（UK #2）四張專輯，並締造出多首成功單曲，傲人的表現讓他們成為Progressive Rock最具代表性樂團之ㄧ，也常常被媒體拿來與創世紀合唱團Genesis相提並論。1998年在推出第四張專輯之後，第一任主唱Fish便離團求去，改由第二任主唱Steve Hogarth接棒帶領著Marillion繼續閃耀著搖滾光芒。Marillion出道至今一共發行過14張錄音室專輯、五張現場演唱專輯、三十五張單曲，在全球累積出1500萬張的驚人銷量。
而在下面這篇文章中，似乎把 Neo-Progressive Rock 和 Marillion 畫上等號，該作者直接將 Marillion 主唱走馬換將視為Neo-Progressive Rock 的終結，不可否認，第二任主唱 Steve Hogarth 接手的 Marillion，樂團風格已有明顯變化，但就個人感覺，換手之後推出的Seasons End 依然可堪稱佳作。 http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d4399 The Neo-Progressive subgenre of progressive rock grew out of a movement in the early 1980s by a number of U.K.-based bands that focused on music that was deeper than new wave, both instrumentally and lyrically. The premier band of the genre was Marillion, who went from lengthy club tours to the top of the charts within a few years and dropped from popular favor almost as fast. Neo-Prog bands are generally influenced by early Genesis, Camel, and to a lesser extent, Van der Graf Generator and Pink Floyd. The music holds a much more lush sound than general rock, but lacks the sophistication of truly symphonic progressive bands like Yes or Camel. Instrumentally, the bands tend to be characterized by a "noodling" approach that focuses on dynamic solos, and at its best, neo-prog lyrics are deep, insightful, and acerbic. Whether neo-prog is diluted progressive or adventurous pop depends on the point of view of the listener -- most progressive rock listeners are likely to find the genre dull and unchallenging, while fans of AOR will find the mix more interesting than most rock bands. Although all of the major bands are still producing albums, the classic era of neo-prog effectively ended when vocalist Fish left Marillion in 1987.
1987 年發行的Clutching at Straws 是Marillion 的第四張專輯，同時也是主唱 Fish 在 1988 年離開前的最後一張專輯，也許它的原創性比不上第一張專輯Script for a Jester’s Tear；它受歡迎的熱度也比不上Misplaced Childhood，但做為「經典」的潛力價值應該是不遑多讓！
Marillion 鼓手Ian Mosley如是說： http://marillion.com/music/albums/cas.htm Clutching at Straws : December 1998 In some respects, the making of this album followed the familiar path inherent in any creative project. Months of writing, recording and mixing songs, in a collaborative effort alongside bandmates who become temporarily, if not forever, intertwined in each other's lives. The ups and downs included bursts of laughter, practical jokes, flashes of genius; as well as moments of silence, hours of pub-crawling, days of dedicated work and as expected, the predictable disagreements that either fuelled the projects' process or brought it to a screeching halt. It was 1987, and if the 80's were defined by women, drugs and booze 'Clutching At Straws' represented last call. The final round served up amidst good cheer and familiar faces before the lights were thrown on, drawing not only the evening but the era to a close.
“Neo-progressive rock is characterized by deeply emotional content, often delivered via dramatic lyrics and a generous use of imagery and theatricality on-stage. The music is mostly the product of careful composition, relying less heavily on improvised jamming. The subgenre relies very much on clean, melodic & emotional electric guitar solos, combined with keyboards.” 維基百科這一段對於Neo-Progressive Rock 的介紹，同樣套用在Marillion 身上，我想是相當貼切的，他們常以「概念專輯」的方式鋪陳音樂故事，旋律優美而自制的即興演出，像極了康丁斯基的抒情抽象畫所表現出來的音樂性。 那麼，就來聽聽看 1987 年，Marillion 敲饗Neo-Progressive Rock喪鐘的這張專輯中的二連發Warm wet circles & That time of the night 吧！
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