Marillion “This Strange Engine” (Deluxe Edition with 5.1 mix out in November!)

[splinter7]

seriously this new mix is his best yet

That isn't saying much

I do have preset that I call "Hunting for Discrete in the Rears" for his mixes. On my system and room, I have to bump the rears up a bit more than your recommendation and I still find it underwhelming.

Perhaps it is jealously that my favorite band with close connections to surround mix geniuses and pioneers chooses to pretty much phone it in.

I would love to purpose a GO-FUND-Marbles-by-Wilson campaign on their FB Site. Just like the 1997 North America TourFund Campaign. But things were so much more civilized back then. The universal fan base all got behind that back in the day and contributed to cover the touring costs of a North American tour without label support.

Today's fanbase that exists on FB at times seems so hostile and sometimes entitled. It isn't the whole group but there is enough ugliness to turn me off from following. Maybe it is because they now have a bigger following than back in their early independent years after the majors let them go. Sorry - I get my coat.

 

[JulesRules]

His stereo mixes are superb.

I don't fully agree with that. The Marillion Weekend releases he's done, for instance, sound perfectly adequate... but not more than that. I often feel like there's a bit of something missing. And the new studio albums he's done also have varied, often tending towards being kind of congested.

 

[splinter7]

I don't fully agree with that.

OK - I won't fully argue with you over that. You could probably also quibble over this: Probably Hunter's greatest contribution is his ability to "assemble" the musical concepts the band lays down in the demo phase. It has been written that he goes over all the tapes after a jam session and begins to see ways to work ideas together.

I will tip my hat to him for the painstaking work he did for the Deluxe version of "Afraid of Sunlight" when he had to recreate elements of the recordings for the Deluxe Edition of Afraid of Sunlight in order to produce the 5.1 surround sound mix. This process was necessary because the original multitrack tapes were incomplete or missing some elements..

 

[JulesRules]

I will tip my hat to him for the painstaking work he did for the Deluxe version of "Afraid of Sunlight" when he had to recreate elements of the recordings for the Deluxe Edition of Afraid of Sunlight in order to produce the 5.1 surround sound mix. This process was necessary because the original multitrack tapes were incomplete or missing some elements..

Agree that Afraid of Sunlight was well done. All the more confusing why Seasons End ended up being notably worse than the original mix.

Probably Hunter's greatest contribution is his ability to "assemble" the musical concepts the band lays down in the demo phase. It has been written that he goes over all the tapes after a jam session and begins to see ways to work ideas together.

It's a daunting task and I'm glad the band has someone willing to do it, it probably also helps to keep tensions down as opposed to when they would fight over little bits (like in the sessions that would lead to Fish's departure). I do think that it has led the band down a path where the songs sometimes don't really cohere as well as in earlier times, but An Hour Before It's Dark was well done from that standpoint with more in terms of reprises and transitions between sections.

 

[splinter7]

@JulesRules - I agree with both of your points there.

 

[sjcorne]

Honestly so many people like to crap on MH's mixes, and yeah he has had some lacklustre ones in the past, but every successive 5.1 mix he has done has shown learning and improvement

I still really like his 5.1 mix of Afraid of Sunlight, even though it's not terribly creative (rears are used mainly for Mark Kelly's keyboards and the background vocals). Some of the other releases in this series have been far bolder from a surround POV - like Fugazi or Holidays In Eden - but I rarely find myself coming back to those titles because the sound quality is poor (IMO).

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

I still really like his 5.1 mix of Afraid of Sunlight, even though it's not terribly creative (rears are used mainly for Mark Kelly's keyboards and the background vocals). Some of the other releases in this series have been far bolder from a surround POV - like Fugazi or Holidays In Eden - but I rarely find myself coming back to those titles because the sound quality is poor (IMO).

I agree. I wasn't really a fan of Bradfield/Macintosh's mixes (especially unfortunate with Clutching at Straws, which is one of my favourites), and Holidays in Eden, while having a decent mix, just sounds bad for some reason.

 

[JulesRules]

Odd since Holidays was remixed by the same mixer who currently owns almost all the top spots in the QQ polls. But that's probably a discussion for another thread.

 

[Thonolan]

Odd since Holidays was remixed by the same mixer who currently owns almost all the top spots in the QQ polls. But that's probably a discussion for another thread.

It's the highest rated Marillion surround mix at the moment anyway, slightly above both Steven Wilson mixes. From what I've read (I don't have it - yet), people seem to love the mixing choices, but complain about the mastering and overall sound quality.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

Odd since Holidays was remixed by the same mixer who currently owns almost all the top spots in the QQ polls. But that's probably a discussion for another thread.

