Sticking my toes back in the water...

[kid_runningfox]

Greetings everybody, what gives?

Been a long time since I stuck my head through this particular door, but inspired by a PE thread on Marillion's An Hour Before It's Dark from last year that appeared in a Google search of mine, I thought I'd stop by and say hello and see if anybody remembers me. What's new around here - anything worth commenting on? Everybody well? Any decent new music worth paying attention to? Anybody rather I didn't come back, ever?

FWIW, I am no longer in China, but back in the UK in my home town of Leicester after my wife and I moved here in May 2022. Busy making music again, though funds have been limited for buying music by others. For reasons best known to the murky depths of my subconscious, my most notable musical discovery of the last couple of years has been Iron Maiden's back-catalogue. Weird, I really disliked them for years, but their music has suddenly clicked with me and I'm now really enjoying it. Suggest an album by others released over the last year or so, and I'll comment if I've heard it.

Looking forward to talking to you all again, and wishing you all the best for 2024.
Mark.

[mozo-pg]

Hi Mark,

Welcome back. Not much new, lots of great musical discussion. I quite like An Hour Before It's Dark. It's really great to see you back!

Greg

[Lopez]

Hi Mark,

Good to see you back. I remember you from Josef's Zoom parties three or fours years ago.

[moecurlythanu]

Are those Star Dates? You were still in China during the height of Covid? That must have been quite an experience. Glad you and the mrs. came through it OK.

[kid_runningfox]

Hi Mark,

Welcome back. I quite like An Hour Before It's Dark. It's really great to see you back!

Greg

Thanks Greg - lovely to see you in the virtual world again! It was actually revisiting AHBID today that led me back here, in a roundabout kind of way. My opinion of it hasn't changed: I think it's musically brilliant, but the stereo mix at least is awful, really muddy and lacking in definition and clarity. Making this point on the Marillion FB, and asking why anybody would go to the time and expense of tracking at a studio of the calibre of Real World only to produce such a horrible sonic pudding of a mix got me into a row with Lucy Jordache that saw me quit that particular forum - not anybody's finest hour, to be honest. I've also heard from others that the vinyl version is every bit as bad as the cd, which makes me wonder what went wrong. Be interested to know if the 5.1 is any better, but I don't have the facilities on which to play it. Incidentally, I thought Trevor Rabin's Rio also sounded terrible on cd; horribly, horribly compressed and lacking in top end as a consequence. Again, I'd be curious to know if the 5.1 mix is any better.

[kid_runningfox]

Are those Star Dates? You were still in China during the height of Covid? That must have been quite an experience. Glad you and the mrs. came through it OK.

For some of it (late 2020-early 2022). Also stranded in the UK for some of that time, too, having returned to visit family over the Chinese New Year break in January 2020 and then being unable to return until November of the same year. That journey was an adventure in itself!

[kid_runningfox]

Hi Mark,

Good to see you back. I remember you from Josef's Zoom parties three or fours years ago.

Hey Lou,
Great to see you here and hope you're well! Those zoom parties were a great way of keeping morale up during in lockdown here in the UK when I was stuck in the middle of nowhere at my mother's and unable to go anywhere else - really helped in maintaining my sanity!

[Progatron]

Making this point on the Marillion FB, and asking why anybody would go to the time and expense of tracking at a studio of the calibre of Real World only to produce such a horrible sonic pudding of a mix got me into a row with Lucy Jordache that saw me quit that particular forum

Yeah, I wouldn't even bother sharing an opinion in that place. I love Marillion, but a large portion of their fan base is close to intolerable for me. Actually, I find that with a lot of the band-specific pages.

[Rarebird]

Welcome back Mark. Yes I remember you.

[kid_runningfox]

Yeah, I wouldn't even bother sharing an opinion in that place. I love Marillion, but a large portion of their fan base is close to intolerable for me. Actually, I find that with a lot of the band-specific pages.

What used to amaze me about the FB Marillion page was that one of the moderators used to regularly join in with the trolling of anybody who dared voice even the most moderately critical opinion of the band. Absolutely unconsciable behaviour, imho; the very opposite of what a moderator is supposed to do.

