''Afraid of Sunlight'' is
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock music, rock band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becomin ...
's eighth studio album, released in 1995. It was their last for EMI (who would, however, continue to release back-catalogue material on compilations and re-issues, as well as distribute some later recordings).
''Afraid of Sunlight'' was the first Marillion studio album to fail to reach the Top 10 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
, peaking at number 16 and falling out of the Top 75 after two weeks. Despite this, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' became one of the band's most critically acclaimed albums and was included in ''
''Q'' magazines "Recordings of the Year" for 1995. It was retrospectively described by Jeri Montesano of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
as "the peak of Marillion's growing, impressive body of work" and by colleague Jason Ankeny as "the most consistent Marillion release to date".
Concept
Although not a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
as such, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' repeatedly examines the destructive side of celebrity. In particular, "Gazpacho" lampoons the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
lifestyle and seems to refer to
O. J. Simpson. "Cannibal Surf Babe" is a
Beach Boys
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
pastiche inspired by late-night horror movies. "Out of This World" is dedicated to world land and water speed record holder
Donald Campbell
Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...
, killed in 1967, and inspired diver Bill Smith to look for the wreck. The main wreckage of Campbell's ''
Bluebird K7
''Bluebird K7'' is a jet engined hydroplane which Britain's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records between 1955 and 1967. ''K7'' was the first successful jet-powered hydroplane, and was considered revolutionary when launched i ...
'' hydroplane was recovered from
Coniston Water
Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume (after Windermere and Ullswater), and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide (8 km by 800 m), has ...
on 8 March 2001. Both
Steve Hogarth
Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...
and
Steve Rothery
Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...
were present at the raising.
The title track refers to self-destructive thrill-seekers such as
James Dean
James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
, while "King" is about
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...
and
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
. "Beyond You" is reminiscent of
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
's
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...
productions and was mixed in mono.
One reviewer noted the 1980
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
film ''
Raging Bull
''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin from Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir '' Raging Bull: My St ...
'', about a boxer's inability to deal with fame, as a strong influence on the album.
He also cited
O. J. Simpson, on trial for murder at the time ''Afraid of Sunlight'' was recorded, as another influence on its concept; the wind-down of "Gazpacho" ends with a sample from a news report on Simpson's infamous flight from the police.
Release
''Afraid of Sunlight'' was released in Europe on 24 June 1995 by
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
on CD, LP and cassette, and in the U.S. on 4 July 1995 by El Dorado, a subsidiary label of
I.R.S. Records.
It climbed to number 16 in the UK and spent only three weeks in the charts, the shortest chart residency of any Marillion studio album by then.
The only single from the album, "Beautiful", peaked at number 29 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. ''Afraid of Sunlight'' reached number 8 in the Netherlands, the country where the band has one of their largest fanbases.
As part of a series of Marillion's first eight studio albums, EMI Records re-released ''Afraid of Sunlight'' on 22 March 1999 with 24-bit digital remastered sound and a second disc containing bonus tracks.
A new 180g heavy weight vinyl pressing identical to the original 1995 edition was released in 2013.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic Alex S. Garcia has retrospectively given ''Afraid of Sunlight'' a four-out-of-five star rating. He noted that the album has "some very beautiful melodic moments and perhaps a better mix between calm and melodies than on previous albums made with Steve Hogarth".
Jeri Montesano called it "the peak of Marillion's growing, impressive body of work" while reviewing ''
Seasons End
''Seasons End'' is the fifth studio album by British neo-progressive rock band Marillion, released in 1989. The album was the first to feature current lead vocalist Steve Hogarth, following the departure of former vocalist Fish in late 1988. ...
'' (1989).
His colleague Dale Jensen has named the album "the most consistent Marillion release to date".
In a review from ''
Q'' magazine, ''Afraid of Sunlight'' has been described as "a 40-minute journey that touches on the legacy of
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
,
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
and
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, while hinting at the experimental trivialities of
Jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
or
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...
".
Track listing
*Tracks 3-9 of the 1999 remastered edition bonus disc had previously been unreleased.
