Marillion's second album, released in 1984.
In the liner notes of the remastered version, Fish tells a story of many recording studios and lots of executives trying to get this album rushed out. I think he feels it suffered for that. At this time they were also going through their Spinal Tap phase, auditioning lots of drummers before settling on Ian Mosley. Fish had also been listening to a lot of Mark Hamill albums and picked up some Middle Eastern influences from that. The lyrics also get a bit misogynistic here and there.
Mark Wilkinson's cover for this one shows the jester with his costume off, possibly dead on a bed, holding a glass of blood, listening to a walkman, with again, tons of other imagery. There's a picture of a clown on the floor that will show up on the cover of Seasons End some five years later.
Tracks:
< Script For A Jester's Tear | Misplaced Childhood >