[SteveSly]

What used to amaze me about the FB Marillion page was that one of the moderators used to regularly join in with the trolling of anybody who dared voice even the most moderately critical opinion of the band. Absolutely unconsciable behaviour, imho; the very opposite of what a moderator is supposed to do.

I am on the U.S. Marillion Facebook page (not sure if it is the same you are talking about), and yea if you say anything even remotely negative sometimes you get raked over the coals. I like the site for informational purposes, but rarely post anything there. I agree with you about the production of the last album. Love most of the material, but man does it sound muddy to my ears.

[kid_runningfox]

I am on the U.S. Marillion Facebook page (not sure if it is the same you are talking about), and yea if you say anything even remotely negative sometimes you get raked over the coals. I like the site for informational purposes, but rarely post anything there. I agree with you about the production of the last album. Love most of the material, but man does it sound muddy to my ears.

It's awful, isn't it? Not Vapor Trails bad, but really not what you'd expect of a well-produced album in the 2020s. Makes me wonder if the stereo mix was essentially an afterthought and all of the effort went into the 5.1 version instead, but as I've never heard the latter I couldn't say. Incidentally, the FB Marillion page I was on genuinely multinational, but no less fawning for all that. Some of the ad hominem attacks thrown at people who didn't simply repeat that everything that the band has ever done is absolutely the best thing by anybody ever were actually quite disturbing - real cult-like behaviour. I like the band very much, but I don't like everything they've ever done, and even the stuff I do like I prefer some things much more than others. Apparently in Marillionfanworld this is deviant behaviour to be stamped out with extreme prejudice.

To be fair, they're far from the only band whose fans exhibit this kind of behaviour, and we all know how the internet has a habit of bringing out the very worst aspects of human nature in very short order, but it was still depressing to witness.

[kid_runningfox]

Welcome back Mark. Yes I remember you.

Hi Renate - hope you're well!!

[spellbound]

Greetings, Mark. It's good to read your voice again.

[MudShark22]

Welcome home Mark

[Klonk]

Whatever.

[Dave (in MA)]

Don't drink the water. Kid_runningfox has been sticking his toes in it.

[Sunlight Caller]

Hello Mark. Good to see an old name returning, and one of the relatively few Brit prog names at that.

Opinions… well we’ve all got them but it’s best not to raise them if they err on the slightly critical, and you desire a harmonious web experience!

[NogbadTheBad]

Hi Mark!

[walt]

How do we know you're the "real" Mark Bailey.?

[Vic2012]

Ah yes I remember you. You're a big Iron Maiden fan aren't you?

[moecurlythanu]

^ Besides posting on PE, I remember Mark from music he was making. Can't remember if it was a band or all him, but I have one CD. Fairly electronic, if my memory isn't letting me down.

[Rune Blackwings]

Greetings everybody, what gives?

Been a long time since I stuck my head through this particular door, but inspired by a PE thread on Marillion's An Hour Before It's Dark from last year that appeared in a Google search of mine, I thought I'd stop by and say hello and see if anybody remembers me. What's new around here - anything worth commenting on? Everybody well? Any decent new music worth paying attention to? Anybody rather I didn't come back, ever?

FWIW, I am no longer in China, but back in the UK in my home town of Leicester after my wife and I moved here in May 2022. Busy making music again, though funds have been limited for buying music by others. For reasons best known to the murky depths of my subconscious, my most notable musical discovery of the last couple of years has been Iron Maiden's back-catalogue. Weird, I really disliked them for years, but their music has suddenly clicked with me and I'm now really enjoying it. Suggest an album by others released over the last year or so, and I'll comment if I've heard it.

Looking forward to talking to you all again, and wishing you all the best for 2024.
Mark.

welcome back! I'm not in here as much as I was.

[Rick L.]

At least one of those things isn't a toe.

[Koreabruce]

^ Besides posting on PE, I remember Mark from music he was making. Can't remember if it was a band or all him, but I have one CD. Fairly electronic, if my memory isn't letting me down.

Vietgrove