Lyrics
And we're back! I'm probably not going to keep to a particularly regular schedule from here, but I do plan to get an absolute minimum of one a week out, and probably more most weeks.
So. "Drilling Holes" is the natural song to turn to to break out of this slump, because if my constant submission to sloth prevents me from writing about a song that is itself about constant submission to sloth, I assume it will also prevent me writing about anything else. Does that logic seem sound to you?
It seems like it should be completely inappropriate that such a lazy song in subject matter is actually one of the most upbeat songs on Marbles, but it works well because it's a change of pace from the generally slow and atmospheric nature of the album, which complements the way the jovial lyrics offset the usual sober introspection. And it's nice to see that Marillion don't actually take everything 100% seriously all the time (though clearly I frequently enjoy the times when they do) - from the brilliantly convoluted rewriting of "Why put off until tomorrow what you can leave for the day after" in the first verse to the unexpected harpsichord-sounding breakdown halfway through, it's all so gloriously whimsical.
Just a great soundtrack to a hot summer day spent lounging around in the grass, perhaps enjoying a cold beer, and watching the world pass by. You know, one of those days.
Showing posts with label Marbles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marbles. Show all posts
Monday, 27 August 2007
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
Marbles III
Lyrics
An interlude. Writing separate entries for all four of the Marbles title tracks is surely an exercise in redundancy, but nonetheless, the project would not feel truly complete without them. On the 1CD version of the album, they provide a narrative thread entwined throughout to tie the themes of it all together and give a greater sense of unity to the whole thing. On the 2CD version they're just spread far to thin to have any such effect, and end up seeming like rather pointless little vignettes.
This one's probably my favourite of the four, if that means anything much. The young Hogarth has, at this point, developed quite a sizeable collection of marbles, but alas, tragedy was about to strike; "There were almost four hundred until the black day/I discovered how high they would fly through the sky/If you used them for tennis instead of a ball". It is, as all songs about one's childhood inevitably turn out to be, a symbolic lament for a loss of innocence, in this case self inflicted. But that covers all four sections; the reason this one is my favourite is just the nice bouncy keyboard line it starts off with. Simple things, eh.
An interlude. Writing separate entries for all four of the Marbles title tracks is surely an exercise in redundancy, but nonetheless, the project would not feel truly complete without them. On the 1CD version of the album, they provide a narrative thread entwined throughout to tie the themes of it all together and give a greater sense of unity to the whole thing. On the 2CD version they're just spread far to thin to have any such effect, and end up seeming like rather pointless little vignettes.
This one's probably my favourite of the four, if that means anything much. The young Hogarth has, at this point, developed quite a sizeable collection of marbles, but alas, tragedy was about to strike; "There were almost four hundred until the black day/I discovered how high they would fly through the sky/If you used them for tennis instead of a ball". It is, as all songs about one's childhood inevitably turn out to be, a symbolic lament for a loss of innocence, in this case self inflicted. But that covers all four sections; the reason this one is my favourite is just the nice bouncy keyboard line it starts off with. Simple things, eh.
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
The Only Unforgivable Thing
Lyrics
One of the four Lost Marbles, as I call them; the songs from the proper double CD version of Marbles that weren't included on the streamlined, stripped down single CD version released out in the real world because "record shops generally don't like to sell double albums".
What's the worst thing you've ever done? Whatever your answer, whatever criteria you're defining it by, you know what it is, because, well... that sticks with you. It'll stay with you forever, no matter how you try to leave it at the bottom of a bottle, or focus on happier things. There will always be that voice that will remind you, in your darkest times, you are capable of this.
And so it is with the only unforgivable thing that Steve Hogarth has ever done, whatever that might be. It's left pretty open to interpretation throughout. And, uh, that's a lot of out to keep it through; "The Only Unforgivable Thing" opens and closes with some lovely church organ sounds, and the bit in between is pleasantly melancholy, but man does it go on a bit, without ever really changing much. It's not the worst offender for this on Marbles, but still probably the most deservedly absent of the four omissions they made in condensing the sprawling double album down to the one CD that was released to the unenlightened plebians who have not yet found a better way of life.
Other people have said this before me, but I'll repeat, because it is definitely true: There is a fantastic single album somewhere in Marbles, it's just not quite the one they actually released. This song, however, doesn't appear on the real or the ideal.
One of the four Lost Marbles, as I call them; the songs from the proper double CD version of Marbles that weren't included on the streamlined, stripped down single CD version released out in the real world because "record shops generally don't like to sell double albums".
What's the worst thing you've ever done? Whatever your answer, whatever criteria you're defining it by, you know what it is, because, well... that sticks with you. It'll stay with you forever, no matter how you try to leave it at the bottom of a bottle, or focus on happier things. There will always be that voice that will remind you, in your darkest times, you are capable of this.
And so it is with the only unforgivable thing that Steve Hogarth has ever done, whatever that might be. It's left pretty open to interpretation throughout. And, uh, that's a lot of out to keep it through; "The Only Unforgivable Thing" opens and closes with some lovely church organ sounds, and the bit in between is pleasantly melancholy, but man does it go on a bit, without ever really changing much. It's not the worst offender for this on Marbles, but still probably the most deservedly absent of the four omissions they made in condensing the sprawling double album down to the one CD that was released to the unenlightened plebians who have not yet found a better way of life.
Other people have said this before me, but I'll repeat, because it is definitely true: There is a fantastic single album somewhere in Marbles, it's just not quite the one they actually released. This song, however, doesn't appear on the real or the ideal.
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