h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have to strongly disagree with the comments saying SH lacks the personality of Fish live and on record. Have you actually listened to any of the albums since Fish left?

BRAVE has to be one of the finest concept albums ever written! Seasons End and Afraid of Sunlight are both excellent compostions. The latest album Anoraknophobia is also very good.

Live they are very, very good. Steve Hogarth exudes energy and puts everything into his performances. Added fact that he is a musician , unlike Fish, adds to Marillions already superp creative abilities.

Don't get me wrong, I like most of the Fish albums. Clutching at Straws is a firm favorite. However, they have done so much more since Fish left than they could have possibly done had he stayed!

I agree completely. Steve Hogarth has done incredibly much good in Marillion, and Brave is my favourite Marillion record. Fish is very very good, but I'm sorry, nothing can beat that masterpiece.

I do prefer H to Fish, but to be fair, you can't say Fish is not a musician. Have you listened to any of his recent stuff? Sunsets on Empire is really rather good and I believe he did more than write the vocal bits.

Moo

Brave? I beg your pardon, but from all Marillion albums, I think Brave is the most boring. But I guess that's a matter of taste, so why am I telling anyone anyway?

I prefer the Fishy albums to the Hogarthy, but mainly because I like Fish's style of singing...

Donk Bars

Marillion have not been exciting since Fish left. The music is still good but they lack personality.
I saw them on BBC2 tonight(12/08/01) talking about how they have financced their latest albumn by getting the fans to buy it up front before it was recorded, interesting idea and good luck to them.

I,ve been lucky enough to see Marillion play live with both Fish and Steve Hogarth fronting the band. Its true, Fish was a great frontman with Marillion. He has great stage presence/ rapport with the audience and the stories he told between songs we,re almost worth the entrance fee alone. I have nothing but great memories of some of the best gigs i had seen in my teens and i thank the big man for that.
On replacing Fish in Marillion, Steve Hogarth had the difficult task of winning over (myself included) a hardcore fanbase, a legacy of the Fish era. Hogarth's debut album with Marillion "Seasons end", although it had the distinctive Marillion sound, Hogarth had immediatly stamped his personallity onto each song. What remaind to be seen was could Steve Hogarth replace Fish on the live stage. Well what he lacks in banter with the crowd he more than makes up for with his emotive vocal style and for the fans who were prepared to give him the benifit of the doubt, were richly rewarded.
Over the years, this band have grown and matured, each album evolving from the last. They have gone from progressive rock band to a band that progress in rock and far beyond.
Their eagerly awaited thirteenth studio album "MARBLES" is released in May with a UK tour to follow. So don't take my word for it, check this band out for the ultimate live experience.
Marillion. Music's best kept secret.