Brave is my favourite too. If there's a Marillion record that deserves an album reaction is this one. The high res steven wilson stereo mix sounds a-m-a-z-i-n-g
What is even more impressive is this is only one song on the double album: "Marbles". So many brilliant works on one release! An amazing achievement. They did it on their own with their fans only to support them. I'm so proud I was in on the pre-sale. My name is in the booklet! There is no band like Marillion!
In my opinion of fan of Marillion for 36 years, it's perhaps their bet song ever. Awesome epic full of emotion, power chords and ever changing moods with gorgeous guitar soli from Steve.
This could be the most complete piece of music Marillion has ever made. The band is firing on all cylinders. The lyrics and story have meaning for me. It's a great metaphor for life in general. There are times when it's smooth sailing and other times when the storms batter you. I listen to this song often when I need some motivation to keep going.
So few reviewers even look at Marillion, I've seen some reactors look at one hit wonders and totally ignore this amazing body of work. Thanks for championing this band Doug and your insight into the musicality of their music really gives it a new perspective to me.
Marillion, they sure do know how to tell a story with their amazing musical soundscapes. The whole Marbles album is stunning. Thank you so much Doug for the great reaction and for spreading your enthusiasm for the music we love.
That magic moment in time when they finished playing this song at the 2015 Marillion Weekend in Wolverhamption and the applause and cheering just went on and on for what felt like several minutes. Had Pete right in front of me from my 2nd row view - he was definitely feeling it. As were we all. I was ruined for any music other than "Marbles" for the next year and a half, to the point where I was despairing of ever enjoying any other music again - fortunately (debateable), that obsession eventually passed. Powerful stuff.
I'm so glad that you mentioned Ian's drumming. I always thought through the years that he deserves much much more credit than he gets for the sound of the band. I love these guys so much, but Ian has a special place in my mind & heart. Thanks & cheers.
What a piece! Ordinarily, I think of synthesizer pitch-bending as an overused gimmick, but here they are conveying the sense of the ocean's instability. Add to that the band's soulful interpretation - Brilliant!
Welcome to the family, fellah. You've 20 fantastic studio albums to catch up on, but I'd check out some of the live videos first. In the studio, this band is brilliant, but on stage, they are untouchable
I heard fugazi in 1984 and bought a drum kit. Told Ian this 16 years later and he invited me to Aylesbury to "complete" my education. I never went, it's hard to meet your Gods... ❤
Once again you've introduced me to some great music I'd overlooked, thanks Doug. I'd seen Marillion in concert way back in the 80's when Fish was lead singer and was into them for a while but not heard much from the 90's onward. I was just thinking to myself that this track had a Pink Floyd feel to it just before you said it yourself. Going to have to explore their back catalogue now. All the best. Mark from Scotland.
‘Ocean Cloud is a beautiful piece of music. Steve Hogarth is such a wonderful storyteller and every member of the band are incredible musicians .I love listening to them,they take me to another world.
Brilliant. Showed me some more in depth understanding of this brilliant composition. You must must do their album brave in its entirety. Completely a piece of genius and divided at the time. It truly is music you need to hear. X
Like @karenchristensen9226, we were also there from the US. It was so emotional seeing this band I've loved for almost 40 years at the Royal Albert Hall that I had tears leaking down my cheeks for the entirety of both shows. They truly are amazing.
@@fryedaniel I had the slightly shorter journey from Germany, having spent a few days in London for the first time for the two memorable concerts. Yeah, tears came to my eyes too
Hey Doug, I love your enthusiasm for Marillion! I have followed and love this astonishing band since 1983, I lost count the number of their gigs I’ve attended, often all or nearly every show on their UK tours. Let me tell you that as amazing as they are on record these guys are even better live, Steve H is a consummate performer, he can hold the whole crown in the palm of his hand, together Marillion add up to much more than the sum of members! The atmosphere is like no other concerts, the audience are as one, it’s spiritual, it’s emotional and special. You really do need to experience a Marillion Weekend! And yes Ian is a very underrated drummer, so it’s great you recognised and commented on his exceptional input to the overall soundscapes that Marillion produce! Thank you for another great review!