It's been a while since I've listened to it, but my main issues were:
1) The mix was weirdly inconsistent across tracks, i.e., sometimes felt quieter, sometimes louder, sometimes treble was harsh and sometimes not, etc.
2) Felt very compressed, and some parts that were supposed to be very dramatic (e.g., guitar solos in Splintering Heart and 100 Nights) felt like they had all the air sucked out of them.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

Did anyone order this on Amazon.ca? I pre-ordered but looks like they either never got stock or sold it all out from under my nose...

 

[The Rang]

Did anyone order this on Amazon.ca? I pre-ordered but looks like they either never got stock or sold it all out from under my nose...

I did, on September 5, no sign of it yet.
I’ll wait a while longer, the price was decent

 

[beerking]

Listening to Marillion's , This Strange Engine, now.
It arrived today.

I like Mr Hunters mix.
I like Steve's voice. (I am a fishy fan too!!)
I like the music.
I like the package.

Really, what's not to like.

Another Marillion Deluxe Edition added to the others.

 

[efb18]

I don't think I even listened to this album back in the day (which I think was the first Marillion album I skipped, despite the previous one being so great), so this was my first time. Not bad, not bad. The second and third tracks seemed a bit bland and generic to me (maybe that'll disappear with further listening), and Hope for the Future sounds too much like a Peter Gabriel ripoff to my ears (probably not deliberate...). But for the rest I thought the album was pretty great. So, some filler, but mostly killer.

Man of a Thousand Faces and Estonia sounded extremely familiar to me; maybe I've heard live versions or otherwise different versions of those songs before, somehow, someway. Good songs.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

I don't think I even listened to this album back in the day (which I think was the first Marillion album I skipped, despite the previous one being so great), so this was my first time. Not bad, not bad. The second and third tracks seemed a bit bland and generic to me (maybe that'll disappear with further listening), and Hope for the Future sounds too much like a Peter Gabriel ripoff to my ears (probably not deliberate...). But for the rest I thought the album was pretty great. So, some filler, but mostly killer.

Man of a Thousand Faces and Estonia sounded extremely familiar to me; maybe I've heard live versions or otherwise different versions of those songs before, somehow, someway. Good songs.

This album and the following one (marillion.com) are a bit weird, in that most of the songs feel very bland and generic, but simultaneously have two monumental epics that are not only some of Marillion's best tracks of all time but some of my favourite songs period (the title track on this one and Interior Lulu).

 

[efb18]

This album and the following one (marillion.com) are a bit weird, in that most of the songs feel very bland and generic, but simultaneously have two monumental epics that are not only some of Marillion's best tracks of all time but some of my favourite songs period (the title track on this one and Interior Lulu).

marillion.com is another one I don't think I've ever heard.

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

marillion.com is another one I don't think I've ever heard.

Well, give Interior Lulu a listen. Other than that, I suppose Go! and Enlightened are pretty good songs.

 

[splinter7]

I Hope for the Future sounds too much like a Peter Gabriel ripoff to my ears

!!! !!!!

Sounds more like a bad Lionel Ritchie cover.

We're going to Party, Karamu, Fiesta, forever
Come on and sing along! Hope for the Future
We're going to Party, Karamu, Fiesta, forever
Come on and sing along! Hope for the Future

On the bright side:
1- It took them 15 years to write this - their first truly awful song
2 - The LEGENDARY title song is right after it! (except for the nonsensical lyrics about the swarm of bees)

This turd held this infamous honor for 10 years until the band doubled up with "See It Like a Baby" & "Most Toys" ten years later on the album Somewhere Else

Note: I will give "Built-in-******* Radar" a pass as it is more forgettable than awful

 

[minimumtumbleweed]

2 - The LEGENDARY title song is right after it! (except for the nonsensical lyrics about the swarm of bees)

Lol yeah the bee part, wonder what they were smoking when they wrote that. And then to follow it up with this:

"Oh mummy, daddy, will you sit a while with me
Oh mummy, daddy, will you jog my memory.
Tell me
Tall tales of Montego Bay, Table Mountain, Flying fish,
Banana spiders, Pots of paint
And the sun on the equator
Setting like an ember thrown to deep water
From crimson to black
But coming back
Tomorrow
On the horizon"

Their lyrics are either ridiculous, cringey, or excellent. There is no in-between.

 

[splinter7]

Well, give Interior Lulu a listen. Other than that, I suppose Go! and Enlightened are pretty good songs.

marillion.com is my favorite of what I consider to be the pre-independent jitters era. (This Strange Engine through Anoraknophobia). TSE was the first album released by the band after the majors lost interest. Yes they had a deal with Castle but really - they were getting their feet wet to be truly independent. Anoraknophobia was completely fan-funded.

As @minimumtumbleweed wrote, .com has Go! and Enlightened (sublime) but I love House, a kind of bluesy, electronic chill out break up song with a nice featured trumpet.

And I really think that the song Tumble Down the Years could have been a pop hit for someone else. Has a kind of Beatles feel to it.