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Rating: Definitely "Radiation" is an album that quite distinguishes itself from the previous works of this band. Marillion over the years have always been able to renew themselves, presenting interesting and noteworthy records, open to experimentation, while always maintaining that touch of originality that has made Marillion one of the most important and followed bands in the Neoprogressive scene, an originality that, in my view, they acquired with the entry of Steve Hogarth into the band, where he debuted with "Seasons End". This record already partly strays far from the Marillion with Fish, who were clearly influenced by Genesis' music, and not only that, even Fish's voice seems to resemble the warm and direct voice of Peter Gabriel. To be fair, however, it must also be said that the early Marillion with Fish released records that have remained in the hearts of many fans, such as "Misplaced Childhood" a cornerstone of progressive rock, where the single "Kayleigh" achieved great success worldwide. After "Clutching at Straws", the last album with singer Fish, the subsequent "Seasons End" built a bridge between the new and old Marillion, leading up to "Holidays in Eden", where the band showcases a more approachable sound compared to previous works. This change of direction, however, leaves a bitter taste for fans more attached to the band's old musical style, even though "Holidays in Eden" is undoubtedly a great album. The subsequent "Brave", however, is considered by general critics to be the first great masterpiece of the Hogarth era, while subsequent albums like "Afraid of Sunlight" and "This Strange Engine" once again take a different path, full of ideas, where the band's creativity and desire to renew is never lacking, causing discontent among some fans who did not appreciate these changes in direction, which are nevertheless important for a band open to experimentation.
"Radiation" is yet another turning point for Marillion, a good, interesting album where guitars and vocal approach take on a primary and essential role in all the tracks. The album opens with the track "Costa Del Slough" which immediately disorients the listener, with a confused, uncertain, and fragmentary sound, that seems to allude in the first seconds to the entire album. It is followed by "Under The Sun", a very bright track with a nice chorus, excellent riffs and solos by Steve Rothery. At the end of the track, bassist Peter Trewavas pronounces the following phrase: "Thank God we don't do this on stage, eh?"
Steve Rothery concludes by exclaiming: "Good evening Amsterdam".
Let's leave Rothery in doubt, as "The Answering Machine", the third track of this album, arrives, carefree and engaging, accompanied by Steve Rothery's acoustic guitar. The fourth track on the album "Three Minute Boy" is a very delicate song, beautifully interpreted by Steve Hogarth vocally, equally delicate is the following "Now She'll Never Know" sweetened by Mark Kelly's keyboard, a very sweet yet also sad song, as the musical lyrics demonstrate:
Now she'll Never know
What anyone could tell her
Now she'll never know
What anyone can see
Now she won't believe me
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Costa del Slough (01:27)
The hole in the ozone layer is alright by me
'Makes England warmer in the summer
Them tropical guys had it too good too long
High time they learned to sing another song
And anyway, what's wrong with the odd melanoma
If it get's us all out of the coma.
02 Under the Sun (04:10)
It used to rain
Dreary and grey
Most every day but not any more
We come out of our homes
We lie down
Under the cloud that never comes
We roll in the radiation
And we make love
Under the sun
Under the sun
The polar ice is melting
'Suits me fine
We go to the beach
On the Northern Line
We watch the sea
Comin' up the street
Under the sun
Under the sun
It used to rain
Dreary and grey
Most every day but not any more
We take off our clothes
And have some fun
Under the sun
Under the sun
03 The Answering Machine (03:47)
We flew here to see you
My feelings and I
I looked down on the city
From up in the sky
The sun was reflecting
From the roofs and the water
Spring had come early
In the parks and the old town
I came with a mission
To patch up a dream
We walked and I talked and my words were absorbed
Into the answering machine
I came two thousand miles
Just to take a look at you
But you were broken and frozen
A heartbreak of a statue
In the bullet-proof mirrors
Where your eyes used to be
I stared at myself and I called for some help
Into the answering machine
The day slipped by and I tried and tried
You took me home and you said
"Goodnight, Sleep tight"
On the floor by the bedroom door
I watched you sleep and I left before first light
The bugs don't bite
The bugs don't bite
The bugs bite
From the land of the frozen
To the land of the low
We journeyed together
But we were always alone
So if I should come calling
Best not pick up the phone
Cause I'm no good for you and you're no good for me
Let me talk to the answering machine
I can cope with the answering machine
I'm a friend of the answering machine
08 Cathedral Wall (07:19)
Curl up tight into a ball
Curl my body against the soil
Staring up here
At the cathedral wall
I will sleep tonight
Be a baby
Forget it all
Be a baby
Watch the quiet stones
Massive friend
Cathedral wall
I will sleep tonight
A mother to the living
A mother to the dead
Silent as the moonlight
I come to lay my head
And I won't know you
Anymore
The peckish evening rolls once more
Into the ravenous night
Of hunger pains
That keep our troubled souls awake
We are forbidden to explain
A mother to the living
A mother to the dead
My ghost will drink the moonlight
Magic stones
My heart and bones
And I won't know you
Anymore
She's cold
She knows me
Cathedral wall
She's cold
She shows
I borrow
Keep away
Keep you away my love, my love
And pray I might sleep tonight
The violence of my heartbeat
The violence of the blood
I will sleep with the cathedral
And, one day, you'll give up
And I will love you
But I won't know you
Anymore
My frenzied and exhausted mind
Will somehow find a way
To leave you for a time
Condemned to lieing
And lying awake
[These chains are all your own...]
09 A Few Words for the Dead (10:32)
"The songs and the music that I portray comes from the heart, and comes from the mind. That makes it... that makes me feel that I am delivering the right information"
Can you make it your own
Can you take it by the throat
Make your own luck, learn the skills
Get in early for the kill
It carries on
Pick up the weapon
Marry it, give it your name
Define yourself by it
Take it down 'the disco
Trigger happy, pulling power
Lady killer, take 'em out
See the weirdos on the hill
Come to get you if you stand still
It carries on
Somewhere in history you were wronged
Teach your children to bang the drum
Tell all your family, tell all your friends
Teach your brothers to avenge
It carries on
Or you could love
You could love
Lie down in the flowers
In the blue of the air
Open your eyes
Why use up your life for anything else?
No need to fight for what everyone has
What do you need?
It's already there
It's already there
You could love
So he carried the stars in his pocket
Drank the sunrise till he was drunk
He embraced the angels
They swam like little minnows in his blood
Ghosts in his eyes
Out walking beside him
Laughing like children in his mind
They chanted his mantra together
You could love
They were happy
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