Script for a Jester's Tear

Script for a Jester's Tear
Studio album by Marillion
Released 14 March 1983[1]
Recorded December 1982 — February 1983
Studio The Marquee Studios
(London, England)
Genre Neo-progressive rock
Length 46:45
Label EMI
Producer Nick Tauber
Marillion chronology
Script for a Jester's Tear
(1983)		 Fugazi
(1984)
Singles from Script for a Jester's Tear
  1. "He Knows You Know"
    Released: 31 January 1983
  2. "Garden Party"
    Released: 6 June 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Script for a Jester's Tear is the debut studio album by the British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1983. Produced by Nick Tauber, it was recorded between December 1982 and February 1983 at The Marquee Studios in London.

Script for a Jester's Tear was intended to be part of a trilogy along with the next albums, Fugazi (1984) and Misplaced Childhood (1985).[3] It was a commercial success in the UK, produced the Top 40 singles "He Knows You Know" and "Garden Party",[4] and peaked at number 7 on the album chart.[5] It reached the Platinum certification and is credited with giving a second life to progressive rock.[6]

Singles

Script for a Jester's Tear was preceded by the single "Market Square Heroes", released in 1982, with "Three Boats Down from the Candy" and the 17-minute-long epic "Grendel" as B-sides. None of these songs appeared on the original album, though A-side can be briefly heard during a short radio segment prior to "Forgotten Sons". All tracks are featured in the bonus disc of the 1997 remastered edition.

Cover art

The artwork was created by Mark Wilkinson who would be commissioned to the role on all Marillion LPs and 12" singles of the Fish-era.[7]

Release

Critical reception

AllMusic critic John Franck has retrospectively given the album a 4.5 star rating. He called it "an essential work for any self-respecting first- or second-generation prog rock fan", but considered the "over-the-top" lyrics for "Chelsea Monday" to be a minor shortcoming.[2]

Commercial performance

Script for a Jester's Tear reached number 7 in the UK charts and spent there 31 weeks, the second longest chart residency of a Marillion album.[5] It was certified Platinum by the BPI on 5 December 1997 for sales in excess of 300.000 copies.[8] The album did not achieve a commercial impact in the U.S., making only number 175 in the Billboard 200.[9]

Formats and reissues

The album was initially released on LP[nb 1], 12" picture disc and cassette.[10] The first CD issue[nb 2] appeared in 1985.

As part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI Records re-released Script for a Jester's Tear on 29 September 1997 with 24-bit digital remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus tracks[nb 3].[1] The remastered version was also made available without the bonus disc in 2000[nb 4] and again in 2005 as a Japanese mini-LP replica[nb 5].

A new 180g heavy weight vinyl pressing identical to the original 1983 edition[nb 6] was released in 2012.[10]

Track listing

All tracks written by Fish, Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas, Mark Kelly, Mick Pointer, Diz Minnett, and Brian Jelliman, except where noted. 

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Script for a Jester's Tear"  Fish, Rothery, Trewavas, Kelly, Pointer8:39
2."He Knows You Know"   5:22
3."The Web"  Fish, Rothery, Trewavas, Kelly, Pointer, Jelliman8:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Garden Party"   7:15
5."Chelsea Monday"  Fish, Rothery, Trewavas, Kelly, Pointer, Minnett8:16
6."Forgotten Sons"   8:21
Total length:46:45

Personnel

Marillion
Additional musicians
  • Marquee Club's Parents Association Children's Choir – back vocals (on "Forgotten Sons")
  • Peter Cockburn – newscaster's voice (on "Forgotten Sons")
Technical personnel

Charts

Album
Chart (1983) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 42
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 7
US Billboard 200[9] 175
"He Knows You Know"
Chart (1983) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 35
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[9] 21
"Garden Party"
Chart (1983) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 16

Certifications

Region Certification
United Kingdom (BPI)[8] Platinum

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 EMI EMC 3429
  2. 1 2 EMI CDP 7 46237 2
  3. 1 2 3 EMI 7243 8 57865 2 5, REMARIL 001
  4. ↑ EMI 7243 5 27115 2 9, 527 1152
  5. ↑ Toshiba-EMI TOCP-67784
  6. ↑ EMI 50999 091614 1 2, VEMC 3429
Citations
  1. 1 2 "Script for a Jesters Tear". Fish-TheCompany.Com: Official Site. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 Franck, John. Marillion: "Script for a Jester's Tear" > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Lee, Craig (9 March 1986), "New Kids in Town: Fish 'N' Ambition", Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, retrieved 13 March 2015
  4. ↑ "Marillion". Official Chart Company. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Marillion – Script for a Jester's Tear". Official Chart Company. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2016). Time And a Word: The Yes Story. Soundcheck Books. p. 98. ISBN 0993212026.
  7. ↑ Dome, Malcolm (18 February 2015). "Cover Story: Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear". Classic Rock. TeamRock. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 "British album certifications – Marillion – Script for a jester's Tear". British Phonographic Industry.
  9. 1 2 3 "Marillion: "Script for a Jester's Tear" > Awards". AllMusic.
  10. 1 2 "Script for a Jesters Tear". The Official Marillion Website. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Marillion – Script for a Jester's Tear". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1983-02-12" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1983-06-18" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
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