I keep coming back to Marbles time after time. So many great songs, such good musicianship. One of their best albums and for me one of the best albums ever made. Proud to have helped them create it by preordering.
Best song and best Marillion album ever! By listening this song you actually feel you are in the middle of the sea in a rocky boat. This song has so many Floyd and Genesis influences, especially the "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" part :) Every single instrument has their part, but the keyboard sweeps and the vocal performance are incredible!
Thank you for all the music. I wonder if you ever heard about the fantastic German prog band RPWL. The are amazing and quite great here in Europe. Best wishes for you and all your friends.
Thank you so much for listening to this masterpiece :) You touched on this in your review; the four short Marbles Interludes are integral to the whole album; they are the glue that binds the whole theme together. And yes you are so right; marbles is very much a metaphor for the state of mind; but also one of H’s favourite childhood games that unfolds through the four Marbles pieces. If you every get chance to listen to the full album in one sitting I’d highly recommend it. Thank you :)
Just a small remark for those buying cds/Lp's; this song is only on the deluxe edition of Marbles! P.s. The invisible man is also a song on the record 😅
I love the moments of quiet reflection whenever you finish listening to a Marillion track. I know that feeling. And there are so many of their tracks that do that for me. Neverland please.
When you eventually get around to the masterpiece that is Brave, please do the whole album in one go... it's the sum of its parts. Else it'll be like reviewing scenes from a film.
Doug, not 100% sure, but If I remember correctly Ocean Cloud has not been available on the retail CD, only for the Marillion fan's version. Just later on it has become available. Which also shows that the guys understand how to treat a fan base giving them something you cannot get elsewhere. And it might come back as well - remember during Covid, as the band struggled to get insurance for their planned tour. They reached out to the fans and got all the money necessary and paid back afterwards with some goodies included - fantastic.
In 2008, when I was 18, I made friends with three older gentlemen on a prog forum…a bass player from Georgia, a French-Canadian radio show host, and a man from the Netherlands who was sold out on Marillion from the band’s start. I heard a good amount about Marillion back in the Progbase days, but Jan was the first person I met who preferred their H material to Fish, and hailed Marbles as their best album…and Ocean Cloud as his favorite song from the band. Sadly, our radio host friend passed in 2012 (RIP Al Maheux), and I fell out of contact with Jan several a few years later. For as different as my friends’ tastes in prog were, we all loved talking together. I attribute much of my music taste today to those guys, but especially Jan. If he wasn’t so adamant about how great Steve Hogarth is, I don’t know if he’d have wound up being one of my biggest inspirations as a singer. Thank you, friend….I miss you. MY REACTION REQUESTS FOR THE PROGBASE GUYS: Garolou - “Germaine” (My favorite from the first homemade radio show recording Al mailed me…according to him, the band took these old French poems and set them to music) The Flower Kings - “The Truth Will Set You Free” (Jonas Reingold is Kevin’s favorite bassist…he also got me into Reingold’s other band, Karmakanic) Gazpacho - “Night” “I believe the most meaningful band I’ve shown you is Gazpacho. Night must be listened to at late night!” -Jan
i also recommended it at discord! it is a wonderful, sublime song. I'm happy you have chosen this. Marillion is one of my absolute favourite bands. Thanks to have so much of them on your channel! 🙏
I had never heard of Marillion until last year. I agree Doug, I get a very David Gilmore vibe from this piece, and YES, that is a good thing. Again, I must mention Alexandra Zerner, as she turned me on to Marillion's music and I love it. She has followed the same avenue as Marillion, music business wise. She has done all of her own work, with no help from a big record label. She has a song called "Blue Marble", from her "Silhouette" album, now I wonder how much of her inspiration came from this album. Silhouette is all about dealing with inner struggles, ie. keeping your marbles!
Doug wait til you get to "The Great Escape" off Brave. If you don't get choked up, goosebumps and rung out I'd be surprised. Great choice with Ocean Cloud, one of their top 10 songs.