4-CD + Blu-ray Disc, 2019, Remixed, Digi-Book
CD 1 Michael Hunter 2019 Remix
CD 2 Original 1995 Dave Meegan Mix
Tracklisting for discs 1 and 2 as above
CD 3 Live At The Ahoy, Rotterdam (29 September 1995)
* Intro (Skater's Waltz) 0:47
* Incommunicado 4:56
* Hooks In You 2:59
* Gazpacho 6:16
* Icon 1:11
* Beautiful 5:33
* Hotel Hobbies 2:04
* White Russian 7:09
* Easter 6:11
* Mad 2:52
* The Opium Den 3:48
* Hard As Love 6:34
* The Hollow Man 5:14
CD 4 Live At The Ahoy, Rotterdam (29 September 1995)
* Kayleigh 4:09
* Lavender 4:19
* Afraid Of Sunlight 6:57
* Cannibal Surf Babe 4:51
* Cover My Eyes 4:15
* Slainte Mhath 4:45
* King 7:20
* Splintering Heart 7:20
* No One Can 5:36
* The Great Escape 5:46
* Uninvited Guest 4:27
* Garden Party 7:38
Blu-ray Disc
2019 Michael Hunter remix in stereo and 5.1 surround
* Gazpacho
* Cannibal Surf Babe
* Beautiful
* Afraid Of Sunrise
* Out Of This World
* Afraid Of Sunlight
* Beyond You
* King
Bonus Tracks
* Ascending Synth Groove
* Velvet Lawn
* Building Guitar
* Band Of Gold
* Gazpacho
arly Version
* Sufer Bass
* Cannibal Surf
arly Version
* Beautiful
arly Version
* Kd Lang
* Out Of This World
arly Version
* Afraid Of Sunlight
arly Version
* Beyond You
arly Version
* Crunchy Guitar Idea
* Deep Purple Vibe
* Watery Guitar
* King
arly Version
* Happy Accidents
* Afraid Of Sunlight
* Beautiful
* Icon
* Live Forever
* Second Chance
* Beyond You
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
* Cannibal Surf Babe
* Out Of This World
* Bass Frenzy
* Mirages
emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
* Afraid Of Sunlight
coustic Demo
Personnel
;Marillion
*
Steve Hogarth
Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956 in Kendal, Westmorland) also known as "h", is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Since 1989 he has been the lead singer of the British rock band Marillion, for which ...
–
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
, additional
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
and
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*
Steve Rothery
Steven Rothery (born 25 November 1959) is an English musician. He is the original guitarist and the longest continuous member of the British rock band Marillion. Outside Marillion, Rothery has recorded two albums as part of the duo the Wishing ...
–
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
*
Mark Kelly
Mark Edward Kelly (born February 21, 1964) is an American politician, former astronaut, and United States Navy captain who has served as the junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he was electe ...
– keyboards
*
Pete Trewavas
Peter Trewavas (born 15 January 1959) is an English musician, known as the bassist of Marillion. He joined in 1982, replacing Diz Minnitt, while acting occasionally as a backing vocalist and acoustic guitarist.
Trewavas was born in Middlesbroug ...
–
bass and
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
*
Ian Mosley
Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953, Paddington, London, England) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-progressive rock band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 19 ...
– drums and percussion
;Additional musicians
*Barbara Lezmy – additional backing vocals (on "Cannibal Surf Babe")
*Wendy Paige – additional backing vocals (on "Cannibal Surf Babe")
*Hannah Stobart – additional backing vocals (on "Beautiful")
;Technical personnel
*
Dave Meegan
Dave Meegan is a record producer. He trained under Trevor Horn and is best known for his work with Marillion. Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery has said he admires Meegan's work so much he considers him to be "a sixth member of the band". He also ...
–
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
, engineering and
mixing (at Parr Street Studios,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
)
*
Nick Davis – mixing ("Cannibal Surf Babe") (at
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward.
Facilities
Rockfield is a two- ...
,
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
)
*
Michael Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's ''Parachutes'', and also "Best Rock Album" for Coldplay's ''Viva la ...
– mixing ("Beautiful") (at
Sony Music Studios
Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan. I ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
)
*
Peter Mew
Peter Mew is a retired British music audio engineer. He worked at Abbey Road Studios, where he was the senior mastering engineer. He came to Abbey Road in 1965 as a tape operator and has since worked with many artists at the studio. Kevin Ayers of ...
– 1999 digital remastering (January 1999 at
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
)
*Bill Smith Studio – design
*Paul Cox – front cover photography
Charts
References
;Notes
;Citations
External links
The Official Marillion Website
{{Authority control
Marillion albums
1995 albums
EMI Records albums
Albums produced by Dave Meegan