DOTMUSIC TALENT - 9.2.98
The danger
for London Records of involving Johnny Marr in producing one-time
Britpop second leaguers Marion's second album is that any success
will be credited to the ex-Smiths guitarist. But ahead of the
release of their sweeping, thunderous new single, Miyako Hideaway
(out on February 23), singer Jaime Harding disagrees.
"Johnny's input was as big as anybody's and he changed quite
a lot of the music under the voice. He made it richer and gave it
a different feel but I know what we've got is so good, it stands
up on its own, it's a Marion sound. If I was insecure I might be
worried but I'm not, we've made a great record," he says.
However, part of Marion's increased maturity and the rich,
panoramic sound that pervades their new material should be
ascribed to the role played by Marr, who was invited down to
rehearsal by his ex-manager Joe Moss who now looks after the
band. Marr says, "I wasn't particularly looking to produce a
group but they invited me down to a rehearsal. Before we knew it,
six hours had gone by and we'd worked on pretty much the whole
album. It soon became obvious we were going to make a
record."
When the young Macclesfield quintet broke through at the close of
1995 they were inevitably lumped in with the Britpop brat pack,
yet their edgy, intense, heart-on-sleeve rock sound on Top 10
album This World And Body which sold 55,000 copies seemed
out of step with the upbeat mood of the times. Now material from
the album, The Program (out on April 13), is set to put the
record straight.
A&R manager Paul McDonald, who signed Marion to London
Records late in 1994, agrees that the band were unwilling
recruits to any scenes. "Since they formed, Marion have been
developing musically at their own pace. What's interesting is
that they've gone away for a couple of years and had to outlive
ladrock and Britpop," he says. "They've turned into a
band which reeks of an intense and passionate sound which is deep
rather than dark. The new music will sit very well in a record
collection which contains The Verve, Radiohead, the Manics and
U2."
Recording began at Revolution Studios just outside Manchester in
February last year and proceeded rapidly with Marr massaging the
band's sound, adding guitars and rearranging songs. Marr says,
"They were really open to ideas, we clicked together. I
wanted to capture their spirit and energy and you can hear it all
in the first single, Miyako Hideaway. They had a steaming chorus
and I came up with a middle eight and developed the verses a
little to alter the mood of the music."
Early indications as to the single's reception are good. XFM has
been playing it for weeks upfront and Radio One has begun to play
it during the daytime. Meanwhile, London's McDonald is in no
hurry to push the band, who are preparing to tour in early March,
as the finished article. "It was always our intention to
take a long-term view. I actually think the third album will be
the one which really breaks them, although they've made huge
steps with this record. They're just starting to reach out and be
the band they can be."
If Marion, Marr and London are right, then Miyako Hideaway is set
to beat the band's previous best chart success with Sleep, which
reached number 17 in March 1996.