Thanx so much Doug for this reaction and analysis video!!!!!! One of Marillion's many, many best songs. Your reaction reminds me of my reaction the first time I heard Ocean Cloud. And many other of their songs. This is why Marillion has been my favourite band since I first heard He Knows You Know from their first album, Script For A Jester's Tear. I can not emphasize enough that too fully appreciate just how great these guys are, you have to see them live!!! Thanx Nick for suggesting this great track.
They performed this song at PZ in 2019. Ocean Cloud was spellbinding, the rest of the band disappeared into the light show, and you could believe h's keyboard was his boat adrift on the ocean. Sadly the video footage was lost.
YES as to the (early) Pink Floyd vibes...was going to throw some comparison song links w/timestamps your way to point this out, but then you mentioned the connection. Well done, not many would've gotten that.
They do not make them like this anymore. The orchestration matches the lyrics and it matches the imagination of those who are still capable of it. Wonderful. Sweeping. Majestic.
Love it. My favorite album. Marbles lost, and the invisible man, which is a call back to the first track on the album. This song takes you through getting older and irrelevant, amongst other things such as being homeless or unseen by someone you love. All great stuff.
There are albums you fail to mention that are levels above what you chose to mention. Music is subjective, but objectively there are brilliant albums not on your list.
By chance I was listening this very song today as I was driving around Illinois. The version from "With Friends from the Orchestra" it would be a good album for you to dip into with alternate versions of several Hogarth era songs.
I was so glad that they managed to sustain themselves by this crowdfunding. And I took part of it, admittedly by their offer to give all subsribers a special 2-CD-oversized-64 (or even 12?) -page artistically well-done version too big for my cd-rack (hehe). I still honour this special version very much. And it looks great in my special rack for things like this! 'Ocean Cloud', btw, was one of the four extra songs (!!!) not available on the standard single-CD issue. Three more songs of 5 to 7 minutes of also astonishing quality were added to please us crowd funders. Lucky you, who missed it: in 2015 they released the full 2-DC set LIVE! In the original order and with three more songs from other albums as encore. Enjoy! Amazing band in so many ways...
If you never could so far, catch them alive or even follow them along a few concerts (they change the song setup nearly every evening). You will be flooded with such a fine carpet of emotions. And if you have to travel to Europe for that. Do it and enjoy :)
I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions, but two songs I really like are "When I Meet God" and "This is the 21st Century" off the Anoraknophobia album. Both epics...
Hi Doug, great analyse as Always. Some good Suggestions here for other jewells of the Marillos. I propose "Gaza". Please search for the live ones of their Videos. You will be surprised!!! By the way, the ones live at the Royal Albert Hall Show ... Superb... 🎇
One of the best tracks from a quite sensational album Doug, enjoy the rest of it, especially The Only Unforgivable Thing, one of the best songs they have ever written - enjoy!
Thanks for giving this (incredible) piece a listen. Marillion's just as good as it gets. Can I suggest the collective named «ArchiveA? Maybe Lights (the song)? You might enjoy what they do too :)
Doug I’ve just looked through the Marillion songs you have reviewed and I can’t seem to find the track The Great Escape, any chance you could share your thoughts with us whilst listening to this fantastic piece of music ,I’d love to see your reaction to one of my all time favorite Marillion songs ..
They played this for the first at their fan convention in '03. Listened to the first few minutes, didn't like it and went to the bar/loo. Heard it again on the new album a few months later - amazing!
You havent listened all the way through Marbles? Oh wow. Immense. This is an absolutely staggering piece of musical storytelling You've not done Neverland yet? To my mind, that song is like the Marillion equivalent of Comfortably Numb. If and when it resonates with you, its like bordering on a spiritual experience. You have to listen to Neverland..... oh and on the subject of Marillion storytelling..... Out Of This World from the album Afraid Of Sunlight...... absolutely epic and so full of emotion and what that led to - the recovery of the boat Bluebird, the finding of the body of Donald Campbell... you've got to listen to it. Got to.
