Marillion - Fugazi
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
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Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 12.03.1983
"When you form a new band, you compare yourself to other bands, how many albums they sold, concerts, and more, but after your first or second album all you really care about is your creativity and touring. Of course you are still interested in what others are doing, but you simply choose your own path."
When singer Fish talks about his path and his desire to be original, he is undoubtedly referring to the early days of his band "Marillion". The B-side of their debut single in 1982 was a 17-minute epic titled "Grendel", which immediately invited comparisons to the early 1970s version of "Genesis". In addition, Fish’s high vocal register sounded remarkably similar to that of Peter Gabriel, and his flamboyant stage costumes reinforced the comparison even further.
The British press nearly lost its mind with headlines about the return of progressive "Genesis", but eventually settled for describing "Marillion" as “the second-best Genesis of all time.”
Fish, born Derek William Dick in April 1958 in Edinburgh, Scotland, was heavily influenced in his youth by artists such as "Genesis", "The Moody Blues", "T. Rex", David Bowie, and "Pink Floyd", influences that clearly hinted at what the future might hold. His nickname Fish came from a landlord who noticed that he seemed to spend an unusually large amount of time in the shower.
Formed just before the arrival of a new decade in 1979, "Marillion" would wait no less than four years before announcing to the world the revival of progressive rock in a new package: neo-progressive rock.
This subgenre emerged at the end of 1981. Neo-prog is characterized by deeply emotional content, usually conveyed through dramatic lyrics, vivid imagery, and theatrical stage presentation.
Musically, it is largely the result of careful composition rather than improvised jams, relying heavily on clean, melodic and emotional electric guitar solos combined with keyboards. The primary influences were first-wave progressive rock bands such as "Genesis", "Camel", "Van der Graaf Generator", and "Pink Floyd". Funk, heavy rock, and punk rock also contributed elements to the genre.
"Marillion" took their name from The Silmarillion, the collection of writings by author J. R. R. Tolkien, a book admired by the band’s founding drummer Mick Pointer.
Speaking of Pointer, after the release of the debut album "Script for a Jester’s Tear", which received glowing reviews, the band embarked on a tour that ended with Pointer’s dismissal after he was perceived as focusing less on the performances and more on a fling between two concert nights.
When "Marillion" entered the studio to record their second album "Fugazi", released on March 12, 1984, they discovered that the well had run dry and they did not have enough suitable material for a full album.
“It was a strange period,” Fish noted. The release of the debut album had generated enormous interest around "Marillion" and around other neo-prog bands that were beginning to emerge. Suddenly every record company was searching for their own "Marillion", and the band themselves felt uncomfortable carrying the label of neo-prog’s main messengers.
Their debut album had been written slowly over two or three years. Now Fish only had a handful of raw ideas and early song sketches, while the pressure from the record company to deliver another album kept increasing. The band eventually rotated through no fewer than ten recording studios while investing approximately £120,000 in the process.
"Fugazi", named after American military slang used by soldiers in Vietnam meaning “everything is messed up,” illustrated the band’s development since the debut album, which in comparison sounded rather fragile.
Prophets, visionaries and poets everywhere seemed to hear Fish’s rallying call as the band’s second album, filled with progressive complexity, drama, and wordplay, nevertheless placed "Marillion" firmly on the path toward success.
Fish later reflected that the band sounded young and naïve on the album, still trying to find their style. "Marillion" were attempting to establish their identity, not necessarily through immediate success, which would arrive with the following album "Misplaced Childhood" and the timeless hit "Kayleigh". For the time being, however, the darker "Fugazi" suggested that "Marillion" had found a balanced approach to songwriting, where everything seemed to fall perfectly into place.
"Assassing" opens the album with a character describing himself as an assassin, though the lyrics serve as a metaphor for character assassination. They are commonly interpreted as referring to the verbal arguments that preceded the departure of founding drummer Mick Pointer. Fish later clarified, however, that the lyrics were directed at bassist Diz Minnitt rather than Pointer.
"Punch & Judy" portrays a marriage that has run aground. The lyrics are quite brilliant, presenting examples of everyday relationship struggles. The routine boredom that many relationships eventually fall into is contrasted with an intense longing for the early days of love, when partners still enjoy one another’s company.
In "Jigsaw", Fish takes inspiration from a children’s puzzle to describe a relationship that repeatedly breaks apart only to come back together again. Each time the couple reunites, however, more pieces of the puzzle have disappeared, and it becomes impossible to restore what was lost.
In "Emerald Lies", jealousy and a man’s distrust of his partner become the trigger that eventually leads to the disintegration of their relationship.
The album concludes with two songs that, I suspect, later inspired two bands of the 1990s to adopt their names from "Marillion" song titles. "Incubus" describes a situation in which a woman leaves the boyfriend whose pornographic films she once starred in so she can pursue a mainstream acting career. On the verge of her breakthrough performance, during opening night in front of critics, she suddenly spots her former lover in the audience and fears he may expose her past.
The title track "Fugazi" closes the album with Fish’s bleak reflection on the state of the world: “This world is totally fugazi.” In other words, the world is completely messed up beyond recognition. Fish borrowed the term from the slang used by American soldiers in Vietnam, which he encountered in the book "Nam" by Mark Baker.
The album cover was painted by Mark Wilkinson, the artist responsible for all of "Marillion"’s classic album covers. The artwork also contains several visual elements carried over from the band’s debut album "Script for a Jester’s Tearr".
The pictures on the wall and the ruined building visible outside the window were created by Julie Hazelwood, Wilkinson’s wife.
The records scattered on the floor include "The Wall" by "Pink Floyd", "Over" and "Fool’s Mate" by Peter Hammill, and the single released shortly before the album, "Punch and Judy".
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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