Radiation (album)

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Radiation
Studio album by Marillion
Released 21 September 1998
Recorded November 1997 – June 1998 at The Racket Club in Buckinghamshire, England
Genre Progressive rock, neo-progressive rock, alternative rock
Length 48:17
Label Castle Communications
Producer Marillion, Stewart Every
Marillion chronology

This Strange Engine
(1997)
Radiation
(1998)
marillion.com
(1999)
Singles from Radiation
  1. "These Chains"
    Released: 14 September 1998
Radiation 2013
Cover of 2013 remix version
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
ProgressiveWorld.net [2]

Radiation is the tenth studio album by British rock band Marillion, released in 1998. It reached No. 35 on the UK Albums Chart and stayed there for one week,[3] making it the last Marillion album to enter the top 40 until 2007. The only single released from Radiation is "These Chains", which failed to chart in the UK.[3]

Radiation is the second of three albums in three consecutive years that Marillion released on a contract with Castle Communications between being dropped by EMI Records in 1995 and eventually going independent in the 2000s. Among fans it is widely considered to be their weakest effort, the most frequent complaint being the production. The band decided to experiment with different instrument tones, vocal effects, samples (making segues between songs by cutting and pasting pieces from elsewhere in the album), and the like; they also tried a different approach to mixing that left the recording often sounding flat and tinny. The entire album was significantly remixed in 2013 to give a different perspective and rectify many of those complaints.

Due to an announcement on Marillion's official website before the album's release, many suppliers and distributors had incorrectly listed the album's title as either "Don't Try This at Home" or "Radiation Leak".[4] As Marillion's tenth studio album, the number 10 can be seen in the "io" in both "marillion" and "radiation" on the cover; previously, the album had been rumoured to be self-titled as "Marill10n" (i.e., with the number "10" replacing the letters "io").

The US release of Radiation (on the Velvel label) contains the bonus tracks "Estonia (Acoustic)" and "Memory of Water (Big Beat Mix)", whose original versions appeared on the previous album, This Strange Engine.

The Japanese release of Radiation (on the Pony Canyon label) contains the bonus tracks "The Space (Live Acoustic)" and the Radiohead cover "Fake Plastic Trees (Live Acoustic)", both taken from the Racket Records album Unplugged at the Walls. The latter also featured as a b-side on the single "These Chains".

The 2CD version of the album, containing both the original and the new remixed version, was released on the Madfish label in March 2013. The album was also played in its entirety at the fanclub conventions in 2013.[4]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Steve Hogarth, all music composed by Marillion.
No. Title Length
1. "Costa del Slough"   1:27
2. "Under the Sun"   4:10
3. "The Answering Machine"   3:48
4. "Three Minute Boy"   5:59
5. "Now She'll Never Know"   4:59
6. "These Chains"   4:50
7. "Born to Run"   5:12
8. "Cathedral Wall"   7:20
9. "A Few Words for the Dead"   10:32
Total length:
48:17
US release bonus tracks
No. Title Length
10. "Estonia (Acoustic)"   6:43
11. "Memory of Water (Big Beat Mix)"   8:05
Japanese release bonus tracks
No. Title Length
10. "The Space (Live Acoustic)"   4:12
11. "Fake Plastic Trees (Live Acoustic) (Radiohead cover)"   4:56

Credits

Marillion
Additional personnel
  • Jo Rothery, Viki Price – additional backing vocals on "Three Minute Boy"

Production
  • Marillion – producer
  • Stewart Every – co-producer, engineer, mixing engineer
  • Rod Smallwood – manager
  • Bill Smith Studio – graphic design
  • Carl Glover – photography
  • Niels van Iperen – portrait photography

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
1998 UK Albums Chart 35[3]
German Albums Chart 46[5]
Netherlands Albums Chart 26[6]

References

  1. Jensen, Dale. "Radiation overwiew". Allmusic. 
  2. Sollow, Stephanie. "Radiation overwiew". ProgressiveWorld.net. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Marillion chart positions in the UK". The Official Charts Company. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Radiation page on Marillion's official website". www.marillion.com. 
  5. "Marillion albums chart positions in Germany". Media Control GfK International. 
  6. "Marillion chart positions in the Netherlands". MegaCharts. 
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